the luminous grass of the prairie hides
feet lovely and still as sleeping doves,
porcelain bones strong enough to carry a life,
but weighty and unmovable
As black Dakota hills. ~ Riesa
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. Not a likeable charcater in the whole book. Had Ethan been born with a spine the story would never have been written.
Although I feel completely ill-equipped to pass judgment on any "classics", I will name two that I did not care for.
"Portrait of the Artist . . ." I found it difficult to get through this one. I think the style bothered me. However, I'm suspicious my mind might be changed by a 2nd or 3rd or 4th reading.
Also tried, unsuccessfully, to get through "Wealth of Nations". Bad idea. Too dry. Too old.
At thunder and tempest, At the world's coldheartedness,
During times of heavy loss And when you're sad
The greatest art on earth Is to seem uncomplicatedly gay.
To get things clear, they have to firstly be very unclear. But if you get them too quickly, you probably got them wrong.
If you need me urgent, send me a PM
Wuthering Heights, Heart of Darkness.
I enjoy talking to you. Your mind appeals to me.
It resembles my own mind except that you happen to be insane.
"So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don't have time to maintain these regrets, when I think about, the way....He loves us..."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5xXowT4eJjY
Frankenstein - Shelley. BUT only on the basis, I was forced to study it intensively for university. I will read it leisurely in the future as I am sure it cannot be that bad.
"Without music, life would be a mistake." - Nietzsche
"The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative on the day after the revolution" - Hannah Arendt.
"Shakespeare is the happy hunting ground of all minds that have lost their balance" - James Joyce
Currently reading:
Bitter Fame: A Life of Sylvia Plath - Anne Stevenson
I must agree with the people who have said Heart of Darkness. I don't actually think it's a bad story, but I don't think Conrad did a very good job at making me care about what was going on. The events in the novel just didn't seem to be portrayed with any kind of significance attached to them.
Catcher in the Rye
I really liked this one. The profanity or the protagonist's vices didn't really bother me in the least.
Heart of Darkness
I remember Chinua Achebe had some pretty harsh things to say about Conrad that I wouldn't disagree with. But I still liked this novel, because it was insightful, even though in a somewhat rascist, Eurocentric way.
Wuthering Heights
This one was alright. I enjoyed it, despite its being a bit too melodramatic. For me it's a bit better than Jane Eyre.
Now, to what I don't like: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. True, I don't think I understood what was going on most of the time. And I don't think I will like Ulysses either.
Oh I also didn't like This Side of Paradise, Tender is the Night, The Beautiful and the Damned (F. Scott Fitzgerald) and The House of Mirth (Edith Wharton). But I don't know if these are considered great classics.
Last edited by drunkenKOALA; 05-03-2007 at 12:38 AM.
I loved Wuthering Heights. Exceptional writing style especially under the pressure of sexism a woman had to endure at Emily's time.
My hide hides the heart inside
Anything by that dreadful Austen woman, so many times I have made an attempt to read her novels. Then I get this nauseous feeling in my throat and throw the thing away.
There once was a scotsman named Drew
Who put too much wine in his stew
He felt a bit drunk
And fell off his bunk
And landed smack into his shoe ~(C) Ms Niamh Anne King
~
"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
~
"So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss, and my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don't have time to maintain these regrets, when I think about, the way....He loves us..."
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5xXowT4eJjY
Moby Dick
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The great gatsby-Northanger Abbey-Silas Mariner
Something From The Past Just Comes
And Stares Into My Soul