I just got into reading recently. I’ve read three books 1984, the Sun Also Rises, and East of Eden. While I enjoyed the first two books well enough it wasn’t until I read East of Eden that I really fell in love with the book. I didn’t want to put the book down. I want to read more classic books but specifically stories that really grip you. I read of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath in high school so those aren’t really options. Just curious what other older books have that level of immersion?
Edit: also read the Great Gatsby in high school and really enjoyed it. Tried reading Tender is the Night but bounced off it
by eputley
7 Comments
Tale of 2 Cities will fill a good slot!
You will never look at knitting the same way 🧶
Try the Great Gatsby, if you didn’t read it in high school.
Super smooth, beautiful prose but not so dense to trip you up. It’s very widely read for a reason, though I think a lot more easy to appreciate as an adult than a teenager, when most people are exposed to it. If you did read it in a high school english class, I’d genuinely rec returning to it as an adult. Very fun experience.
You also might enjoy Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih! It reminds me of the mid-century American classics in writing style quite a bit, but it’s a great way to break into a non-western canon.
Judging by the books you’ve already enjoyed, how about the Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald? For a more modern classic, maybe something like Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (buckle up).
Great Gatsby
Moby Dick
Pride and Prejudice
Vanity Fair
You’re looking for Tess of the Durbevilles.
*War and Peace*. Took me a little while to get into it, but then I was hooked.
*Uncle Tom’s Cabin*. Action, adventure, melodrama, tragedy, triumph, you name it. I read it 30+ years ago and some of the scenes are still incredibly vivid in my mind.
Since you mentioned 1984 I’m going to recommend Animal Farm