The books I'd like to address in this classics series aren't just known for being difficult--they are known for containing the wisdom of the entire human race; for shaping the lives of generations of men and women who have read them, who in turn shaped the rest of the world around them. The classics perhaps have a reputation as being difficult because they are books that richly reward multiple readings. They are the type of book that you get more out of with each reading. That is why they have lasted for hundreds, or in some cases, thousands of years They are also the type of book that reaps even greater rewards when being discussed and thought about passionately. This is mostly my reasoning for creating this series. I don't particularly just want to rant about each book. What I really want to do is discuss the ideas and the writing of the book with the other readers on here, so that we can get a (Socratic?) dialogue going, which will lead to illuminations we might not have otherwise stumbled upon from these novels, poems, short stories, essays, treatises, plays, or sacred scriptures. Also, I want to get other people enthusiastic about literature, and hopefully turn them onto some good books. If nothing else, at least writing about each book will flesh out my own opinions of the work, and what exactly I have taken from it. Sometimes these things aren't easily seen until one does the actual work of discussing the book.
In a week or so, I will have a post ready about the King James Old Testament. Everyone, get psyched!
--Edward
Well, now, Mr. Renaissance Man, here's the post I was anticipating. First thing in order-- congrats on almost finishing the KJ Old Testament. Sheesh. What an ass-punisher that old thing must be. Booooring. (Kidding.... kind of.)
ReplyDeleteI AM indeed psyched to hear your colorful and distinctive spin on the OT. I'm sure it will be unlike any other review out there. I also find it so beyond fucking laughable that you used that particular piece of Western Literature as your way to brush up (or as you put it, put on your first coat of paint). You're very brave to conquer that as your first attempt to become reacquainted with the world of literature. You're gonna get some meat on your bones after this.
Also... you may be on your own here for a while, unless you specifically read things other writers have read or read things for the book club... because I highly doubt many readers out there have read many, if any, of the classics. Just a thought!
I love the way you put this to really put into perspective why anyone might do this: "they are known for containing the wisdom of the entire human race; for shaping the lives of generations of men and women who have read them, who in turn shaped the rest of the world around them."
ReplyDeleteI guess this seems pretty obvious to you, but it takes some reminding for me, just because I've always been rather out of touch with great literary works and the effects they've had on the history of man. I've been trying to get into my own sort of first coat of paint because I feel like I missed a lot of it during school, and also because I missed reading in general after getting out of college. Since then I've read Lush Life (highly recommend this - one of the writers from the Wire wrote it I believe), Watchmen, A Supposedly Fun Thing that I'll Never Do Again, Klosterman IV (this and A Supposedly Fun Thing were two of my favorites of all my reading, especially since I haven't read a lot of this type of essay, and both writers are hilarious, honest, and moving in a lot of ways), the entire HP series (4 of the books for the first time), The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, The Catcher in the Rye, The Call of the Wild, The Old Man and the Sea, and now I'm trying to finish A Brief History of Time, and there may be some others I forgot. Granted, only a few of those could be considered part of the great literature or at least part of the reading list of classrooms, but I mostly just wanted to boost my self confidence a little in a medium where I haven't had too much over the years. I would like to read some of the works that you'll conquer in this series, Edward, so I'm really glad you're going through them. It's great to hear a much more in-depth account of these, as I enjoyed with the Beatles albums, since I've been familiar with so much of it, yet there's still so much I never knew about it.
Looking forward to the KJOTDiMB post.