classic? pshaw.

Mon Nov 29, 2004 11:57 am

have you ever read a so-called "classic" book and wondered why the heck it was considered masterful enough to be called a classic?

i read anna karenina last year and, while it was decent, i certainly couldn't find the glittering genius it's supposed to hold. maybe it was the translation.

anyone else read a not-so-classic classic?

Wed Dec 01, 2004 4:28 pm

The mind-numbingly vocabulary-and-plot-impaired Catcher in the Rye and the pointless and confusing Great Gatsby.

Wed Dec 01, 2004 5:54 pm

Wuthering Heights. Not that I finished it. I was too busy using it to bash myself repeatedly on the head so I could FORGET THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE.

Wed Dec 01, 2004 7:03 pm

Little Women. My gosh..Compared to my all time favorite classic, Alice In Wonderland, it sucked.
Everyone almost always talked in third person, And it wasn't even realistic.

Wed Dec 01, 2004 7:10 pm

Although Little Women is fiction, it was based on Louisa May Alcott's life.... I'd say that's pretty realistic.

But I agree with Catcher in the Rye. It was probably one of my least favorite books.

Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:14 pm

vkceankraz wrote:Although Little Women is fiction, it was based on Louisa May Alcott's life.... I'd say that's pretty realistic.

But I agree with Catcher in the Rye. It was probably one of my least favorite books.

True, but some of the things the characters say are so...not normal. Heck, her mother let her sister get away with getting totally drunk at a party.

Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:27 pm

Igg wrote:Wuthering Heights. Not that I finished it. I was too busy using it to bash myself repeatedly on the head so I could FORGET THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE.

Oh my god. I got to around page 30, then gave up. I couldn't find the least strand of plot in it, and the gothic style wasn't click'n for me.

Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:57 pm

Squinchy wrote:
Igg wrote:Wuthering Heights. Not that I finished it. I was too busy using it to bash myself repeatedly on the head so I could FORGET THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE.

Oh my god. I got to around page 30, then gave up. I couldn't find the least strand of plot in it, and the gothic style wasn't click'n for me.

I'm not someone who gives up easily on books, but that is SO DULL.

Wed Dec 01, 2004 10:04 pm

MOBY smurf. <-- HAHA. Moby Smurf. Funny. Err, well, you can probably figure that out.

Honestly now. An entire chapter about Captain Ahab giving up smoking? No. No. No.

Thu Dec 02, 2004 2:33 am

Ok quick bit about Catcher in the Rye, I loved it, but what I've noticed is that people either really like it or really hate it. There isn't really an in between

Thu Dec 02, 2004 3:42 am

ohhh i forgot about catcher in the rye! i'm so happy to find others who hated it too! :hug:

moby...you know who (:roflol:) , the white whale, was one of two books i've ever put down in frustration. the other was the prince and the pauper. but i was twelve. maybe i should try it again.

but i loved wuthering heights...

Thu Dec 02, 2004 6:45 am

I'd probably like moby.. um.... Dwimmerlaik... but Catcher in the rye must die. Please.

I personally don't at all get why Esperanza Rising suddenly counts as a classic.
It.
Sucks.
Beyond all belief, this book is awful. If I ever see a bilingual person who gives translations of what they're saying to someone who speaks the language they spoke originally, I'll die of shock. I HATE books where people say stuff like "Gracias-- thank you". Seriously, if you're aiming for a group of readers who can't figure that out, even with the FREAKING FOOTNOTES you put at the bottom... don't write. Please, don't.
Plus the book's not even old enough to be a classic. Why aren't we required to read, say.... Cantebury Tales? Beowulf? Lord of the Rings? Spider-Man comics? (Seriously, those ock. I mean, rock.)

Heh, I just realized that Cantebury Tales and Beowulf probably ARE required reading... but I'll only say they are when I or somebody I know is assigned them.

Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:33 pm

Robinson Crusoe, I really, really tried to give this book a chance. I stuck with it all the way through the agonizing junk till he got stuck on the island hoping desperately that it would pick up there, but it didn't, at all. I should just sell my copy because all it's doing is collecting dust in my room.

Thu Dec 02, 2004 6:01 pm

Eo wrote:Heh, I just realized that Cantebury Tales and Beowulf probably ARE required reading... but I'll only say they are when I or somebody I know is assigned them.

now you do! i was assigned part of canterbury tales and all of beowulf in the eleventh grade. i've had to read a few of the CTs in college, too.

Fri Dec 03, 2004 3:33 am

skizzy the wonder lizard wrote:
Eo wrote:Heh, I just realized that Cantebury Tales and Beowulf probably ARE required reading... but I'll only say they are when I or somebody I know is assigned them.

now you do! i was assigned part of canterbury tales and all of beowulf in the eleventh grade. i've had to read a few of the CTs in college, too.

Oh, pur-lease. You already got Beowulf, and I got Canterbury Tales the day you wrote this.

Spiderman is just not educational material.

English teachers by and large have an unhealthy aversion to fantasy, though. Much agreement there.