Picking up a classic novel can be intimidating, but it’s also rewarding. You get to finally understand the references and hype (whether or not you agree), while learning about different eras of history and exploring the writing styles of some of the most influential authors of all time. To make your reading decisions easier, here is a place to start: some of my favorite classic novels that you may have not already read.
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
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Of course, I have to start the list with one of my favorite books of all time, the staple of dark academia and Victorian literature, The Picture of Dorian Gray. The novel follows Dorian Gray, a young aristocrat living in London, as he plunges into hedonism and corruption. He sells his soul to stay young and beautiful forever, the only evidence of his age and sins remain hidden on a portrait of himself. The novel deals with themes of aestheticism, homoeroticism, morality, etc. combined with supernatural elements and beautiful writing.
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
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Ken Kesey was a leading figure of the psychedelic era and 1960s counterculture, which is reflected in the pages of his most popular, and frequently banned, novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The story is told from the point of view of the unreliable narrator Chief Bromden, a schizophrenic patient in a psychiatric hospital run by Nurse Ratched. The sadistic Big Nurse (Ratched) keeps the patients compliant through fear and punishment until Randle McMurphy challenges her authority. The novel challenges conformity and the societal view of sanity and mental illness.
- A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
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This criminally underrated novel is told from the perspective of John Wheelwright as he looks back on becoming best friends with the boy who hit a foul ball that killed his mother. Owen Meany is an usually small boy with a squeaky voice who thinks he’s modern-day Jesus and knows exactly how and when he will die. The story is packed with plenty of unique characters and heartwarming bonds mixed in with themes of religion and politics. A Prayer for Owen Meany has a large scope, being over 600 pages, but it is enjoyable and easy to read.
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
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Frankenstein, a cult classic and must-read, uses an interesting frame narrative form to tell the story of scientist Victor Frankenstein, who sews together body parts and brings the creature to life. Fearing what he has created, he flees, only to be followed by the creature, who wreaks havoc on his life out of revenge for making him hideous and consequently alienating him. Shelley combines elements of Gothic literature and the Romantic era to write what is often considered the first science fiction novel.
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
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Agatha Christie has written 66 mystery novels over her lifetime, but this is her best-selling novel. The story follows ten strangers who have been invited to an isolated island, only to start dying one by one. The murderer, whom the characters deduce has to be among themselves, kills the others as an act of justice—each person has somehow been involved in the death of another person. And Then There Were None is a classic whodunit story that is engaging, unpredictable, and easy to read.
- The Crucible by Arthur Miller
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This short play is set during the late 1600s in the Puritan town of Salem, Massachusetts. A group of girls unleashes rumors of witchcraft among the townspeople, creating a madness of accusations and betrayal that can only be resolved through a court hearing and death sentences. A story of mass hysteria during the Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible draws a parallel between society’s accusations of Communism during the Red Scare.
- The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
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The Sally Rooney of classic authors, Ernest Hemingway explores themes of identity and relationships in an otherwise plotless story. The Sun Also Rises tells a tale of the Lost Generation when a group of young American expatriates living in Paris after World War I go on a vacation in Spain. Hemingway’s influential story of a disillusioned society redefines gender roles of the time, including female sexuality.
Honorable mentions include To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men, but I’m assuming most people have read those in high school. It has been ages since I’ve read a classic novel but this is reminding me of all the reasons to love classic novels (Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, you’re next on my list).