Easy-to-read classics

Napoleon Plural · August 2009

Well, I tried tackling The Hunchback of Notre Dame and I know it's a classic and all that, but I couldn't get through it. Same with Crime and Punishment.

On the other hand, Carry On Jeeves is great fun! And now I am tackling Scoop by Evelyn Waugh.

I've got English A' level, I should be able to take all comers but let's face it, Bleak House (which I did read for my course years back) is a slog while other classics clock in at under 300 pages; Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four for instance.

Any suggestions?

Loeffelholz · August 2009

The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett B-)

I was an English Lit Major as well, but you don't need that to enjoy this one, which is clean, economical, and restricted third-person in its purest form...

Mr Martini · August 2009

I never liked reading back in high school. One book I did enjoy reading was Animal Farm by George Orwell . Can't remember why I liked it. I just did.

TonyDP · August 2009

I read The Maltese Falcon in college as well and even though I'm not a fan of the "Hardboiled Detective" genre I did find this one to be a good, fun read that held my attention. Good choice.

Since my tastes veer more towards the fantastic I'll offer up a couple of sci-fi gems:

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - An undisputed classic of the genre, Wells takes us on a tour of man's distant future and it isn't all pretty. Short, fast, very well paced and quite accessible even to non-fans of the genre.

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke - Considered by many to be Clarke's best novel and another genre staple, CE is one of those "big idea" sci-fi tales that tells us the story of the Overlords, who come to Earth and forever alter mankind's destiny and place in the universe overnight. Not the most uplifting novel, but the ending to this one stayed with me for a long long time after I finished reading it.

Dan Same · August 2009

Life's too short to read novels which you don't enjoy simply because they're 'classics.' That said, there are plenty of classics, which I would describe as universally acclaimed works published pre-1958, that are easy to read and extremely enjoyable.

Here are ten: (in no specific order)

1)Animal Farm- my favourite Orwell novel, I first read it when I was young and adored it as a tale of animals taking over a farm. As I grew older, and I understood its subtext, my appreciation of it grew. I think it's a masterpiece and truly one of the greatest novels ever published; its extraordinary final line is IMO a contender for the title of 'greatest ever closing line.'

2)The Big Sleep- the first of Raymond Chandler's seven magnificent novels to centre on legendary private eye Phillip Marlowe. An absolute classic of literature, it is cool, elegent, is superbly written, and is tremendously exciting. Don't expect to follow the plot, just put yourself into Chandler's hands (put those thoughts out of your mind :v) and you won't be disappointed. As an interesting side-note, the great Ian Rankin has listed the awesome first paragraph as his all-time favourite opening paragraph. I'm not surprised as, like the rest of the novel, it's an absolute ripper. If you enjoy The Big Sleep, get his other novels, with Farewell My Lovely and The Long Goodbye being (along with The Big Sleep) his masterpieces.

3)Pride and Prejudice- I know, I know, it's not very manly to admitt that I love this novel, but so what, I do!

It's one of the most beautiful and most romantic novels ever published, which incidentally also features a great opening line.

4)Dracula- arguably the most influential horror novel ever published, it is also one of the best. Told amost entirely through the use of letters and diary entries, it is wonderfully written and quite easy to read. Although, given that it was only published in 1897, that's not so surprising. Nonetheless, it is alot easier to read than (the much older) Frankenstein, which I am not recommending for precisely that reason. Read Dracula; if you love it, then perhaps explore other gothic/horror novels. It is certainly a great place at which to start

5)Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde- written by Robert Louis Stevenson who is probably best known for Treasure Island and Kidnapped, it is a magnificent work which can't easilly be classified into specific categories. It's not an easy novel to read, however it is short; it's actually a novella. On that basis, I would recommend it, for it is a novel of great power which, along with Dracula and Frankenstein, is generally considered to be one of the three greatest horror novels to emerge from the 19th century.

6)A Study in Scarlet- the first of the Sherlock Holmes novels, it centres on an arrogant, depressive drug addict who seems to have a knack for solving crimes.

It's a wonderful novel, which isn't particularly difficult to read, and which actually presents a much more complexed character than I presended him as. I love it, and as someone who mainly reads crime fiction (I read alot of other stuff as well, such as Stephen King, but crime is my favourite genre), I can tell you that this is the granddaddy of crime fiction.

7)Great Expectations- yes, I know, a novel by Dickens. But unlike Bleak House, it's quite easy to read. I think it's the best of the (few) Dickens novels that I've read, and it's alot easier to read than it might appear. Give it a go.

8)The Hobbit- yes, you could read Lord of the Rings, but that's three huge novels. This is one novel, not particularly large, and it's fantastic.

No matter how old you are, and you're not that old NP, :v you are never to old to read this delightful fantasy novel. Well, it might be fantasy, or it could be J.R.R. Tolkien's own version of Roots.

)

9)Of Mice and Men- I'm tearing up as I write this,

but this novella was one of the most beautiful works ever published. Written by John Steinbeck, it tells of the life-long friendship between two men. It's magnificently written, is extremely sad, but is also a work which you are unlikely to ever forget. I would strongly recommend it.

10)Lord of the Flies- a very nice novel about a group of extremely pleasant schoolboys who remind me of some of the kids I went to school with.

) Only one of those statements is incorrect. :v Anyway, it's a masterpiece which is completely terrifying, and I wouldn't recommend reading it just after you had dinner BTW, however it is absolutely 'unputadownble'

and is a novel not to be missed.

Books, authors, years-
1)Animal Farm, George Orwell, 1945
2)The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler, 1939
3)Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin, 1813
4)Dracula, Bram Stoker, 1897
5)Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886
6)A Study in Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1887
7)Great Expectations, Charles Dickens, 1860/1861
8)The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937
9)Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck, 1937
10)Lord of the Flies, William Golding, 1954

NP, here are two more novels which are wonderful, but actually break the rules. :v To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, was actually published in 1960, but is a masterpiece which I simply must recommend. Also Musashi, which was published by Eiji Yoshikawa in 1935, is actually over 900 pages long.

However, I can assure you that it's absolutely worth the effort.

Oh, one more thing, put me down as another person to recommend The Maltese Falcon; it's a wonderful novel.

Rick Roberts · August 2009

Mr Martini wrote:

I never liked reading back in high school.

Really, who did ?

)

I am reading more then I ever did.

I enjoyed Arsene Lupin and the adult hannibal lector books.

Dan Same · August 2009

Rick Roberts wrote:

Really, who did ? )

I am reading more then I ever did.

I enjoyed Arsene Lupin and the adult hannibal lector books.

You mean that you like all of the Hannibal Lector novels except for Hannibal Rising?

Rick Roberts · August 2009

Dan Same wrote:

Rick Roberts wrote:

Really, who did ? )

I am reading more then I ever did.

I enjoyed Arsene Lupin and the adult hannibal lector books.

You mean that you like all of the Hnnibal Lector novels except for Hannibal Rising?

Yeah. My favorite one being Hannibal.

Dan Same · August 2009

Rick Roberts wrote:

Yeah. My favorite one being Hannibal.

Well, I can understand why, Hannibal Rising was a travesty.

My favourite is The Silence of the Lambs, followed by Red Dragon, and then Hannibal. Yes, I know, it's probably not particularly surprising however I have always regarded The Silence of the Lambs, and to a lesser extent Red Dragon, to be among the greatest crime novels ever published.

Rick Roberts · August 2009

Dan Same wrote:

Well, I can understand why, Hannibal Rising was a travesty.

I can't blame Thomas Harris too much. Dino De Laurentiis, producer of the Lector films, demanded that Harris write an origin story or else he would ask someone else to do so. If Harris wasn't put under pressure, I am sure he would have churned out something better.

Dan Same · August 2009

The problem, however, is the very idea of writing an origin story. Not only did it take any mystery, but it made Hannibal the central character; even in Hannibal, he wasn't the primary character. It's like with the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th film series, they made the villain the central character in later installements. With Hannibal, obviously he was always much more complexed and was never a mere villain, but with HR, it became all about him, and I think that the novels worked best when we saw him through other people's eyes. Plus, as I said, it took away all mystery, and provided a simplistic 'cause and effect' explanation that Hannibal himself would have dismissed. In The Silence of the Lambs, he talked about how (and I don't remember the quote exactly) he wasn't made, he simply was. Or something along those lines.

Dan Same · August 2009

NP, another novel that I would recommend is actually a collection of short stories; The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie (1932). It is a wonderful introduction to one of the finest crime writers, someone who was completely robbed of the Nobel Prize.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as it is a wonderful book.

Rick Roberts · August 2009

Dan Same wrote:

The problem, however, is the very idea of writing an origin story. Not only did it take any mystery, but it made Hannibal the central character; even in Hannibal, he wasn't the primary character. It's like with the Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th film series, they made the villain the central character in later installements. With Hannibal, obviously he was always much more complexed and was never a mere villain, but with HR, it became all about him, and I think that the novels worked best when we saw him through other people's eyes. Plus, as I said, it took away all mystery and provided a simplistic 'cause and effect' explanation that he himself would have dismissed. In The Silence of the Lambs, he talked about how (and I don't remember the quote exactly) there was no beginning, he simply was. Or something along those lines.

HANNIBAL was essentially Lector's book. We went into his world and his mind while he was on the run. That is why enjoyed it, it's Lector in the limelight in a colorful horror rather then in the sidelines of a crime thriller.

I think an origin story could have worked but HANNIBAL RISING was too simplistic for a character like Lector. Yes alot of bad crap happened to him during his childhood which affected him negatively but for someone like Hannibal Lector, who was diagnosed by physiatrists simply as a monster, something more had to be said about how he came to be.

Dan Same · August 2009

Rick Roberts wrote:

HANNIBAL was essentially Lector's book. We went into his world and his mind while he was on the run. That is why enjoyed it, it's Lector in the limelight in a colorful horror rather then a crime thriller.

I think an origin story could have worked but HANNIBAL RISING was too simplistic for a character like Lector. Yes alot of bad crap happened to him during his childhood which affected him negatively but for someone like Hannibal Lector, who was diagnosed by physiatrists simply as a monster, something more had to be said about how he came to be.

It could have worked, maybe, however I still think it takes away the mystery, and I personally wouldn't want that.

The quote which I wasn't sure about was actually "Nothing happened to me,' 'I happened. You can't reduce me to a set of influences.'" Anyway, I would have happier if Hannibal had been the last Lector novel as I think 1)Hannibal's ending was the appropiate ending for the Lector story, and 2)I prefer it when Lector plays a less central role in the story (as in the first two novels.)

Rick Roberts · August 2009

Dan Same wrote:

The quote which I wasn't sure about was actually "Nothing happened to me,' 'I happened. You can't reduce me to a set of influences.'"

I know what you mean. Hannibal is a tremendous egotist and people dissecting him makes him angry.

00-Agent · August 2009

The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway should be added to any list of classics. I only read these books for the first time in the past year and they were all great. You should definitely give one of them try.

Jamesbondjr · August 2009

The Guns of Navarone was favourite of mine when I was about 12, so I guess that would be a fairly easy read. I might dig it out actually and see if I still enjoy it

Lexi · August 2009

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley - very easy to read and quite short too, I think it took me only 2 days to finish it, and a great novel.

Any by Jane Austen, but my favourites are Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility. I think every man should read a book by Austen, she was way ahead of her time and a real window into how us woman think

)

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Brilliant if not chilling novel about how the future could look. Quite Orwellian, but very easy to read and a must on any serious English Lit enthusiast.

Hugo Drax · August 2009

I am reading Anna Karenina at the moment and am enjoying it. It is much more readable than Tolstoy's other classic work, War and Peace.

Alex · August 2009

I loved reading in high school and on sizzling summer island afternoons when everyone was having their "siesta."

My three favorite "classics" are Homer's The Iliad and the Odyssey, Melville's Moby Dick, and Jack London's The Call of the Wild. I was also into fantastic and out of this world stuff from scribe H.G. Wells like fellow sc-fi fan Tony noted.

PS: Also an HP Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard fanatic, but since this is a literary classics thread that's a safe omission. (though they're classics to me)

Lady Rose · August 2009

I found 'Riders' by Jilly Cooper and 'Hollywood Wives' by Jackie Collins easy reads and they are most definitely classics!

)

I've tried reading the classics myself and have found the majority of them extremely hard work. I am, without doubt, a trashy read sort of girl. I read to relax not to stimulate my brain.

I've tried 'Dracula', 'Frankenstein', 'Wuthering Heights' and a few others and never got very far with them. I think part of the problem was I tried reading them in their original form and to be honest, I found the language too much, too heavy. Perhaps I should try again with the 'dumbed down' versions in an easy to read format, then I can just get on with enjoying the story and not having to work out what every sentence means. I'm such a heathen

However, the one book I read, finished and loved was 'The Trumpet Major' by Thomas Hardy.

I recently tried to get my daughter to read the 'childrens classics' and went out and bought 'The Borrowers', 'Heidi' and 'Ann of Green Gables' .... They didn't get opened once. Obviously a chip of the old block. However mention 'Twilight' ....

Where's HardyBoy when you need him? He should have a list as long as your arm to try

)

Mr. Arlington Beech · August 2009

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

Think Lost, meets Home Alone, meets the Marquis De Sade. Decent novel. Comments on how societal hierarchies and group conformity and bystander theory come together to make people be able to do terrible things to one another and other living things

Animal Farm and especially Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell

Comments on Marxism and social collectivism and the movement towards complete governmental control of everyday life. He who controls the future, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the present. Being more equal than equal. Etc.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

classic novels and novellas. some might be a little difficult to read but they're relatively short so you got that going for you.

darenhat · August 2009

I found the works of Alexandre Dumas quite enjoyable...The Count of Monte Cristo being my favorite. Also, his trilogy of Musketeer novels are quite fun (The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Man in the Iron Mask).

As mentioned before, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes strories are great, but Doyle has an extensivie collection of non-Holmes stories, such as the Professor Challenger novels that are quite interesting.

Robert Louis Stevenson is always fun - I really enjoyed The Master of Ballantrae, Kidnapped, and it's lesser known 'sequel' Catriona.

FelixLeiter ♀ · August 2009

A book i recently read on holiday was The Great Gatsby. very short and kept me gripped. i thoroughly enjoyed F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing style and am planning to read more of his books in the near future.
As previously mentioned, George Orwell's 1984 is a fantastic book though it took me several attempts before i managed to read it all the way through. it begins quite slow going i found but ultimately it is a wonderful book that stayed on my mind and has played with it ever since.

some of the books mentioned here i would disagree with though that's probably because i was forced to sit through them during high school. if i read them now i think i would probably enjoy them far more.

mrbond · August 2009

AGATHA CHRISTIE! FOR F**kS SAKE!

Tracy · April 2011

John le Carre's later books are more readable than his earlier ones, starting with the Karla/Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy trilogy. If A Perfect Spy doesn't break your heart a little, I don't know what will

toutbrun · April 2011

Dubliners (Joyce).

Tracy · April 2011

toutbrun wrote:

Dubliners (Joyce).

I'm impressed that Joyce makes it on the easy to read list

)

toutbrun · April 2011

Tracy wrote:

toutbrun wrote:

Dubliners (Joyce).

I'm impressed that Joyce makes it on the easy to read list )

Dubliners is WAY more easy than Ulysses. Everyone talks about Ulysses and how it's genius, but very very few people actually read it because it's way to hard and complicated.

Dubliners is easier.

Lexi · April 2011

Looking over this thread - it's almost embarrassing to admit that I haven't read any 'classics' since I posted my original reply back in 2009

However 1 book I forgot to mention is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Oh, and I've just started reading Ronald Dahl to my 6 year old - George's Marvellous Medicine, and The Fantastic Mr Fox are just a few that we have read, and they are cracking reads!

Tracy · April 2011

Pshaw, Lexi, you're immersing your children in the true classics! I loved James and the Giant Peach and the Witches as a kid.