In a world where Colleen Hoover and Sally Rooney’s melodramatic romances are captivating young women, novels have lost their uniqueness. While they are undoubtedly engaging, they are not always life-changing nor relatable; unless you have a heartbreaking Irish situationship like Connell Wadron or met a single doctor on a roof deck. Reading can feel repetitive, and predictable protagonists have become a common feature in modern literature. There is a lack of both meaning and creativity in the language, content, and even endings of storylines. When I finish such a book, I walk away somewhat dissatisfied: what did I even learn from this? Before there was Normal People, there was Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, and Giovanni’s Room. Stories of heartbreak and desire were once raw, unfiltered, and honest; not confined to ‘love at first sight’. This is not to say that I haven’t read some incredible contemporary pieces –Cloud Cuckoo Land, A Little Life, O Caledonia– or the more cliche romances – People We Meet On Vacation, Eleanor and Park, The Song of Achilles – yet even so, I reiterate that much of the era of modern literature that has become so distant from our lives. Stories of heartbreak and desire were once raw, unfiltered and honest; not confined to ‘love at first sight’ and positive endings. Modernity, AI and perhaps even the lessening interest in reading realities instead of happy-scrolling has left our generation’s writers separated from the apparatus that authors once used to shape entire generations, transforming literature. The Classics can feel obsolete; an English class annoyance that most of us – aside from the English majors reading Medieval sonnets– have escaped from in University. Ironically, my appreciation for classical literature came during my last year of high [secondary] school and has only flourished since. I was assigned three John Steinbeck books: The Pearl, The Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men. While reluctant at first, each established themes of friendship, loneliness, and resilience in a way that no modern novel has equally satisfied me. Each written nearly a hundred years ago, these books remain timeless, evoking the same emotions in me that my grandparents experienced when they read them at my age.
It makes me wonder: What stories of hardship will the next generation turn to? What story of friendship heartbreak would be a better cure than Of Mice and Men? Can a Colleen Hoover romance evoke the same emotions as the anguish of the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath?
Reading classics such as Steinbeck’s novels can become a great segue into conversations with older generations, as well as a foolproof way to deepen human understanding; someone decades before you read, cried, and learned from the exact words as you. And while in the age of social media, we may feel superior to those before us, human emotions are timeless. Even more so, reading a classic can be utterly romantic…a love confession in overelaborate language can add to your reading experience. Take Lousia May Alcott’s Little Women for example (I am sure if you haven’t read the book, you’ve at least seen the movie with Timothee Chalamet):
“I’ve loved you ever since I’ve known you, Jo, couldn’t help it, you’ve been so good to me. I’ve tried to show it, but you wouldn’t let me…” Is this excerpt not parallel to Sally Rooney’s work? Dare I say this could be your not-so-new dramatic love confession for autumn?
Reading the classics is increasingly important in the digital age; much of the pop culture that we consume offers instant gratification, is easy to digest, and fails to challenge us. Choosing to take shortcuts in assignments does not have to translate to our leisure reading! Introducing classics to your library is worthwhile. They require you to slow down and use your brain a bit more to take in unfamiliar language, while also exposing more complex issues. Examine Jane Austen’s romantic masterpieces, which transcend love stories to highlight issues of social status and independence, offering a dual glimpse into English history. Such issues would only be found in a classic, in a lived-in experience of the period! Since I’ve adopted classics into my reading rotation, I have learned a plethora of interesting vocabulary, something many modern pieces have discarded. Adding classics to your library may be just the switch to make this October– enjoying them outside of an English class’s course list!