Recommendations of Classic Books

[KateNox]

I would highly recommend Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevski. It is a bit long read but, believe me, you will not even notice it. His study of characters is unbelievable, how he traces their minds and feelings, without telling everything, just by showing their acts and behavior. He is a true master in that. The psychology in the story, symbols and dialogues - just a thrill to be a part of his literally world.

[ireallylikebooks]

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Such a wonderful book. If you have seen the movie, which I also love, you have only glimpsed the greatness of the book. The plot is much more intricate in the book and the way he ties everything together in the end is mind blowing. It's a long read, but so worth the time.

[dweezel_and_pallie]

I recommend "The Song of Roland," an old french chanson with an interesting history. It gives a quasi-historical telling of Charlemagne fighting off a group of Moors. If you'd like to better understand the medieval mindset toward knights, valor, war, etc. then this is a good read. I found it surprisingly hard to put down.

[kimmyschemy06]

I love a lot of classic books, first of which is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, so that's the first I would recommend. Now, if you love drama with happy ending, Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens, may be for you.

[zaynab_m]

I don't know if anyone has posted this yet, but one of my favourite series is the Anne of Green Gables series. (I'm pretty sure it's a classic.)

[mvinge]

I recommend Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. The novel is incredible in it's grasp and scope of Russia during that time period. The novel is not just about an illicit affair, but also tells a happy love story for two other characters. My favorite love story in all of classic literature.

[Xinceesay]

Crime and Punishment ranks up there!

+1 I`v read it in Russian language, so I was excited by the plot. It reveals not only the mentality of the main hero, but also shows the reflection of the whole epoch. I consider the Fedor Dostoevskij as the most intellectual psychologist in Russian literature ever. He showed as precisely as possible the inside world of the main character. The short historical description is that the author was in prison while wrote the "Crime and Punishment", so he encountered there not only political criminals, but also with the burglars and killers. Writer attentively learned their histories and the ground for their crimes and came to the conclusion that in the most part of cases the crimes were caused by the social arrangement in Russia. So that`s why it`s so interesting. So, that`s why it`s so interesting. You should read it if you want to understand why Russian are so aggressive people and what can lead to crimes and wars as here in this book is given the thin psychological portrait of the whole country according to one example of the main character.

[pratap_km]

"War and Peace" and "Ana Karenina " are the two books which kept me spell bounded. Though both of them are voluminous but it is worth reading. The sketch of characters along with the social circumstances are brilliantly portrayed by Leo Tolstoy.

Then there is "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas which is a brilliant read. Though Mr. Dumas is remembered for his series of the "Three Musketeers", in my opinion The count of Monte Cristo is his best.

[jbt 01]

Jane Eyre by Jane Austin is one the best classics out there! It was so good

[laurelise]

I adore Catharine Maria Sedgwick's Hope Leslie, (1827) which was one of the first American historical novels. It has pretty much everything: Puritans, Native Americans, war, pirates, seduction, crossdressing, true love... Something for everyone! It's a nineteenth-century novel about the seventeenth century, so the style takes some getting used to, but so much happens that it's quite readable once you get into it. Also, this book needs to be a movie, but sadly it hasn't happened yet.

If you like Jane Austen and can get ahold of a copy (not so easy), Rebecca Rush's Kelroy (1812) is like a dark, American Austen novel. Basically, it's about love and money in the early (American) Republic. I've never seen this one turn up on Project Gutenberg or other public domain sights, probably because there aren't that many copies floating around. The re-issue from the nineties(?) is out of print but usually available used on Amazon. I think a new edition is supposed to come out soon, but I can't find mention of it anywhere, so maybe not.

If you're a fan of gothics, check out the work of Charles Brockden Brown, the first American gothic writer. His books are really, really creepy and weird. I think I was more scared by Wieland than I have been by just about anything I've read in the past ten or fifteen years. It features, among other weird things, ventriloquism and spontaneous combustion.

[EmmaBear91]

I recommend The Odyssey by Homer. This is by far my favorite classic. For those of you who don't know, it is the journey of Odysseus. It's got a lot of the gods and creatures from Greek mythology in it. It is a great read for anyone.

[Sonakshi29]

I really like Song of Ice and Fire Book Series

[renukaprasad_7136]

"To the Lighthouse" by Virginia Woolf. She is among my favorite English writers, her prose is beyond measure and "To the Lighthouse" is the perfect example of this. It makes you appreciate what an utter genius she was and her incomparable style. This novel does justice to exploring the intricate complexity of human relationships, sexual prejudice and expectation, and the sheer tumult of emotions in a person. Greatly recommended.

[kayper]

Wuthering Heights is a good one

[Candace Barrett]

Withering Heights is a tragic love story about two people that live each other but, because of social classes they never end up together