As someone with a masters’ degree in Literature, you can only imagine how many classics I have read and studied. Yet, to this day, there are still some authors that I try to avoid as much as possible, and books that I have read but never understood.
A lot of book lovers have never even wanted to read a classic, but just like any genre, classics have their own target audience, and not everyone will enjoy them, which is more than okay!
You might be wondering how I define classics. Well, when talking about a classic, what I mean is a piece of literary fiction that is widely accepted as something noteworthy and that should be studied. Classic literature is often a representation of a time, culture or issue, in a way that is emblematic while being of interest for different generations. In other words, they are novels that stand the test of time, and that are considered to be of interest decades or even centuries after their publication.
Those classics are often also referred as the literary canon. The canon is a list of authors and novels that we, in Western culture, consider to be essentials. They are determined to be examples of good literature and authors that should be studied in depth. It is very likely that at some point in your life, you will come across the canon, in one form or another, and that you will read a few classics.
How to read the classics?
For a lot of people, one of the main issue with classics is that they seem inaccessible. And a lot of them are. I cannot tell you how many times I have sat trying to read a classic and just could not get through it, no matter how hard I tried. Ultimately, your ability to read a classic comes down to whether or not you are understanding it. And of course, you can enjoy reading a classic while being confused the entire time, but just like any other book that you read, if you cannot understand any of it, you will lose interest.
My main advice to you if you want to start with the classics is to pick up something that sounds interesting to you. Just like any other book, you are more likely to stick to it and want to pick it up if you are interested in the story. Classics are intimidating if that it what you make them to be. If you decide to just pick one up because the plot sounds like something you would enjoy, you will probably find the experience to be a lot more pleasant than if you are forced to read it by a teacher you do not particularly like (we’ve all been there, haven’t we?).
Another piece of advice I can give you is that you will not understand all of the book the first time you read it, and that is absolutely normal. Most of these books were written long before our time, in a society and cultural space that is very different from ours. This means that you might not understand some of the characters’ behaviours or might not see the bits of satire or humour spread across a novel. The first time I read a Jane Austen novel, I did not pick up on the many jokes she makes throughout her novels, and to be completely honest I enjoyed the story while missing maybe half of the point the author was trying to make. But the point is that I still enjoyed reading it, even if I did not understand all of it.
If you try to read a classic thinking that you will understand it all by yourself, you will not go very far. With most of the classics that I have read, I did not understand them – and often did not enjoy them fully – until I studied them in class or did my own research on them. If you cannot understand what you are reading, or want to know more about a book, ask someone to explain it to you, or find articles that can guide you in your reading.
Read outside the literary canon
As I have mentioned before, the literary canon is deeply anchored in Western culture. As such, it is still a biased representation of culture and society, as it focuses only on part of the population. Even more than that, if you look up ‘literary canon’ online, you will find that the authors of books considered to be classics are mostly older White men. It is something that has been criticized a lot recently, with many people pointing out the importance of representation and inclusivity in media.
Many believe that the canon is outdated, and that a lot of books should be considered classics, but are not because the authors are not White men. Of course, you can still find a few women and a few Black people in the canon, but they are still a minority in the canon and not studied enough.
It is good to want to read the classics, and they have a great value in terms of writing and culture, but it is also important to branch out and look at other authors whose books might not be traditionally considered classics. You will be surprised by the number of books that are considered classics in other countries. Do not let a list of books created by others determine what you should or should not read. The classics are good, but it is important to read other things.
Our writers’ recommendations
I have asked our wonderful team of writers to recommend classics that they have enjoyed and that they found to be easy to read. Hopefully, if you have been wanting to read a classic, this list will help you find the right fit for you!
Juliette (me): The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mairead: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and Animal Farm by George Orwell
Laura: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Lelani: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Francesca: Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Juliette
Writer and Interviewer
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