Book Review: The Scarlet Pimpernel

I've heard this book title for what seems my entire life, and I at last read the novel at the encouragement of a friend who said it was the book that made her start loving to read. I was looking for the perfect book for my 9th/10th grade British Lit class, which is composed of 15 boys who shrivel at the name Jane Eyre and six girls. Pride and Prejudice was just not going to work for this particular class. Fortunately, The Scarlet Pimpernel turned out to be exactly what this class needs.

The story takes place in the midst of the French Revolution, when the guillotine seems to never stop its grisly job. The Scarlet Pimpernel is the English hero, a master of disguise who rescues French nobility from their fate right just at the last moment, much to the embarrassment and fury of the revolutionaries. Lady Blakeney is the brilliant but unhappy young wife of Sir Percy, a dunderheaded English aristocrat. In her zeal to save her brother from the guillotine, Lady Blakeney comes up against the Scarlet Pimpernel, and the story goes from there.

I'm starting my students off with a bit of French Revolution history before they begin the book, and I think we'll need a chart to keep all the characters straight at first; but I anticipate that once they are several chapters into the book, they will really love it. We'll plan to watch the movie together when we finish the book.

The Scarlet Pimpernel (by Baroness Orczy) is not on a single "classics" or "top 100" books to read list that I have ever run across, and I'm not sure why. This is a fabulous, entertaining story. True, it's a little slow at places and somewhat contrived, but what a great novel: it's full of adventure, romance, suspense, and history. It really is a perfect British lit book for reluctant readers especially. It's easy to read, although the first part moves slowly, and the twists and turns just don't stop. Highly recommended.

Book Review: Breakfast at Tiffany's and Other Voices, Other Rooms

I have had these two novellas on my TBR list forever—at least for 20 years. It was about 20 years ago that Nanci Griffith came out with the album "Other Voices, Other Rooms." On the cover photo, she is holding that book by Truman Capote, so I've always known I need to read it.

So when we were in Paris, we went to the famous Shakespeare and Company, and we each wanted to buy a special book there. I saw a beautiful hardback copy of these two Truman Capote novellas together, and I snatched it up. And I'm glad I did, although I can't say I love either one, as much as I wanted to.

Breakfast at Tiffany's: When I was a little girl, I played "Moon River"—from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's— on the piano, and I've always meant to see the movie. I still haven't (I know, I know, and it's even on Netflix) but I will soon. The book was not was I expected. To be clear, Capote is a beautiful writer. There is no doubt about that. He is lyrical and lovely. But the novel itself... Somehow I just always see Audrey Hepburn and hear "Moon River," so I wasn't prepared for this very sad and disturbing story of Holly Golightly, a 19-year-old orphan-turned-society-girl who will do just about anything to climb higher up the social ladder. She wraps everyone around her little finger, completely disregarding their feelings, and then discards them when they are no longer useful. She's so often called "endearing" by critics for her eccentricity and flightiness, but I just found her to be selfish.

Other Voices, Other Rooms: One word—creepy. Joel is a 13-year-old boy who hasn't seen his father since he was an infant but must go live with him when his mother dies. Joel, a city boy, must adjust to a bizarre household in a rotting plantation manor that includes his stepmother, creepy cousin Randolph, and two servants, all wrapped up in secrets. This is southern Gothic for sure, and I never knew what weirdness was lurking around the corner. There was quite a bit of a freak show feel to the novel, with those kind of wonderful southern characters that are one step away from an asylum.

I'm glad I read these two short novels finally. I loved In Cold Blood, even though I know it's not "typical" of Capote's writings. I've also read several of his short stories and especially loved the collection The Grass Harp. Tiffany's and Other Voices are not among my favorites of Capote, but I'm still glad I read them.

Book Review: The Moonflower Vine

I put Jetta Carleton's The Moonflower Vine on my TBR list because it was listed on The Neglected Books Page and sounded like something I would love. My book club thought it sounded so good that it made the list of 2013 books to read. The good news is: I loved it. The bad news: Jetta Carleton only wrote one other novel, Clair de Lune, which I quickly added to my TBR list.

The Moonflower Vine opens from the point of view of Mary Jo, the youngest of four daughters, as the family reunites for its annual two week vacation on the old homestead. The sisters are grown and have their own lives 11 months of the year, but for this short time, the ties of family ground them, bind them, and comfort them. The novel then backtracks to tell each family member's story in his or her own voice.

Matthew Soames is the father, a school teacher and farmer who falls in love too easily. His wife Callie is illiterate and content to be so, which frustrates Matthew. Their four daughters just don't turn out the way they imagined they would, and much of the book is about how they cope with the ups and downs of growing children who inevitably go away, whether physically or emotionally or both.

Each section tells a portion of a family member's life, a slice of something life-changing for him or her, and offers a secret that each member keeps. The stories were thoroughly engrossing and beautifully told. I wanted to savor this book, to make it last for evening after evening. Carleton is a lyrical, poetic writer who beautifully captures the smells, tastes, textures, and emotions of being a parent, a daughter, a teenager, a woman. She reminds me in many ways of Willa Cather, although this novel is less melancholy and wistful than Cather's novels.

I am definitely going to check out more of the lesser known classics on the Neglected Books Page. Who knows what other treasures await?

Book Review: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

My first read of 2013 was a re-read: Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. I read this years ago in a women's lit class during graduate school, and, in fact, wrote what I remember as being a darned good paper on it. Of course that was 25 computers ago and the paper is long since lost.

I'm a big fan of the Brontë sisters, and unfortunately I think Anne gets terribly neglected. Everyone reads (or says they've read) Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but outside of English types and diehard classic lit lovers, I don't think many people know of Anne's amazing novel.

Anne exposes the ugly side of Victorian chauvinism in this novel, exposing the physical and emotional abuse that women endured by their hedonistic, spoiled husbands. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall created quite a ruckus when it was published in 1848 for its boldness and honesty.

The story centers on Helen, a young woman who has married the handsome Arthur, much against the wishes of her guardians. Even before they are married she senses that something is not right, but she goes through with it anyway. Within a month Arthur shows his true colors: he is selfish, excessive, shallow, and he is an alcoholic. (Anne's brother, Branwell, was an alcoholic.) He leaves his young wife for months at a time to party with his friends, returning diminished, ill, and crotchety.

Helen is resigned to a life of a terrible marriage until Arthur starts turning their little boy into "one of the guys," giving him wine and teaching him to curse and demean his mother.

And I'll stop here before giving anything else away. This is a fantastic novel, just as relevant today as it was 150 years ago. I can't help but be amazed at the strength of Anne's writing and her determination and courage in writing such a strong criticism of the double-standards that existed in Victorian society—and still exist today.

Book Review: O Pioneers!

"We come and go, but the land is always here. And the people who love it and understand it are the people who own it— for a little while."

I'm teaching Willa Cather's My Antonia for American Lit right now, and I realized that I've never read her other most discussed novel, O Pioneers. I downloaded this copy free for my Kindle app, although I'd gladly buy it in hardback.

Such a lovely, lovely little novel. O Pioneers has the same wistful, yearning mood as My Antonia, and the main character, Alexandra, reminds one of Antonia. Both are stories of the power of the land and the struggle of immigrants, taking place in Nebraska at the end of the 19th century. Of the two, O Pioneers has the happier ending. (My students are just now reporting that "My Antonia ends so sad!")

O Pioneers centers on Alexandra Bergson, the daughter of a Swedish immigrant who becomes a wealthy landowner because of her own business acumen and foresight. Her older brothers are hard workers but lack creativity and ambition. Her younger brother is her pet—her hope for integrating into America. He goes to college and does well, and Alexandra has great hopes for his future. Of Emil, Cather writes:

"Out of her father's children there was one who was fit to cope with the world, who had not been tied to the plow, and who had a personality apart from the soil. And that, she reflected, was what she had worked for. She felt well satisfied with her life."

Things don't end up quite the way Alexandra hopes. Cather portrays Alexandra as an incredibly strong, multidimensional woman. She is well respected for her business dealings, yet loving and tender with her younger brother, the neighbor women, and Carl, her childhood friend who comes back to her in middle age.

Cather is a beautiful writer, and her descriptions of the simplicity and power of the land are amazing:

"She had never known before how much the country meant to her. The chirping of the insects down in the long grass had been like the sweetest music. She had felt as if her heart were hiding down there, somewhere, with the quail and the plover and all the little wild things that crooned or buzzed in the sun. Under the long shaggy ridges, she felt the future stirring."

O Pioneers! is a sad but beautiful novel, the kind that makes you strangely yearn for a time long ago, in spite of the hardness of the life. Highly recommended.

Book Review: Song of the Lark

My son, now in his sophomore year in college, switched his major to English literature in the middle of his freshman year. I never imagined the burst of joy I would feel when I heard those beautiful words, "I think I'm going to change my major." It isn't that I didn't approve of his former major (entertainment industry), it's just that he is the quintessential English major.

All that to say: when I quizzed him on his favorite book all year, he named Willa Cather's Song of the Lark without hesitation. I am proud to say that I introduced my son to Willa Cather with My Antonia, which I actually didn't read until a few years ago. Oh my goodness. How I adored that book! I have no idea how Willa Cather escaped me all of my years as an English major.

But I had never even heard of Song of the Lark until my son had to read it for a class. I grabbed it from his bookshelf a few weeks ago when I discovered I had nothing to read. Notice I said "a few weeks ago." I was in one of those fall-asleep-after-3-pages kind of months. But that has no reflection on the book.

I loved it. This is the story of a little immigrant girl with a very big voice in a tiny town in Colorado. Everyone in Moonstone knows that Thea is different. It is no surprise when an inheritance from an admirer allows her to go to Chicago to study music. Ultimately she becomes a great opera singer, but not without tremendous sacrifice. This is the portrait of the artist as a young woman and more: the classic struggle of the artist with herself, with society, with the people who love her.

Cather's prose is phenomenal. This is one of those books in which I wanted to keep underlining passages and turning down page corners. Such moments of profundity! Such perfectly poetic descriptions! I am quite sure that Cather is severely neglected in the study of American literature. I don't understand why she is left out of the traditional canon. In my experience students respond enthusiastically to My Antonia, and I suspect Song of the Lark—with its themes of coming of age, search for identity, and struggle of the artist— would also widely appeal to students.

And adults, of course. I loved this novel, not as much as My Antonia, but tremendously. I noticed that there is a PBS movie of Song of the Lark. Sadly, neither Netflix nor our local public library carries it.

Book Review: A Room with a View

Ah, what's to be said about this E.M. Forster classic that hasn't been said already? Published in 1908, Forster paints the painfully restrictive, often silly middle-class English life of Lucy Honeychurch. Lucy wants more than what is expected of her, more than what the social mores of the time allow. She wants a life with a view.

Forster presents the Honeychurches and their community as pillars of all that is good and noble among Englishmen, and he presents the Emmersons, the unconventional, erratic foils to the Honeychurhces. Lucy is doomed to shake loose of convention from the moment George Emmerson kisses her. It just takes her awhile.

Satire, wit, romance: it's all here. It's been 25 years or more since I last read A Room with a View, and now I'm going to get comfy, pull up Netflix, and watch the movie again. Sometimes 1908 is a much, much better place to be.

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice

It’s been decades since I last visited Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy between the pages of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I believe I was in my early 20s when last I read it, and I haven’t even watched any of the Pride and Prejudice movies, I confess. It’s not that I didn’t love the book or Jane Austen, it’s just that I read so very much of Austen, the Brontës, and the like at a particular season of my life that I hadn’t the energy to return.

But I do have fond memories of all of them. I’m going to be teaching Pride and Prejudice in the upcoming year during British Literature, so I thought I’d better reacquaint myself with it. Vacation is a wonderful time to read classics. I had ample time to get lost in the story without interruption, especially on an 11-hour car trip.I love re-reading a novel and having it seem completely new. I really hardly remembered any of the story at all.

But what can be said about Pride and Prejudice that hasn't been said before? But I am curious: which film adaptation is best? I'd also welcome any awesome project/lesson plan ideas for teaching Pride and Prejudice.

Book Review: Murder on the Orient Express

When I was a teenager—probably around 14—I remember a summer that mostly involved sitting in a beach chair by the lake in my backyard, reading Agatha Christie novels and taking a swim or a sail every now and then. I had a great tan that summer, and I remember the satisfaction of finishing one mystery and picking up the next one immediately.

I've been telling my 13-year-old daughter about that idyllic Agatha Christie summer, so I picked up Murder on the Orient Express to see if the mystery still satisfied me. There was my old friend with the awkward name, Hercule Poirot, given the task of finding a murderer. (I read the books before I took French, so I can only imagine how I pronounced that name in my head.) And the mystery unfolded with layer after layer of lies and deceit, mixed with coincidences—or not. Of course I didn't have any recollection of how the whole thing turned out, since my last reading was 30 years ago. That was a nice surprise.

So am I going to go on another Agatha Christie reading spree? Nah. I might pick up another couple sometime when I need a break between heavy reading, but that's probably about it. But I do think I'll encourage my daughter to give Christie a try this summer. Too bad we don't live on a lake.

Book Review: Frankenstein

It's probably been over 20 years since the last time I read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I have to say that I am more astonished now than I was in my 20s that Shelley was just a teenager when she wrote this. A teenager!

I can't imagine anyone doesn't know the plot of Frankenstein, although usually people refer to the monster itself as Frankenstein. While a university student, Victor Frankenstein discovers how to make life by raiding the graveyard and making a man out of corpses. He is horrified by the creature he has built and abandons him. The creature, who starts as a dumb animal, manages to educate himself by spying on a family, and eventually he seeks revenge on Frankenstein.

This novel takes me back to my days as an English major in college, reading sweeping tales with poetic and often challenging language. Makes me ponder why I surrender so easily and regularly to today's novels, with predominately limited vocabulary. Are we that dumbed down?

I am going to be teaching Frankenstein for a British Lit class next year, so I'll be previewing movie versions too. I was disappointed to see that 1994 version is rated "R," as that one sounds like the most accurate rendering.

Book Review: Jane Eyre

I have no idea who J. Swartz is, but I love this quote: "Most books, like their authors, are born to die; of only a few books can it be said that death hath no dominion over them; they live, and their influence lives forever." Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre is, I firmly believe, one of those books that lives forever. I've recently had the pleasure of teaching Jane Eyre to my class of high schoolers, thus getting to read it again for probably the fifth time. I read it first in high school, again in college twice, and probably at least once since college. I wrote a fantastic paper on Jane Eyre once in college and was wishing I could have located it as I taught the class this past month. (Where is that box of college notebooks and papers, anyway? Harumph.)

About half of my students started out very resistant to reading Jane Eyre for whatever reason—a couple had read it before and disliked it, one or two just like to be ornery for the sake of being ornery. They started to come around a little in the first half of the book, and I'm happy to say that at the end, nearly all of them really enjoyed it.

So what makes Jane Eyre such a compelling read? I think that Brontë brilliantly combined a variety of techniques: Gothic horror and mystery, a tragic romance, a rags-to-riches story, and a dose of religious criticism (faith vs. hypocrisy). It's a smart book, and Jane is a smart character. There's not one bit of fluff about her, and we readers want Jane Eyre to succeed. There is something timeless about Jane, something that 17-year-olds and 40-year-olds and 80-year-olds today can still relate to, regardless of gender.

We watched part of the Masterpiece Theatre version of Jane Eyre, and it is excellent. Class time did not allow us to watch the entire show, but my students begged for a movie night in the summer so that we can watch the whole thing.

I've been surprised at them number of adults I've encountered in the past month who have never read Jane Eyre. I thought everyone had read it in school. (I know. I reek of naivete.) I assume everyone knows the love story of plain Jane and ugly Rochester and the—well, no. I won't say it, because perhaps some of you out there have yet to read this classic. Please do.

And aside from the novel itself, here's another reason why I love Jane Eyre.

Other Reviews of Jane Eyre
Becky's Book Reviews
Pages of the Mind
Violet Crush
The Book Lady's Blog
She Reads Books
Lanier's Books

Book Review: The Good Earth

It's been a long, long time since I read this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Pearl S. Buck. I believe we read this in about 8th grade, possibly 9th, and I have vivid memories of the feelings the novel evoked: of a handful of earth, of poverty, and sadness. I read several Pearl S. Buck novels after this one, and I'd like to go back and read them again as an adult.

This is the story of one farmer, Wang Lung, and his family. As a young and very poor farmer, Wang Lung marries the slave O-lan from the rich house, and the two of them work the land until they are prosperous, hiding money in the walls of their hut and buying more land as they can. O-lan bears him several children, including many sons, and as long as she is working beside him, he prospers in all ways.

As Wang Lung becomes more prosperous, his personal life falls apart. He begins treating O-lan with contempt and takes a second wife, who is like a spoiled pet to him. His children grow up to be spoiled, unpleasant adults, and his second wife requires too much attention and material goods. And outside of his own small life, China itself is going through a time of political upheaval that touches Wang Lung in only the most distant ways.

I love Buck's voice; it is simple yet poetic. Her characters absolutely brim with life. Even weeks after reading this book, I can easily conjure up pictures of Wang Lung, O-lan, and the rest of the cast of characters. Rarely do I find images as nearly tangible as those painted by Buck in this novel.

This is one classic re-read that was well worth the the time—and that stands the test of time.

Book Review: A Death in the Family

I hear my father; I need never fear. I hear my mother; I shall never be lonely, or want for love. When I am hungry it is they who provide for me; when I am in dismay, it is they who fill me with comfort. When I am astonished or bewildered, it is they who make the weak ground firm beneath my soul; it is in them that I put my trust. … I hear my father and my mother and they are my giants, my king and my queen, beside whom there are no others so wise or worthy or honorable or brave or beautiful in this world. I need never fear: nor ever shall I lack for loving-kindness.

How is it possible, I mean, seriously, how is it possible that I have never read this classic novel by James Agee? That in 4 years of high school taking every possible English-type class, 4 years in college as an English major, and 2 or 3 years in graduate school as an English/creative writing major, no one ever put Agee on a reading list? I don't get it.

A Death in the Family is, truly, an American classic. In this beautifully lyrical, autobiographical novel, Agee presents the life of the boy Rufus. Rufus is a cherished son in a tiny family with a big extended family. Preceding the novel is the stunning narrative piece called "Knoxville: Summer, 1915." This piece is a slow, dreamy observation of a summer night in a neighborhood from a child's perspective. The novel then opens with the happy life of the Follet family. They are working class people, and Mary and Jay adore each other and their two young children. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles are also central to the family dynamic, and together they make up Rufus's world.

The book is sectioned between straight narrative and Rufus's stream-of-conscious observations. The thoughts of Rufus were heartbreakingly beautiful. I'm not sure I've ever read a more apt description of the happiness and security that comes with being in the midst of a loving, stable family. Agee's narrative writing is simple but powerful; his "Rufus sections" are pure poetry. The combination is staggering.

But Rufus's perfect world must inevitably end. One hot summer night, Jay Follet take a late-night drive to his dying father's bedside north of Knoxville, and on the way home he has a fatal car accident. The rest of the novel dances between Mary's coping, funeral preparations, and the viewpoint of Rufus and his baby sister Catherine. It's all devastating, and like Mary, the reader hopes there has been some mistake.

I have to wonder if I love this novel so much partly because it takes place in Knoxville. I love thinking of Agee's old city, and do certainly delight in watching a Shakespeare performance on the same Market Square that Agee details when Rufus buys his first cap or driving by James Agee St. up on the UT campus. But regardless of place, this is southern literature at its best.

Classics Meme

Book Club Classics has just my kind of meme this week: a classics meme. Here’s the meme:

• What is the best classic you were “forced” to read in school (and why)?
• What was the worst classic you were forced to endure (and why)?
• Which classic should every student be required to read (and why)?
• Which classic should be put to rest immediately (and why)?
• **Bonus** Why do you think certain books become “classics”?

The best classic I was "forced" to read in school: This one, I can't answer. I just don't think I was ever forced to read anything. I was hungry for books all of the time and willing to give anything a try.

The worst classic: I have to say that I truly did not enjoy George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss in high school. I also struggled through Conrad's Heart of Darkness in college. I should probably reread both of those. Likely an adult perspective was what was missing.

The classic every student should be required to read: Easy. To Kill a Mockingbird. Click on the link for reasons why. This year I taught an American Lit class for our homeschooling co-op. What a fabulous year I had revisiting classics! I re-read many and finally picked the following novels and a play (we also read poetry and short stories) for various reasons: The Scarlet Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, My Antonia, Ethan Frome, The Crucible, The Red Pony, To Kill a Mockingbird, and A Separate Peace. I loved sharing these books with my 17 students. As part of the final exam, they had to write an essay detailing their three favorite books from this year and why they chose these books. Reading their essays was both enlightening and delightful. The vast majority of them, to my delight, chose To Kill a Mockingbird as one of their favorites. The rest varied greatly, but each novel was picked by at least one students. I also had them, for extra credit, write an essay detailing which three novels they liked the least. This also varied greatly, but The Red Pony and The Scarlet Letter were among the top contenders.

The classic to put to rest: I really can't, in all good conscience, say that any classic should be put to rest. One classic that I've never read (nor been required to) is Moby Dick. I did try a few times, but I've never managed to get very far. But that doesn't mean that it should be put to rest.

Why certain books become classics: I've talked about that here in a post discussing Entertainment Weekly's new list of classics.

Book Review: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

October 12, 2007

I find classics difficult to review because they've all been reviewed a thousand times, and because, well, they are classics. Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the second book we've read in the American Lit class I'm teaching at our support group's co-op. The students have enjoyed Huck Finn much more than The Scarlet Letter. Huck Finn is, of course, more accessible, and the vocabulary itself, while rich in dialect, is not difficult. But truthfully, class discussion surrounding The Scarlet Letter was more interesting than it has been for Huck Finn. The students probably don't realize that The Scarlet Letter, as archaic as it seems, struck a more familiar chord with them.

I love Huck Finn. On a purely surface level, it's a coming-of-age story--the kind of story that makes every kid want to float down the river in a raft. I was particularly interested, though, in comparing memories of my first reading of Huck Finn over 20 years ago with my most recent reading. What sticks the most in my memory is a wide river, Huck and Jim on a raft, and the never-ending floating. But my reading this time was completely different. For one, the river scenes really aren't the bulk of the book. I didn't even remember the scenes with Jim in captivity or Huck escaping from his father. In my high school lit class, we must have talked primarily about the river--why else would I remember it as such a grand part of the book? Or, perhaps, I just really wanted to float down a river on a raft.

This time around I was terribly appalled at the use of the "N" word. I understand that it was a common term at the time; still, I am uncomfortable with that word appearing a dozen times on each page. I don't remember this from high school, however. Was I less sensitive, or did I just accept an author's literary dialogue as such? When we started reading Huck Finn a few weeks ago, it was Banned Books Week. We had some lively discussion about why books are banned. We all ran up against a brick wall as to why Huck Finn is often banned, although I did cite reasons according to various websites. Still, the only reason we could come up with for ourselves was the use of that word. Would Mark Twain be appalled now? I think probably so.

Mark Twain is a marvelous author. His humor comes out of nowhere. He's the kind of author that makes me say, "Ha! What a genius!" as I'm reading. I feel unworthy, in fact, to teach and review his writing. I wish he were here to explain it all himself.

Classic Literature

August 28, 2007

Yesterday was the first day for my Introduction to American Literature class at our support group's enrichment classes. I have 16 students in grades 9-12, and I absolutely love teaching literature. Teaching literature in this particular setting is a dream job. I get to pick the books. I get to write my own lesson plans. I personally know most of the kids--and their families--in my class. I don't have any government standards to which I have to adhere, and I don't have to teach to any particular test. And in this freedom, I believe we'll thrive together.

A month ago I gave my students their first assignment: to read The Scarlet Letter prior to our first meeting. They did. Well, a couple of them read a combination of the novel and Cliffs Notes, but we cleared that up right away. (That would be addressed in my course notes at #5 under "My Expectations": Cheating includes reading plot summaries of books rather than reading the novels themselves; and more specifically in the "what we're reading" paragraph: Please do not read the Cliffs Notes (or SparksNotes or anything like that) or watch the movie beforehand. ) But, to their credit, they readily admitted reading the Cliffs Notes and claimed "You didn't tell us!" Which is true. But now they know.

But I digress. The kids were quiet, as they normally are in the first few weeks. After that they all warm up and won't stop talking. Nonetheless, the question came up that I was anticipating: What makes a novel classic? I loved hearing their answers, ranging from "it's fun to read" to "it's long and old." So part of their journal assignment for this week is to ponder great literature. They are supposed to write about why they personally think it is or isn't important to read classic literature, and also to ask their parents/grandparents about what they remember about classic literature from their high school years. Ultimately, I hope this will lead to a further discussion of what makes a classic--and why it's valuable to read them.

So, what does make a novel classic?

Post A Comment!.....

Comments

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - 2 words

Posted by DrHibiscus (160.36.250.228)

universal truth

classic literature speaks beyond the story. the story is but the context, the setting in which some universal truth, or universal human condition can be explored. true - many novels do this, but may not couch the universality in a compelling story. others may be great stories, but not contain that grain of universal truth. GREAT writers are able to do both.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - Classic

Posted by Tim Richardson (97.81.28.67)

Books are classics if they meet one of the following criteria:
1) Part of the card game "Authors"
2 If the books smells like it belonged in my grandmother's library (she only kept books that were good to read).
3) If you had to read the book in your 9th or 10th grade English class and spent weeks talking about the symbolism in the book (Great Expectations, To Kill A Mockingbird and ...yes The Scarlett Letter).

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 - It's a classic IF...

Posted by QueenoftheHill (72.12.53.46)

1. It serves as a standard of excellence in literature.

2. Or it is symbolic of a specific style in literature. (Didn't like "A Catcher in the Rye," but they do make you read it in high school.)

3. Or if I read it in high school and cannot possibly live without a copy in my home -- which is a challenge, because I think everyone else should read it and keep lending mine out. I have ordered so many copies of "The Little Prince" by Antoine de St. Exupery and continue to believe that no life is complete and no grown-up truly grown-up until it has been read, embraced and understood.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - won't wax poetic here, BUT

Posted by onfire (206.132.58.134)

the first thing that came to my mind, in trying to embrace more modern literature lately (and not finding much of worth, to be honest)
it does not have gratuitous explicit cheap love scenes or nasty unnecessary foul language.

Book Review: The Scarlet Letter

August 10, 2007

Oh yes, my American Literature students are going to be kissing my feet for this one. I can't remember the last time I had to look up so many words in the dictionary. What authors today liberally sprinkle the pages with words like ignominy, panoply, abstruse, deleterious, importunate, propinquity, loquacity, obeisance, probity, and vicissitude? And right there is a reason for reading A Scarlet Letter: realizing that literature is much more than the action and intrigue of a Tom Clancy novel or the slice-of-life, contemporary novels I so often read. Great literature takes a love triangle and makes a statement about people, society, politics, and religion. And while an extensive vocabulary doesn't mean a piece of literature is a classic, it definitely forces the reader to do a little work.

If only my students can wade through Hawthorne's loquacity to be able to discuss this novel. But I think they'll have fun with some topics:
* How to religious beliefs and colonial laws mix in this novel? How do religion and law mix today?
* How does society demand that we conform to certain conventions? What expectations does society have about how we behave publicly and how we treat other people? What happens when we don't meet those expectations?

I enjoyed re-reading The Scarlet Letter. I predict this will be the most difficult of the novels I've picked for the class I'm teaching at our support group's co-op, but there's something to be said for getting the hard stuff out of the way.

Book Review: Ethan Frome

June 28, 2007

This short novel by Edith Wharton stands my test of time: I loved it upon my first reading in high school, then again in college, and now as a full-fledged adult. (Yes, I really do consider myself a full-fledged adult for the most part.) It has all the elements of a good novel: a man who struggles with his identity, a love triangle, a moral crisis, and a healthy dose of irony. The story is as stark as its New England setting. You can't help but root for Ethan, mentally urging him to shed his tedious life and marriage of convenience, in spite of the moral dilemma posed. The ending throws a twist that I had forgotten and so enjoyed all over again. Ethan Frome has now made it to the short list of books for my American Lit class next year. I'm hoping that the 1993 movie is appropriate for teens; I'll put that on my summer watching list.

Book Review: A Separate Peace

July 5, 2007

I am having a very good week with re-reading classics of American Literature: Ethan Frome, The Red Pony, and now John Knowles' A Separate Peace. This coming-of-age story takes place in an exclusive boys' boarding school right before the U.S. enters WWII. Gene and Phinneas are best friends: Gene has book smarts and Phinneas has everything else, including a magnetic personality that makes him easily the king of the campus. The pending war--and their possible enlistment--hangs over the boys, at times terrifying but most often as a potential adventure. Their lives are changed forever in a split second, in the frightening way that a simple act of aggression can cause irreparable harm. The fall from innocence is brutal and complete, severing them all from the blissful world of academics to the hard world of loss, guilt, anger, and war. Knowles is a beautiful writer, his language concise but poetic. This will be included on my list of required reading for my upcoming American Lit class.

Book Review: The Red Pony

July 3, 2007

Back in my early 20s I used to read through authors. I not only read through nearly everything John Steinbeck wrote, but I also scanned dusty shelves of many a thrift store to complete my personal Steinbeck collection. A particular thrill for me was that, during this Steinbeck extravaganza, I was fortunate enough to drive cross-country from Tennessee to California with my parents. We visited Monterey and its Cannery Row and even saw lots of downtrodden men with a bottles in brown bags, which truly gave an authentic Steinbeck feel to the whole day.

Naturally a Steinbeck novel is essential reading for my American Lit class next year, and I'd narrowed the choices down to Of Mice and Men, The Pearl, and The Red Pony. As of now, The Red Pony is in the lead. I haven't yet re-read Of Mice and Men, but The Red Pony is just such a perfect novel. First published in 1937, this short novel is composed of four separate vignettes in the life of the boy Jody. Through the story Jody faces the hard realities of death, heartbreak, and cruelty but also experiences wild joy, a longing for adventure, and a certainty of his own identity.

Steinbeck is a master of character description, using his trademark sparse language to drill home those universal human truths. There is a wonderful scene in the second chapter, "The Great Mountains," in which Jody, angry at the death of his horse, kills a bird out of sheer meanness. This line follows ends that scene: "He didn't care about the bird, or its life, but he knew what older people would say if they had seen him kill it; he was ashamed because of their potential opinion." There are all kinds of treasures in the same vein throughout the book that will make for great class discussion.