tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post7584324029423524305..comments2023-07-10T01:17:13.383+10:00Comments on Brona's Books: What is a Classic?Bronahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-69875824037075700692020-04-11T09:13:19.887+10:002020-04-11T09:13:19.887+10:00Yes, I can see The Handmaid's Tale in particul...Yes, I can see The Handmaid's Tale in particular becoming a classic - good call.Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-33964981249334272782020-04-11T09:11:55.067+10:002020-04-11T09:11:55.067+10:00I can see that I will now have to hunt down Calvin...I can see that I will now have to hunt down Calvino's Why Read the Classics to see for myself!<br /><br />I've reread Jane Austen and Jane Eyre enough times to, at different times in my life to have a LOT to say about the joys and the necessity of rereading great books more than once. Having just finished Moby-Dick, I can see that it would also be one of those books the gives more with each reread.<br /><br />I'm planning on rereading the first 2 Mantel's before beginning on the third, so that will be my little test to see if they might become classics by passing the rereading rule. I seem to recall enjoying the movie version of An English Patient more than the book. But I was a lot younger then and susceptible to the romantic elements highlighted in the movie :-)Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-10973369323975432012020-04-11T09:06:08.725+10:002020-04-11T09:06:08.725+10:00I think you should too Reese! Your extensive readi...I think you should too Reese! Your extensive reading in the classics area would make for some interesting reflections on this topic.Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-16045550308446275212020-04-11T05:47:00.961+10:002020-04-11T05:47:00.961+10:00Thought-provoking post. Perhaps some of Atwood'...Thought-provoking post. Perhaps some of Atwood's tales would be considered classics (like The Handmaid's Tale, although that's from 1985). I should read Vikram Seth .... I've read the two others: Mantel & Saunders ... thecuecardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08870323589682197091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-49797545901210678612020-04-10T18:36:13.061+10:002020-04-10T18:36:13.061+10:00I love the essay Italo Calvino wrote to try and de...I love the essay Italo Calvino wrote to try and define a classic. His test of re-readability is the one that resonates most with me. Hence why I love Middlemarch so much, I always find something new in it. <br />Which contemporary novels will become classics in the future? A tough question. Mantel's Cromwell novels will I think will because they took historical fiction into a new dimension. I'm hoping the English Patient by Michael Ondaatjee will become a classic toobookertalkhttp://www.bookertalk.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-78471807527345864722020-04-10T12:54:02.552+10:002020-04-10T12:54:02.552+10:00Nice post! Well worth bringing back.
I'd hav...Nice post! Well worth bringing back. <br /><br />I'd have to agree with the Vikram Seth & the Hilary Mantel. I really need to read Lincoln In The Bardo.<br /><br />I saw the discussion at the Classics Club blog, too. I should think about this & write a post.reesehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818057262934008241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-25775347844762393762020-04-10T10:00:13.100+10:002020-04-10T10:00:13.100+10:00'Mark Twain...he's so hysterical.' Esp...'Mark Twain...he's so hysterical.' Especially now his books are also considered classics!<br /><br />There are often things happening contemporaneous to the author writing that means their books are not appreciated at the time. Melville upset the Christian groups with his attacks on missionaries and they widely panned his books and questioned his sanity. It took until the 1920's for a new generation, not influenced by these factors to appreciate his work.<br /><br />Women in general, had the same problem until recent times thanks to the male dominance of the literary and educational world. Books from people who had been enslaved, colonised or marginalised are only just becoming accepted as classics of their experience in our times.<br /><br />I'm sure future generations will redefine what is a classic. Maybe graphic novels and books about the Covid-19 pandemic will become classics too.Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-85379679719941448492020-04-10T09:49:56.670+10:002020-04-10T09:49:56.670+10:00Thanks Jillian.
One of the lovely things about rev...Thanks Jillian.<br />One of the lovely things about revisiting an old post like this one, was seeing the blogger friends who have been around for a long time too.<br />Some no longer blog and some keep popping up when I least expect it.<br />Hope all is well and safe where you are right now xoBronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-13399824560541298542020-04-10T05:25:21.817+10:002020-04-10T05:25:21.817+10:00Mark Twain...he's so hysterical.
I have a fe...Mark Twain...he's so hysterical. <br /><br />I have a feeling this question will be one that evolves from generation to generation, as well as the books on one's classic list. I hope future readers will always have a desire to read the distant past.Ruth @ with freedom and bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15531827758868215023noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-44763597563999410912020-04-09T23:34:53.784+10:002020-04-09T23:34:53.784+10:00*They have staying power and longevity because the...*They have staying power and longevity because they not only speak to the audience of the time, but they also have the ability to speak to people from all times.* What a great definition. x*ೃ༄ Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139487177036647728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-18909408390681684692012-11-25T09:58:12.572+11:002012-11-25T09:58:12.572+11:00I confess that the book images above were found du...I confess that the book images above were found during a google search for "old classics". I simply liked the cover of the Tolstoy book (I assumed the same thing about the author as you did). Perhaps it is Boyhood or Youth judging by the pic??Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-63259536879299411922012-11-20T07:36:29.389+11:002012-11-20T07:36:29.389+11:00What is the Russian book you have pictured? I know...What is the Russian book you have pictured? I know it says "my first book" at the top, and L. N. Tolstoy is the author. I assume it's the Tolstoy we all know, since those are his initials, but I can't find that he wrote a book called "Birdie" which is how google translate translates the title of the book (I wasn't familiar with that word, so I had to look it up). Birdie could be an incorrect translation but none of the Russian titles from his bibliography match the Russian word птичка anyway. Just curious! wxrozhttp://wxroz.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-91785910640240595582012-09-11T08:17:40.070+10:002012-09-11T08:17:40.070+10:00I think Calvino and Powell offer great definitions...I think Calvino and Powell offer great definitions of a classic. It seems to me that a book that is as powerful to new readers 100 years (or more) after it was written as it was to its original audience is a classic. Gatsby, Mrs. Dalloway, To Kill a Mockingbird all come to my mind. I think it is really subjective though, because each reader is limited in what will be powerful to them by their own abilities and experiences. There may be amazing books in Spanish, for example, but I can't read them so they won't be on my list which makes my list of classics flawed from the get-go. I think Gilead by Marilyn Robinson may be a modern book destined to be a classic. Mary R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12468537883595941188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-92204617264223459632012-09-03T01:20:46.528+10:002012-09-03T01:20:46.528+10:00This is a nice article. Though each definition quo...This is a nice article. Though each definition quoted does not seem to capture the whole, together they complete it, I think. Songhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09707280327803432082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-65112462352182138332012-09-03T01:19:10.601+10:002012-09-03T01:19:10.601+10:00I like your three points. They seem to cover all o...I like your three points. They seem to cover all of what I would personally define a classic as. :)Songhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09707280327803432082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-57206219529902140022012-08-31T00:41:17.730+10:002012-08-31T00:41:17.730+10:00Some commonalities I've noticed amongst books ...Some commonalities I've noticed amongst books that are considered classics (especially vintage classics which is what I'm focusing on for TCC):<br /><br />1. the book reveals something about the lifestyle of the time period when it was written (for example, what it was like to be a woman in the 1930s)<br />2. the book is an example of how a genre was written at that time and allows the reader to see how that genre has evolved (for example, mysteries from The Golden Age)<br />3. the book makes obvious that some things are timeless (for example, particular personality types or challenges in life)<br /><br />"What Is A Classic" could really be an eternal discussion, and it will certainly be interesting to see which modern novels began to receive that designation in the future.Her Royal Orangenesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01795602716774953519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-69796403838356556232012-08-30T02:16:42.468+10:002012-08-30T02:16:42.468+10:00It's so interesting to contemplate which books...It's so interesting to contemplate which books are going to end up classics. I think for sure Harry Potter will be one of the treasured classics. (And this is me guessing after I've only just read the first book for the first time.) :)*ೃ༄ Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14139487177036647728noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-17484059344553199592012-08-29T07:55:39.387+10:002012-08-29T07:55:39.387+10:00Perhaps, although the academic discussions often o...Perhaps, although the academic discussions often only occur once the book is 'classic'!<br />Most of Dickens works was serialised for the daily papers while the academics of the time studied Ovid and Plato.Bronahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11110584237325026052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-69997831900104007642012-08-29T06:27:11.567+10:002012-08-29T06:27:11.567+10:00inetresting discussion. I wonder if one test is wh...inetresting discussion. I wonder if one test is whether the book attracts ongoing academic discussion - if its discussion confined to popular newspapers or magazines it wouldn't count. so that would rule out The Help...Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05415811109852633395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1483877654474162845.post-65974060792658809482012-08-28T10:07:22.893+10:002012-08-28T10:07:22.893+10:00I'm sorry to say I haven't read the three ...I'm sorry to say I haven't read the three books you listed, but I'm thinking The Help by Kathryn Stockett may end up on Classic Club members book lists.<br /><br /> I just love the quote of Italo Calvino--that's a wonderful definition for a classic! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com