Ah Cliff, I bow to thee - Edit 2
Before modification by BlackAdder at 30/09/2010 11:55:10 PM
Legolas' post about Emma and Rebekah's challenge got me thinking that there are a lot of "classics" floating around out there that certain people (myself included) may never have given a chance. This will be true, regardless of what you consider a "classic" to be. I leaned a little too heavily on a man named Cliff during school to avoid getting too far out of my comfort zone. Also, making something "required" reading usually took away some of it's appeal for me.
I totally didn't go to the same school you did (probably), but I know this Cliff fellow. He was quite the popular guy in school; not bad for a total bookworm.
How do you define a classic work or author?
Probably something that is widely appreciated and widely taught/held up as an example.
What are your favorite classic works?
I don't read much and I'm going to leave out quite a few, but my favorites:
Western: Candide, Notre Dame de Paris, Jungle Book, Gargantua and Pantagruel, Don Quixote, The Inferno, Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Tale of Two Cities, The Periodic Table (to my shock, it wasn't about Chemistry), The Prince, Return of the Native, 1984, Animal Farm, Common Sense, Wealth of Nations, Democracy in America, Leviathan, Social Contract, Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn, works by Homer, Virgil, Poe, Verne, Moliere
Eastern (not as many favorites here): The Analects, Tale of Genji, Midnight's Children, Ramayana, Journey to the West, Camel Xiangzi, Muqaddimah
If you had to suggest just one, which would it be and why? (please not, "because it's good" )
Hmm, I really like several of them, they're good in different ways. I will say though:
Western: Candide. I love the story-telling; it moves very rapidly and everything is done quite comically. And yet, there is a satire to it if you choose to read it on that level (it's not necessary though). Next in line would be Notre Dame de Paris, probably.
Eastern: Hmm, tough to choose. Midnight's Children is nice, but kind of topical. I'd probably go with Journey to the West or Camel Xiangzi since they deal with larger themes and give you a better idea of creative thinking in Eastern works. It's pretty different from Western ideas. Ramayana is pretty cool as well.
What have you staunchly refused to read that might be considered a classic?
Well, not refused, but I could never get through Hesse's Siddartha
Why don't you want to read it?
It was really boring for me. I could not get past the first few chapters. I don't really know.. it just wasn't for me.