Need some recommendations

[misterlit]

Hey guys, I just wanted to know if any of you could recommend me some good works of classic literature, but what I am looking for currently are lighter novels. What I mean is that I am looking for classic novels that don't have a lot of really deep concepts on mankind or mature themes in them. I am looking more for reads under 600 pages with more lighthearted or more subdued subject matter. But I am not really looking for ones like Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz either. If anyone can help me out here it will be greatly appreciated. If it helps I am not interested in reading classics like In Search of Lost Time, or The Brothers Karamazov.

[stlukesguild]

Italo Calvino- Invisible Cities, The Baron in the Trees, Cosmi-Comics
Alejo Carpentier- Baroque Concerto
Machado de Assis- The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas
Nabokov- Lolita
Goethe- The Sorrows of Young Werther

These just popped immediately to mind as classics that I found immediately accessible and enjoyable... and yet are certainly open to further exploration. Of course there are endless other examples. Obviously older works of literature (Dickens and before) present challenges in terms of language that can be formidable depending upon your reading experience. Undoubtedly others will offer other marvelous suggestions. I would also suggest you might also look into shorter forms of fiction which opens up an entire world of classic literature that would fit the bill...

By the way... there is certainly nothing wrong with Alice in Wonderland... which is far from being a mere child's book.

[billl]

The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins came to mind for me--I was thinking of books similar to what the OP is looking for recently, remembering how fun it was reading this one. However, this one isn't much for humor, I wouldn't call it lighthearted. But it's a mildish (by modern standards) thriller, generally considered the first "mystery", has nice writing, is a good read, and definitely has that "I'm reading a classic" vibe. While enjoying the "yarn", I was kind of transported into the social environment, stylings, and language of the time in which it was written.

[Jozanny]

The only thing I can think of which is not genre writing of some sort, excluded on the basis of your criteria, is Hamlin Garland's Rose of Dutchers Coolly. Garland is usually taught in American Literature courses only because instructors feel uneasy about excluding him from the canon of 19th century realism, and because they want to weigh his conceptualization of the New Woman against Victorian pressures toward sexual constriction, but he is a light read, and at best a second cousin to other authors of his era.

[misterlit]

Sorry for the confusion, when I said lighthearted I just meant a book without tons of mature or deep themes

[billl]

It wasn't confusing :) I'm pretty sure I understood what you were getting at.

By the way, I also think Dickens would be a good choice, but recommended The Woman in White because I think a lot of people who've read Dickens haven't read Collins. That's why I chose to read it, anyhow.

[mayneverhave]

Goethe- The Sorrows of Young Werther

A novel in which the main protagonist, in his incredible melancholy and love-sickness, decides to put a bullet through his head? Yes, very light, indeed.

[Jozanny]

A novel in which the main protagonist, in his incredible melancholy and love-sickness, decides to put a bullet through his head? Yes, very light, indeed.

Thanks. I've never read Goethe, and thought I could get through the rest of my life without reading Goethe, and now I am going to have to find a quality translation of Goethe...:rolleyes:

But since we are critiquing, I think Lolita is not especially lacking in depth....

[JacobF]

The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas, maybe? Though it's a classic, the adventure is so enticing that I think you'll ignore the fact that it's not under 600 pages (in fact the Penguin Classics version is a whopping 1200 pages).

[mayneverhave]

Thanks. I've never read Goethe, and thought I could get through the rest of my life without reading Goethe, and now I am going to have to find a quality translation of Goethe...:rolleyes:

But since we are critiquing, I think Lolita is not especially lacking in depth....

Ah Joz, I was worried I might potentially spoil the novel for anyone that hasn't read it, but then again, its over 200 years old, so tough luck. Also, reading a novel titled The Sorrows of Young Werther, you can't very well expect a happy ending.

That aside, I think the OP wants classics of literature that are not particularly deep - which seems slightly oxymoronic. Lolita, and our Sorrows of Young Werther, would certaintly be qualified as possessing mature themes.

Dumas was a good suggestion. His novels are considered classics while skirting the very fine line of adventure/escapism and high literature. I would also suggest Dickens, perhaps, and arguably, Steinbeck.

[billl]

I think the OP basically wants something that won't batter the reader with existential despair, or something like that. mayneverhave describes the incident nuance well when he writes of "skirting the very fine line of adventure/escapism and high literature." I think stlukesguild might have read over the original post in haste or something. Those look like good books, but... I get the feeling that Dickens, Dumas, (and Wilkie Collins! c'mon!) are maybe more in line with what's being requested.

[TurquoiseSunset]

I assume you want to squeeze in as much as possible in a short amount of time and that's why you don't want anything longer than 600 pages? Otherwise I'd definitely echo whoever said The Count of Monte Cristo.

Otherwise:
One Hundred Years of Solitude (450 pages).
The Picture of Dorian Gray...it's very short.
The Great Gatsby, also very short.
Dracula (450 pages).
Lolita (less than 400).
The Little Prince. It's not like Alice in Wonderland...

[Jozanny]

Ah Joz, I was worried I might potentially spoil the novel for anyone that hasn't read it, but then again, its over 200 years old, so tough luck. Also, reading a novel titled The Sorrows of Young Werther, you can't very well expect a happy ending.

That aside, I think the OP wants classics of literature that are not particularly deep - which seems slightly oxymoronic. Lolita, and our Sorrows of Young Werther, would certaintly be qualified as possessing mature themes.

Dumas was a good suggestion. His novels are considered classics while skirting the very fine line of adventure/escapism and high literature. I would also suggest Dickens, perhaps, and arguably, Steinbeck.

Oh, not to worry Never, I did not mean it like that. I'm not one to huff about spoilers, although in huge communities, one has to be considerate. I suppose occasionally I feel burdened. Not quite literate enough, but weary of trying to hold my own with doctorates. Something I cannot do anyway, as I am not a doctor of literature and I do not employ words like rebarbative when digressing on Kafka.

I am not a real Kafka enthusiast anyway, because most of what he does is doom society to parochial guilt absent the rationale of Judaism, at least in my eyes.

I only meant that Goethe is probably one of those *requirements* toward my continued literacy...and what I really need is a vacation.

In any case, when I want easy reading, I browse the current fiction section. I am not quite sure what Mrlit wants, as most classics involve some kind of real attention, but I will leave this up to the rest of you.

PS: Maybe Poe?

[stlukesguild]

I think stlukesguild might have read over the original post in haste or something. Those look like good books, but... I get the feeling that Dickens, Dumas, (and Wilkie Collins! c'mon!) are maybe more in line with what's being requested.

Truly... when someone asks for a classic that isn't so heavy it is rather difficult to discern what is exactly desired. If a work of literature has attained classic status it probably deals with "mature" themes to one level or another. Even Alice in Wonderland is far more than a childhood romp through fantasyland. My assumption was that the OP wanted to begin to explore classic literature without being overwhelmed. While I personally find Dickens and Wilkie Collins easy reads they are not devoid of "mature" themes nor are they without their difficulties for those with little experience with the vocabulary and linguistic structure of older literature. If the goal is something like "literature lite"... literature without any depth, any darkness, any mature themes (sure an oxymoron) then I will admit that even my recommendations will not do.

PS... I think our OP will balk a bit at Dumas when one considers the length (usually 1000 pages plus) of the better-known novels (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, etc...)

[Scheherazade]

Three Men in a Boat

Winesburg, Ohio

Cannery Row

Diary of Nobody


All considerably shorter classics which will not fail to make you smile or laugh at times.

[TurquoiseSunset]

Truly... when someone asks for a classic that isn't so heavy it is rather difficult to discern what is exactly desired.

I agree. It's a bit difficult to know exactly what misterlit asked for...everyone will have their own opinions on what qualifies. I mean look at the difference between the classics I recommended and the ones stlukesguild did. Mine's a bit more Mickey Mouse, but only misterlit can really veto a suggestion because he knows what he likes.

[misterlit]

The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas, maybe? Though it's a classic, the adventure is so enticing that I think you'll ignore the fact that it's not under 600 pages (in fact the Penguin Classics version is a whopping 1200 pages).

Read it, loved it, but thanks anyway

I am planning to read some Dickens and Collins too.

[misterlit]

So I take it I should stray away from Joseph Conrad then?

[wat??]

Any of John Steinbeck's short novels, or anything by J.D Salinger.

[TurquoiseSunset]

Ugh, I hate J.D Salinger, but wat?? is probably right...you'll like him and Steinbeck as well.

[billl]

Conrad seems risky, given your request. I haven't read anything by him, but the film Apocalypse Now is to some degree an echo of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, so a distinctly non-light take on his work is apparently possible... I would also like to hear something from an actual Conrad reader, though--I've been curious about The Secret Agent.

[kasie]

billl - and misterlit - you may well enjoy Lord Jim. It isn't exactly light but you can read it as an adventure story. It was the first Conrad I read and it sent me on to Nostromo, which you can also read as an adventure - but before anyone jumps down my throat I'll hasten to say there are many more levels to any Conrad work. The Secret Agent? I wouldn't start there - it has a desperately sad sense of inevitability about it but is a good read.

[Mr Endon]

So I take it I should stray away from Joseph Conrad then?

Well, Heart of Darkness could be an option, it's very short and not too complex - I mean, you can enjoy it by taking it at face value. Right now I'm slightly prejudiced against him because of Eyes of Asia (which is a solid block of propaganda muck), but I'd recommend his short stories, which, I must warn you, are very complex and subtle - at least the ones I read.

As for the OP, I'd suggest, as I've been doing since I've joined this forum, The Third Policeman.

Also: Synge's The Playboy of the Western World. A classic, a short and easy read, a riot (in many senses of the word).

[Scheherazade]

The Third Policeman.

Also: Synge's The Playboy of the Western World. A classic, a short and easy read, a riot (in many senses of the word).I keep meaning to read these two maybe we can have a group reading for one of these soon to get me reading! :)

[Mr Endon]

Scher, that's a great idea! I'd do that myself, but I'm not sure how exactly you go about opening and managing a group reading. I'd love to participate, though! Easily the two best books I've read this past year :)

[Scheherazade]

At the moment, we are reading In Cold Blood so after that maybe.

All it takes is a lot of publicity and bribing really! ;)

[Mr Endon]

I thought politics weren't allowed in this forum! :D

In Cold Blood, now that's one I've been meaning to read ever since I saw the movie. Alas, right now I can't. I'll make a push for The Third Policeman or The Playboy as soon as that is done, then.

[Mariamosis]

I have really enjoyed Emile Zola's 'Les Rougon-Macquart' series. 'Germinal' is probably my favorite then 'The Beast Within', 'The Drinking Den' and 'Nana'. Those are the only four I have completed so far.

Jules Verne - 'The Mysterious Island'
Thomas Hardy - 'The Mayor of Casterbridge', 'Jude the Obscure' & 'Far from the Madding Crowd'
Rider Haggard - 'King Soloman's Mines'
Mark Twain - 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'