Which book do you recommend? (Small list provided) Please this is a quicke answer.?

Question

1. The Crying of Lot 49 (Pynchon)
2. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (See)
3. Rebecca (DuMaurier)
4. Don Quixote (Cervantes)
5. Heart of Darkness (Conrad)

I've never heard of these books, so your personal opinions matter much! If you want, you can give me a small description on what the book is about. Thanks.

BTW, I have to take an essay exam on one of these books (whichever I choose)

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

Don Quixote's my vote!

Answer 2

I haven't read "Snow Flower", so I can't comment.
I would rather have a root canal with no novacaine than be tested on anything by Thomas Pynchon (great writer, but far too complicated for an exam)
I have read the other three - loved them all. But, Don Quixote is too long to read and have to be tested on. So, I would choose either the Conrad or the DuMaurier book - they are great reading and not confusing.

Answer 3

Really the only two that I know anything about are Don Quixote and Heart of Darkness. I've read Heard of Darkness, but I haven't read all of Don Quixote (I've read excerpts).

Personally, Heart of Darkness was very painful for me. I had to read it and discuss it with my teacher, and I missed half of the story. It has a slow beginning, and I didn't find it that interesting. That's not to say that it isn't wonderful, it just wasn't up my alley. I'd say don't read this book and do the essay on it unless you are particularly excellent in analyzing characters and picking up on little details. (My teacher actually recommended that I use Sparknotes for it, which is a horrible pride killer!)

Don Quixote, I think, would be much more interesting. What I read of it was lively and fun. The only thing is that Don Quixote is looong. But if you can get through it, that's my vote. I've heard that it really is worth it, and you'll have so much material to discuss in your essay that you'll have no problem with length.

Good luck!

Answer 4

I would go with either The Crying of Lot 49 or Heart of Darkness. Both are great and have tons to write about in an essay. The Pynchon book was a little strange I recall, but in a good way and was really fascinating, and I loved Conrad's writing style in Heart of Darkness.

Answer 5

I have read Don Quixote, Rebecca, and Heart of Darkness and I would recommend all three! It really depends what you are looking for in a book. Don Quixote is the longest and Heart of Darkness is the shortest. I would say Rebecca is the easiest read and it contains a lot of drama! Don Quixote was a very funny book in its satirical nature.

What kind of books do you usually enjoy? I can be more indepth if you need to know anything else about these three books. :-)

Answer 6

I can only recommend the 2 that I'm familiar with, Don Quixote and Rebecca. Don Quixote is a great book, but a long one and a lot of hard work. If you're up for that, go for it! (And while you're at it, check out Terry Gilliam's failed attempt to film it in "Lost in La Mancha"--really good movie.) But Rebecca is very good for different reasons. It's a difficult story in some ways, partly because it feels a little dated--it was written in the 30's I think--and partly because it's the story of the heroine's love for someone so damaged that he really can't love her back. Frankly, he's a brute. But it's also a story of loss of innocence, of growing into your adult self, and being brave enough to buck tradition in the interest of being true to yourself.

Daphne du Maurier became a more skilled writer later on in her career, but Rebeca is definitely Du Maurier at her most passionate. Even if it's only for your personal enjoyment, give Rebecca a try! It's a great read.

Answer 7

It all depends on your taste in reading material. Don Quixote was written at a time when there was no freedom of opinion in Spain so it is an allegory of the society as it existed and as a history scholar it interested me from that perspective

Of the books you mention, I have read four and would pick Don Quixote as the one I liked better than any of the others.

Answer 8

I say Don Quixote.
But be warned, it's a pretty big book (depending on what translation you have) and I think an essay exam on it could end up being really lengthy. It's a great book, though!! Even if you don't pick this to take your exam on, you should read it in your free time.

Answer 9

Definitely Snow Flower and the Secret Fan!

Answer 10

Don Quixote was the first modern novel.