Easing Fears.

[Novelist]

Hello everyone!

As summer draws to a close, I find school approaching like some shadowy menace. I'm nervous for an Advanced Placement class, dealing with Literature and Composition. In this class, my piers and I will be reading classics and doing essays and such on our reading. The following novels we will be reading are as follows:
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- Wuthering Heights by Emile Bronte
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Over the summer, we were issued the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and do relish classical novels greatly. I cannot help but feel nervous. Mind you, reading and writing are two beloved passions of mine. I wouldn't trade my adoration for them for the world. But if someone could possibly enlighten me on the books above, perhaps give their reviews if they have read one of the novels, I would very much appreciate it.

Thank you for your time.

--Novelist.

Edit: I would like to insist that spoilers be kept at bay in any of the reviews provided. Thanks again!

[Dark Muse]

- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

I am usually not a fan of Steinbeck's writing, and so when I went to read this book I was a bit ambivalent about it, and it surprised me. I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I would, and Steinbeck really marvelously and realistically tells the story of the lives of the people during the great dust bowl as it was called. It is really a gripping story.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

It has been a while sense I have read this one, but it is a good story, and I enjoyed it. I do not find that it is one that is very difficult to read and follow, it is a fun and enjoyable book with lively and charming characters.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

I just had to say I loved this book. I think Shelly is a wonderful writer, and this is truly an interesting, thrilling and gripping story.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Some people adore this book, but personally I have to admit, I did not truly care for it that much. It is a bit of a tedious read I think, and there are parts of it which are difficult to follow because it is written in a sort of stream of conscious way, and it goes back and forth in time, and jumps time, so sometimes it is hard to keep track of what is happening when. But I will say, though overall the story itself I did not care for. Joyce does write some wonderful passages and he is very good with imagery and use of language.

[Novelist]

Thank you for your reply, Muse.

I have heard marvelous things about Frankenstein. From your description I look forward to both The Grapes of Wrath and The Great Gatsby. As for Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, I will just have to see for myself. It does sound very lovely from what I've read in Amazon reviews, but, as with you, I have also come across those that found little pleasure in the book. Hopefully I will enjoy it enough to follow the story. I often have difficulty reading books that I find no entertainment in.

Thank you again for your reviews!

--Novelist.

[Dark Muse]

I wish you luck, and happy reading.

[PeterL]

- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- Wuthering Heights by Emile Bronte
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin


I wouldn't be afraid of any except Heart of Darkness. I have never liked Conrad's writing I have never read Their Eyes Were Watching God or The Awakening, but the others are OK. I'm not partial to Steinbeck, but his writing is readable, unlike Conrad.

[kelby_lake]

Hello everyone!

As summer draws to a close, I find school approaching like some shadowy menace. I'm nervous for an Advanced Placement class, dealing with Literature and Composition. In this class, my piers and I will be reading classics and doing essays and such on our reading. The following novels we will be reading are as follows:
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- Wuthering Heights by Emile Bronte
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin




Joyce uses a lot of wierd dialect- I can't get into him.
Wuthering Heights is great- it's a gothic romance set on the moors, and inspired a song of the same name, which is hilarious.

Steinbeck's a good author, very good decriptions of California.

The Great Gatsby's an amazing book, and short to boot. Basically it's about a man who changes his life in order to win his true love, the cruel Daisy.

[Novelist]

Thank you, Peter and Kelby. I really appreciated your comments and reviews! School starts tomorrow and I feel like I'm ready to take AP Lit & Comp by the horns. Thank you all so much for your time in giving me your opinions about the books!

--Novelist.

[Kafka's Crow]

Hello everyone!


- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- Wuthering Heights by Emile Bronte
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin



--Novelist.


Heart of Darkness is a little gem of a book. A lot is packed in that little novella and you can read it and re-read it. This is the only book by Conrad that I actually managed to finish. He can be very boring.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is another lovely little book. If you like it, you will find yourself coming back to it for the rest of your life. This book contains some of the most beautiful lines I have ever read:


--Heavenly God! cried Stephen's soul, in an outburst of profane joy.

He turned away from her suddenly and set off across the strand. His
cheeks were aflame; his body was aglow; his limbs were trembling. On
and on and on and on he strode, far out over the sands, singing wildly
to the sea, crying to greet the advent of the life that had cried to him.

Her image had passed into his soul for ever and no word had broken the
holy silence of his ecstasy. Her eyes had called him and his soul had
leaped at the call. To live, to err, to fall, to triumph, to recreate
life out of life! A wild angel had appeared to him, the angel of mortal
youth and beauty, an envoy from the fair courts of life, to throw open
before him in an instant of ecstasy the gates of all the ways of error
and glory. On and on and on and on!

I think this is from Chapter 5, I could be wrong. If you ever hear Cyril Cussack reading these lines, the youthful voice of the old actor, the Irish 'lilt', the beauty, the poetry and the passion will make you fall in love with Cyril, Joyce and Stephen all at once. Try to get hold of this from somewhere (your local library should have it):

http://www.learnoutloud.com/Catalog/Literature/European-Classics/The-James-Joyce-Audio-Collection/16296

Joyce was a keen musician and a music enthusiast. His prose is more aural than anything else. I strongly believe that it is for reading out loud or for listening to. A good reader can really bring the best out of Joycean prose. It is sheer music.

Wuthering Heights: Well I've been trying to finish reading it for last three months. I am stuck in the middle. Some people love it. It has some really, really passionate passages in it which get some readers going 'ooh and aah' and 'ooh and aah' again! Not my cup of tea, to be honest. Heathcliff was voted nation's favorite romantic hero in Britain and our prime minister thinks that he is like Bronte's dark and brooding protagonist!

Mary Shelley's book has always been a favorite with readers of all types. I am sure you will like it.

Unfortunately the rest is what every student has to live with! The price of being a student, the punishment, the scourge. They rub your nose in Gatsby and other rubbish till you are totally averse to the very idea of literature. The point is to survive these books. You will never have to touch them after finishing your course. Think of it: I even had to read Return of the Soldier and The Life and Death of Hariet Frean as text-books. They should use such books in prison as a part of hard labour. You will survive, don't worry. Soon it will be over and you will go on to read some real great books that those musty old teachers and professors don't know about, nor they ever will!

[Lost_Souls]

First Post Wooo etc.

I thought I'd add to this because everyone is ignoring The Awakening.

I thought this book was fantastic, written in fin de siecle New Orleans and the surrounding area, it essentially tells the story of one woman's sexual 'awakening' and liberation from society. But the writing is so evocative and sensuous - you can feel the heat and the sea even here in Autumn London - if you read betwen the lines of the simple plot, the book has some powerful symbolism and a great sense of empathy for a pre-feminist character who just wants a real life dammnit!

[book_jones]

Actually I'm a little jealous about your upcoming class. I would love to be reading all those books for the first time again. They are all worthwhile reads. I can't really find a criticism in the bunch. Most of them are relatively short. The Grapes of Wrath is the longest on the list, but it is one of the greatest book ever written(and my all-time favorite!). All in all you really shouldn't be scared. If you love reading than there shouldn't be any problem.

[Emil Miller]

Hello everyone!

As summer draws to a close, I find school approaching like some shadowy menace. I'm nervous for an Advanced Placement class, dealing with Literature and Composition. In this class, my piers and I will be reading classics and doing essays and such on our reading. The following novels we will be reading are as follows:
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
- Wuthering Heights by Emile Bronte
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelly
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Over the summer, we were issued the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and do relish classical novels greatly. I cannot help but feel nervous. Mind you, reading and writing are two beloved passions of mine. I wouldn't trade my adoration for them for the world. But if someone could possibly enlighten me on the books above, perhaps give their reviews if they have read one of the novels, I would very much appreciate it.

Thank you for your time.

--Novelist.

Edit: I would like to insist that spoilers be kept at bay in any of the reviews provided. Thanks again!

I can't speak for the others you have mentioned, because I haven't read them, but Wuthering Heights and The Great Gatsby are two books well worth reading.
I don't know exactly how old you are but I was seventeen when I first read Gatsby and was completely bowled over by it. I have re-read it a further five times over many years and it still has a powerful effect.

Although the setting for both stories is very different i.e New York in the 'Roaring Twenties' and the Yorkshire moors in the eighteenth century, in some ways they are remarkably similar. They both have as a central character a man who is seperated from the only woman he has ever loved by circumstances beyond his control and who returns some years later to find that the woman has married someone else in his absence. The rest of story deals with the tragic consequences arising from this situation.
I sometimes wonder if Scott Fitzgerald had read Wuthering Heights and used it as the basis for his own version of these events. However, the fact that Gatsby is quite a short book and Heights a rather long one doesn't lessen their impact on the reader, because both Gatsby and Heathcliffe are two of modern English literature's most iconic figures.