Part two of last week’s article, which gives my take on some classic literature you were probably supposed to read in high school. Enjoy!
1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – I think of Pride and Prejudice as the precursor for most modern rom-coms. Elizabeth Bennet and her handsome but broody love interest Darcy dance around each other in true hate-to-love fashion, ending, of course, with their marriage. But here’s the thing, I don’t really like rom-coms all that much. “P & P” is a lot of people’s favorite book they read in high school or favorite classic or whatever. So, if you’re into nineteenth century England and/or rom-coms, then go for it, I guess.
2. Lord of the Flies by William Golding – When a group of British schoolboys crash-lands on a deserted island, you know it isn’t going to end well. It doesn’t take long for the boys to take sides, and soon their self-governance turns into a deadly power trip. Most scholars read Golding’s dark tale as a message that the “civilized” west isn’t quite as civilized as we like to pretend. Lord of the Flies is some dark, thrilling stuff. Absolutely recommend.
3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Gatsby is infamous for its place as the best book that your high school classmates had to read or the only one they actually enjoyed. Mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby is caught in a tragic love story which enfolds beneath the eyes of his new neighbor, Nick. Gatsby is the American dream. We’re always chasing the green light, and so forth. But…it really doesn’t live up to the hype. There’s a reason Gatsby is so well liked, Fitzgerald’s writing is very lyrical and it’s a nice book, but totally over-hyped. Plus Fitzgerald was not always a stellar human being, so there’s that too.
4. The Iliad/The Odyssey by Homer- An epic poem that students dread reading but they shouldn’t! Homer’s famed stories set during and after the Trojan War follow some of the biggest-name heroes from Greek mythology, including Achilles and Odysseus. Look, they’re intimidating, I get it. But I’m begging you find a good translator, skip the type scenes where they just catalogue ships and feast like ten times and read it. They’re so good. Please.
5. Hamlet – Yes, Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most lauded tragedies. It’s full of notable monologues that are nice, but kind of hard to read. The story is not bad, but boiled down it’s just a lot of teen angst starting and ending with murder. And some sleeping around. Reminiscent of Macbeth but with a lower body count and more soliloquies.
6. Romeo and Juliet – Listen, we all know how it ends. If you want the details, then go for it but honestly, it’s not even that original? Myths like Pyramus and Thisbe have already done the star-crossed lovers ending in tragedy thing. I mean, they know each other for like a week and a half and are like fifteen? Just go watch one of the hundred film adaptations instead if you’re that into it.
7. Macbeth – Full of murder, backstabbing, witches and prophecies, Macbeth is a wild ride from start to finish. Full of famous one-liners, dramatic reveals, and magic, Macbeth is just a lot of murder and tons of excitement. Say what you want about Shakespeare, but the man knew how to write something gruesome. This is my favorite Shakespeare tragedy for sure.