Here is a list of Classics I've read lately for the Classic Club Challenge...
192 pages
First published January 1, 1964
GoodReads Description: "Hemingway's memories of his life as an unknown writer living in Paris in the twenties are deeply personal, warmly affectionate, and full of wit. Looking back not only at his own much younger self, but also at the other writers who shared Paris with him - James Joyce, Wyndham Lewis, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald - he recalls the time when, poor, happy, and writing in cafes, he discovered his vocation. Written during the last years of Hemingway's life, his memoir is a lively and powerful reflection of his genius that scintillates with the romance of the city."
My Review: I have read reviews of people who really hated this book because Hemingway focuses on himself and for various other reasons. I, however, thought this was such a great insight into his life and the time period writing in Paris! How can you help but be swept away! It definitely gave me Midnight in Paris vibes! Which is probably my favorite movie! I just loved it!
A favorite quote from the book: “'We're always lucky,' I said and like a fool I did not knock on wood. There was wood everywhere in that apartment to knock on too.”
288 pages
First published June 7, 1926
GoodReads Description: Considered to be one of Agatha Christie's greatest, and also most controversial mysteries, 'The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd' breaks the rules of traditional mystery.
The peaceful English village of King’s Abbot is stunned. The widow Ferrars dies from an overdose of Veronal. Not twenty-four hours later, Roger Ackroyd—the man she had planned to marry—is murdered. It is a baffling case involving blackmail and death that taxes Hercule Poirot’s “little grey cells” before he reaches one of the most startling conclusions of his career.
My Review: I feel like I had heard the ending of this story before, which was disappointing because this is supposed to be one of Christie's best novels. I guess that's what happens when you're late to the game! However, it was still a fun read - as Agatha Christie always is!
256 pages
First published May 15, 1952
GoodReads Description: The American short story master Flannery O'Connor's haunting first novel of faith, false prophets, and redemptive wisdom.
Wise Blood, Flannery O'Connor's astonishing and haunting first novel, is a classic of twentieth-century literature. It is the story of Hazel Motes, a twenty-two-year-old caught in an unending struggle against his inborn, desperate fate. He falls under the spell of a "blind" street preacher named Asa Hawks and his degenerate fifteen-year-old daughter, Sabbath Lily. In an ironic, malicious gesture of his own non-faith, and to prove himself a greater cynic than Hawks, Motes founds the Church Without Christ, but is still thwarted in his efforts to lose God. He meets Enoch Emery, a young man with "wise blood," who leads him to a mummified holy child and whose crazy maneuvers are a manifestation of Motes's existential struggles.
This tale of redemption, retribution, false prophets, blindness, blindings, and wisdom gives us one of the most riveting characters in American fiction.
My Review: I love Flannery. She is like my homegirl. I devoured "Everything That Rises Must Converge" and "A Good Man is Hard to Find." So I really wanted to love "Wise Blood." But I just didn't. It was so dark and bleak. Tale of Redemption? I'm sorry did I miss it? This is one I may revisit because ultimately, I think I just didn't get it. But as always, realistic beautiful writing Flannery!
269 pages
First published January 1, 1965
GoodReads Description: Flannery O'Connor was working on Everything That Rises Must Converge at the time of her death. This collection is an exquisite legacy from a genius of the American short story, in which she scrutinizes territory familiar to her readers: race, faith, and morality. The stories encompass the comic and the tragic, the beautiful and the grotesque; each carries her highly individual stamp and could have been written by no one else.
My Review: Here we go, Flannery! You go, Flannery! I don't love all the stories in this collection, but I loved most of them. Her writing style definitely influenced Stephen King. He recommends her in his book "On Writing" and they just have some quality about their writing that is the same - something that speaks to me. And she doesn't hold back! She shows us all the ugly in humanity.
320 pages
First published January 1, 1957
GoodReads Description: Published in 1957, two years after its author's death at the age of forty-five, A Death in the Family remains a near-perfect work of art, an autobiographical novel that contains one of the most evocative depictions of loss and grief ever written. As Jay Follet hurries back to his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, he is killed in a car accident--a tragedy that destroys not only a life but also the domestic happiness and contentment of a young family. A novel of great courage, lyric force, and powerful emotion, A Death in the Family is a masterpiece of American literature.
My Review: This book was full of heavily detailed and lyrical prose. I felt like it really gave me a glimpse into life at the time in the midst of a tragedy.
148 pages
First published January 1, 1936
GoodReads Description: T. S. Eliot's verse dramatization of the murder of Thomas Becket at Canterbury, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
The Archbishop Thomas Becket speaks fatal words before he is martyred in T. S. Eliot's best-known drama, based on the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170. Praised for its poetically masterful handling of issues of faith, politics, and the common good, T. S. Eliot's play bolstered his reputation as the most significant poet of his time.
My Review: Full disclosure: when I picked up this book I did not realize it was a play. Which probably means I should at least read GoodReads descriptions before I start reading a book! To be honest, I only read this because it was on my shelf since my son read it fro his Medieval Literature class in 8th grade. Which makes me feel woefully unread by the way. It was kind of fun to see what he underlined in it. However, several times I felt like I didn't really understand what was going on. I had to go back and research Thomas Beckett, even though I knew a little bit about him, it really didn't suffice. The "knights" trying to absolve themselves of his murder immediately after was also strange. The Chorus was strange. I think it would be much more entertaining as a play - as a book I just felt like I needed more information, basically the entire time.
And finally, right now I am reading Dante's The Divine Comedy. I'm reading Hell right now as it is the 3 volume set translated by Dorothy Sayers. (Love Dorothy Sayers!). And let me say, this book is much more entertaining and readable than I thought it would be so far! Really fun, actually. Hopefully the only journey through hell I'll ever have to make! HA.
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