The Most Overrated Classics
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- Reuben 92
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Re: The Most Overrated Classics
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- RegularGuy3
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- Reuben 92
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- Glamdring
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I adore Dumas and Maupassant too, or French classic literature in general.
- Reuben 92
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- Glamdring
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Reuben: you read French classic literature in english or french? I tried to learn french and read it, but very difficult.
- Reuben 92
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- Steph K
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I would have to agree with you about Dracula. It always seems to work better on film. I don't think the epistolary concept conveys the story as well as other methods could have.Zupanatural wrote:Yes and yes, I never got the hype around either of these two. Ok, they give good insight into the societies with which they deal but there is very little to get excited about in terms of plot or style. I would also add Dracula to the overrated list- Bram Stoker conceived a great story & then proceeded to make a hash of the actual narration of it. Obviously just my opinion thoughmaiamalanee wrote:Classics as required reading have a purpose. Besides the classic, "read this and we'll discuss it next week," that we've all been through in high school, I've taken a lot of literature classes that really make you think about the books in different ways. For me, The Great Gatsby, Moby Dick, and Pride and Prejudice are the most overrated classics.
As for underrated, I think the genius of Maupassant & Wilkie Collins is largely lost on 21st century readers. Ok, they were dealing with French & British society in the mid-19th so that's kind of understandable but both have an incredible ability to tell stories (often witty) which compel from start to finish.
- Manang Muyang
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I know Shakespeare was a great playwright, but the words and style from antiquity are a lullaby to me. Though I have a thick volume of all his works, I have yet to read all of them.
I struggled with Thomas Hardy's "The Return of the Native" in school, but I recently bought a copy so I can give him another chance with the wisdom I have hopefully gained since school haha.
I do cherish my "Sherlock Holmes" collection and remember "Wuthering Heights" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" with fondness.
By the way, I think the classics should include our beloved "Cinderella," "Snow White," "Beauty and the Beast," etcetera. What do you think?
- Reuben 92
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And good to hear from you, Miriam Molina I can understand how Hardy might have been a struggle at a young age, but I definitely recommend him highly. Not everyone enjoys his writing, but I always tell people to try one novel and see what they think! As for fairy tales, yes I very much think they count as classics - not only have they stood the test of time, but they inspire remakes and rewrites regularly And they can be just as ambiguous and tricky to read as much longer "literary" works!
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- Brandi Noelle
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Overrated:
"A Tale of Two Cities" - Charles Dickens
"The Scarlet Letter" - Nathaniel Hawthorne
"Anthem" - Ayn Rand (anything by Ayn Rand, really)
"Grapes of Wrath" - John Steinbeck
"To Kill A Mockingbird" was not my taste, but I do think it's a good story and well-written. I wouldn't consider this overrated, just not my favorite.
Classics I recommend:
"A Farewell to Arms" - Ernest Hemingway
"The Great Gatsby" - F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Gone With the Wind" - Margaret Mitchell
"Little Women" - Louisa May Alcott
anything by Mark Twain
anything by Jane Austen
Shakespeare
- Reuben 92
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-- 17 Oct 2017, 19:17 --
Thanks so much Brandi Noelle, that's quite a detailed list! Must admit I loved "The Scarlet Letter" and also "The Grapes of Wrath", but I have never got round to reading "Gone With the Wind" yet, so I might give that a go soon!
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- Brandi Noelle
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"Gone With the Wind" often gets dubbed as strictly a romance, so I don't think it attracts many male readers. However, it is a fabulous Civil War saga that focuses on the fall of the antebellum era into reconstruction. An epic historical novel, well worth the read.
- Reuben 92
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