I have to read a classic and I have no idea which to choose? Anypne have some good classics they have read, TELL ME!
2007-08-30 14:55:38 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Thanks! Oh, and if you can give a little (very brief) review.
2007-08-30 15:05:16 · update #1
As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner and East of Eden by John Steinbeck. All three have excellent summaries at Oprah's book club. I would also recommend The Song of Solomon and Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald. Pax - C
2007-08-30 15:21:36 · answer #1 · answered by Persiphone_Hellecat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea; The Sun Also Rises; A Farewell to Arms; For Whom the Bell Tolls; John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath; In Dubious Battle; Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird; Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man, Richard Wright, Native Son, Thomas Berger, Little Big Man, Joseph Heller, Catch-22, John Barth, The Sot-Weed Factor, Thomas Pynchon, V.
2007-08-30 16:00:51 · answer #2 · answered by Artful 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
East of Eden (Steinbeck) - Pretty good if you can get through the first few chapters. If you don't have much time to read, though, I wouldn't choose this - my edition clocks in at 603 pages.
To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee) - This is my favorite classic, and one of my all-time favorite books. It starts out a bit slow, but the story is absolutely amazing. If I had to name a "perfect" book, this would be it. Also, with the time issue - if you're a bit pressed for time, this one's pretty short.
The Bell Jar (Plath) - Another one of my favorites. Also, another short one - the shortest on my list yet. I'm assuming you're reading for a class, so you'd have to check with your teacher to see if this is considered a "classic". Most people consider it one, but some don't.
Catcher in the Rye (Salinger) - This book is great. The plot is almost nonexistant, haha, but you don't realize it when you're reading. You just get caught up in Holden's narration. Also, another short book... it took me about an hour & a half to read.
You could also try anything by Twain - he's a great humorous author who's written many books.
If I think of any more, I'll add them later. Hope you find something you like! =)
2007-08-30 16:05:19 · answer #3 · answered by ♥ Dani 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not surprised that Melville's "Moby Dick" hasn't been mentioned yet, as it is an incredibally tedious read; however, I feel more and more that this truly is a work of genius--one of America's best, a classic and a gift to literature.
To add a brief review: A story of a whaling ship and its obsessive Captain, Ahab, that turns from a quest for sperm whales into one man's quest for revenge against the white whale that took his leg and his willingness to sacrifice his crews' lives in his relentless pursuit.
I'd recommend the Norton Critical Edition, 150th anniversary edition--tons of supplemental material, including an essay by William Faulkner titled "I wish I'd written that."
2007-08-30 18:20:19 · answer #4 · answered by Jeremy B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
2007-08-30 16:13:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
All the suggestions are very good. I would also add An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser.
There was a great movie made of this novel, with a very young Elizabeth Taylor. The movie's name was changed to A Place in the Sun. You may find it in your local library.
2007-08-30 16:45:00 · answer #6 · answered by Letizia 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
I've heard this described as the closest any American novel has come to being "perfect". It's a wonderful book and they made it into a wonderful movie. It says all kinds of things about prejudice and the pains of growing up.
Another good choice would be "Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain — another "definitive" American novel.
Like "Mockingbird," it says a lot about race and prejudice, but unlike "Mockingbird," it uses satire to get its point across. Twain uses racists' own words against them by letting the reader decide how stupid they sound in print.
2007-08-30 15:21:07 · answer #7 · answered by poohba 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That word classic bothers me (makes it sound like if it's a "classic," you can't possibly dislike it). But The Catcher in the Rye is as good as it gets (and Ham On Rye by Charles Bukowski is a close second).
2007-08-30 23:41:47 · answer #8 · answered by Omar Cayenne 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Call of The Wild by Jack London is one of my favorite books, as is John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men.
2007-08-30 15:00:10 · answer #9 · answered by writersblock702 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hard to go wrong with the Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
2007-08-30 15:02:18 · answer #10 · answered by wdx2bb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋