Classic Literature

[imnothere]

i've been reading alot of the classics lately and would like to talk about them with someone. i thought here might be a good place to do so.
i'm currently halfway though The Prorate of Dorian Gray and finding it more relevant to modern America then i thought i would.
the dissatisfaction and disassociation presented by Lord Henry is so akin to that of America as i know it today. the lauding of vice as virtue he practices identical to that of modern marketing. and the feelings and fears expressed by Dorian himself those inner thoughts and feelings of the public that they too would lock in the disused upstairs nursery to be forgotten in the pursuit of pleasure.

what classics have you read recently? what are your thoughts?

[SickbyDefinition]

Well, I recently read Crime and Punishment for the first time. I love discovering why classic books are... Classic.
The psychological suspense kept me glued to the book haha. And all of the characters are so thoroughly developed, each with their own distinct personalities. One of my favorite parts in reading is really getting to know the characters in a deeper level.. And Dostoevsky (the author) does an astounding job showing us the minds of the suffering.

[AbstractAngel]

I find I often re-read L'?tranger (The Stranger) by Albert Camus. I find it really relates to how people view each other and society in general. It helps remind me that we choose the way we are and that regardless of what anybody thinks of me, I will live my life with that (and only that) as a reassurance.

[BrotherhoodUK]

Well, I've finished a couple of Chekhov plays and the Arthur Miller classic Death of a Salesman.

Of the three (Uncle Vanya, The Seagulls and Death of a Salesman), I think that Death of A Salesman affected me the most. Here we have a man who is so utterly convinced of his own success that he fails to realise that he is, in fact, a failure, relying on others to get through life. He turns dosn a job offer from his best friend, who is also giving him money, which evokes a sympathy that is unusual in form, in that you feel sorry for him because he is living a lie, but you also want to knock some sense into him. William Loman is the typical low-achieving Depression American, whilst his brother Ben has struck it lucky and died a rich man. William didn't. And that is what is so compelling about this play: two brothers set out to achieve in life. One does, one doesn't. And the fact that the one who does is now dead is also a point. Ben, despite being successful, is dead, and cannot enjoy that wealth anymore. William is still alive, at least.

[Rodri]

Emily Bronte's 'Wuthering Heights' is a good read, as I have recently been reminded. Then there is Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' which is another fine novel that is well worth reading in the original form. I always enjoyed the works of Kurt Vonnegut, such as 'Slaughterhouse Five' and 'Bluebeard' but I don't think they quite count as classics. I was also recently reminded of another author, Edward Abbey. His novel, 'The Fool's Progress', has much to commend it and although it is somewhat ribald in places, so were many of the early classics, such as 'The Canterbury Tales'. I prefer to read as widely and as I can, so if I say names like Theroux, you might be thinking Henry David but I might be thinking Paul. Both are worth reading btw.

These are all fairly accessible reads, compared to the likes of James Joyce (Ulysses) and Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (War and Peace), both of which I found tedious and hard-going for the most part. My personal favourite genre is science-fiction but unless you are interested in the genre, there's not much point in discussing it here.