Overrated classics

[Art Vandelay]

I agree with ER- the Brothers Longashellazmov. I read it a few years ago to brag, about how smart I was for reading it. In retrospect, I'm now embarrassed to admit I kept pushing through a book for weeks, that I didn't find enjoyable.

I haven't reread Moby Dick as an adult, but I remember thinking it sucked in high school. The vast majority of classics I've reread as an adult, I've enjoyed.

[Katy Lied]

Wow. I am exactly the opposite. I found Les Miserables long, boring, and am baffled that anyone other than potboiler fans would think it great art. Dostoyevsky, OTOH, is such a significant voice in so many literary movements. Though I am torn because Nabokov, a writer I adore even more than Dostoyevsky, didn't think much of him.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I agree with ER- the Brothers Longashellazmov. I read it a few years ago to brag, about how smart I was for reading it. In retrospect, I'm now embarrassed to admit I kept pushing through a book for weeks, that I didn't find enjoyable.

I haven't reread Moby Dick as an adult, but I remember thinking it sucked in high school. The vast majority of classics I've reread as an adult, I've enjoyed.

I am going to give Moby Dick another shot. I read it years ago and didn't like it, but I have read several books on the whaling industry (including the incident upon which Moby Dick is based) since then so I think I would enjoy it more the this time.

[ERCougar]

Wow. I am exactly the opposite. I found Les Miserables long, boring, and am baffled that anyone other than potboiler fans would think it great art. Dostoyevsky, OTOH, is such a significant voice in so many literary movements. Though I am torn because Nabokov, a writer I adore even more than Dostoyevsky, didn't think much of him.

Lol. Les Miserables a potboiler? I know everyone has his/her own tastes, and I've made no secret of a long time love for this book (maybe my favorite ever), but goodness--I don't get this one at all. Too long? Too self-indulgent? Too melodramatic? Sure, I can understand any of those criticisms. Potboiler? Lol.

I'm open to convincing on Dostoyevsky. Convince me.

[ERCougar]

I am going to give Moby Dick another shot. I read it years ago and didn't like it, but I have read several books on the whaling industry (including the incident upon which Moby Dick is based) since then so I think I would enjoy it more the this time.

Ooh yeah--this is on my list too.

[BigFatMeanie]

I am going to give Moby Dick another shot. I read it years ago and didn't like it, but I have read several books on the whaling industry (including the incident upon which Moby Dick is based) since then so I think I would enjoy it more the this time.

If you can get past the chapter on whale biology and taxonomy, Moby Dick is a decent read.

I read the full unabridged version of Les Miserables and enjoyed it. I actually liked the French military history parts. I probably would have hated it as a teenager but as an adult I would look up the place names and the battles and read about them - it provided a lot of context to the story. I also read War and Peace and enjoyed it.

Count me as a stalwart member of the "couldn't finish Crime and Punishment" club. Dostoevsky stinks like a Tijuana zonkey.

[woot]

I've heard that Ulysses is a classic only because it is astutely discussed other literature and literary themes, not because it is in itself a good story (or whatever else usually makes something a classic). My impression is therefore that reading Ulysses only makes sense if one is deeply interested and very knowledgeable of the same literature and history that interested Joyce. So maybe UIysses would be a good capstone after a lifetime of reading, or I guess if you have a lot of tolerance, it could be read along with a commentary or something. Otherwise, it doesn't seem like people have success with it.

Even Lolita is so rich that I found the annotated version very helpful. (although the audio version read by Jeremy Irons is amazing. Seriously, listen to the opening words: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysV6zkfqePg )

[SteelBlue]

Wow. I am exactly the opposite. I found Les Miserables long, boring, and am baffled that anyone other than potboiler fans would think it great art.

Interesting how we all have such different tastes. I read Les Miserables shortly after returning from my two years in Europe, and I found every bit of the unabridged version to be worthwhile. The book left me feeling like a man changed for the better by the time I was finished with it. I can't think of another novel that has had such an effect on me and the way that I view humanity.

[Donuthole]

Lol. Les Miserables a potboiler? I know everyone has his/her own tastes, and I've made no secret of a long time love for this book (maybe my favorite ever), but goodness--I don't get this one at all. Too long? Too self-indulgent? Too melodramatic? Sure, I can understand any of those criticisms. Potboiler? Lol.

I'm open to convincing on Dostoyevsky. Convince me.

Stop being such a Francophant.

[Omaha 680]

Oh man that's awesome. I admit to having read his big 3 books. The last one was wearing really thin because the formula was just too apparent, but overall I must say I enjoyed them. The writing is pretty terrible (as this editorial demonstrates nicely), but I don't often have the motivation to read fiction anymore and he manages to include a cliff-hanger at the end of most every chapter. I imagine that'd be good for me. I might pick it up sometime.

This is what made my wife give up Dan Brown. She said the end of each chapter was like going to commercial break during a Howie Mandell game show. To much manufactured suspense.

[wuapinmon]

Don Quixote. Sorry Wuap, I'm just being honest.

Lebowski, I will give you a dukedom in Barataria if you'll ban this moron immediately.

[Katy Lied]

Don Quixote is wonderful. Most of the books under discussion in this thread are wonderful.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Don Quixote is wonderful. Most of the books under discussion in this thread are wonderful.

Except for Les Miserables? lol.

[Pelado]

I read the abridged version. They skipped the 200 pages describing the battles. It was great.



I couldn't finish Crime and Punishment. Join the club.

I was fascinated by Crime and Punishment, but never did finish Brothers Karamazov.

[Surfah]

Great Expectations, The Great Gatsby, Robinson Crusoe, The Awakening, pretty much everything by Joyce especially Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake.