I’ve been making a conscious effort to read more classics lately. Over the past year, I’ve worked through Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, East of Eden, David Copperfield, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Stoner, a couple of Austen among others. I find myself especially drawn to their steady pacing and clearly unfolding plots, the kind of storytelling that lingers quietly but deeply.
Please recommend me a few books, also tell me why I should read them.
by GranmaRin
4 Comments
The Iliad, by Homer. The birth of Western literature. The Iliad is actually not the story of the Trojan War; it is the story of the disastrous results of one person’s uncontrolled anger. Although the backdrop is an epic war, I found it to be very much an anti-war story. Read it and find out why.
The Odyssey, also by Homer. After the Trojan War, one of the Greek leaders wants nothing more than to return home to his beloved wife and son, but this is easier said than done. One of the most epic love stories of all time; also an adventure story and a coming-of-age story. Again, read it and find out.
Thomas Hardy, EM Forster and Wilkie Collins fit the bill.
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier – well paced, psychologically tense in a very satisfying way
Middlemarch – George Eliot – I think it fits your description of steady, quiet and deep.