I read quite a number of classics last year and sometimes I have things to say about some of them. Who knows, maybe you’ll find something you’ll like!
(Short post this week because even though I cut back on my schedule, I’m still struggling with how I see my blog… maybe I need a break haha)
My Cousin Rachel, Daphne du Maurier
Technically a popular classic, but oh well.
Read this if you like books about poison and tension and murder! While I think I like Rebecca better, du Maurier has such lovely, atmospheric prose that even if the story isn’t for you, at least the way it’s told is pretty.
[Also, if you abbreviate My Cousin Rachel to MCR, you can probably speak about it and confuse people because without context, are you talking about the rock band My Chemical Romance or something else?]
From the bestselling author of Rebecca, another classic set in beautiful and mysterious Cornwall.
I threw the piece of paper on the fire. She saw it burn …Orphaned at an early age, Philip Ashley is raised by his benevolent older cousin, Ambrose. Resolutely single, Ambrose delights in Philip as his heir, a man who will love his grand home as much as he does himself. But the cosy world the two construct is shattered when Ambrose sets off on a trip to Florence. There he falls in love and marries – and there he dies suddenly. In almost no time at all, the new widow – Philip’s cousin Rachel – turns up in England. Despite himself, Philip is drawn to this beautiful, sophisticated, mysterious woman like a moth to the flame. And yet …might she have had a hand in Ambrose’s death?
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
There is something strangely engaging about Hemingway’s prose. It’s simple, and yet the way he conveys ideas and images with words is impressive. Would recommend, even if only for a prose study.
This short novel, already a modern classic, is the superbly told, tragic story of a Cuban fisherman in the Gulf Stream and the giant Marlin he kills and loses—specifically referred to in the citation accompanying the author’s Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.
Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie
I’m not sure how I feel about this children’s classic, but I think there’s something to be said about how it mixes both dark and light things into one story — the tone shifts are strange sometimes, but it can be oddly compelling. I know a lot of people love this book, so if you haven’t picked it up, perhaps it’ll be an opportunity to compare and contrast the general modern depiction of Peter Pan vs. the original version in the book/play.
One starry night, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell lead the three Darling children over the rooftops of London and away to Neverland – the island where lost boys play, mermaids splash and fairies make mischief. But a villainous-looking gang of pirates lurk in the docks, led by the terrifying Captain James Hook. Magic and excitement are in the air, but if Captain Hook has his way, before long, someone will be walking the plank and swimming with the crocodiles…
Who Would Have Thought It?, María Amparo Ruiz de Burton
This is satire and although it’s been a while since I’ve read it, it’s a fairly easy read with a lot of social commentary. (And also a relatively happy ending.)
A major rediscovery—the first novel by a Mexican American Woman
María Amparo Ruiz de Burton was the first Mexican American woman to write novels in English and the first nineteenth-century California writer to publish a novel in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War. Her first book, Who Would Have Thought It?, tells the story of Lola, a young, orphaned Mexican girl rescued from Indian captors by one Dr. Norval, who returns with Lola to his New England home. Though the townspeople initially shun the interloper, they become transfixed by Lola once word about the gold accompanying her gets out. Through the riveting personal story of a young girl’s coming-of-age, Who Would Have Thought It? offers a stunning portrayal of the clash of cultures and communities, and a fresh perspective on Civil War America.
That’s all for now!
Let me know if you’ve read any of these classics — or will be giving them a try! I believe all of these books (except for My Cousin Rachel) are in the public domain, so they should be relatively easy to access.
Catch you later in another two weeks!
All the best,
