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A word about "Moby Dick": I, too, have dropped it after a few chapters. However, my late father made an interesting observation: he had tried to read Moby Dick, off and on, for years (decades, really). When he was in his 70s he picked it up and read the whole book and enjoyed it.
His observation afterwards: the more life experience one has, the more relevant the book becomes. Younger people, he thought, cannot truly appreciate the themes being developed, since they still have 'their whole life' ahead of them. When you reach your elder years, the book will speak to you.
Hence, I shall try again in about 20 years (when I will be 77).
Another poster mentioned "A Tale of Two Cities". I think it a shame that high school's seem to insist on introducing students to Dickens (my favorite author) through this book (or the other short novel, "Hard Times"). No wonder that students are thereafter put off by Dickens and refuse to read his masterpieces. I say: start them off on Pickwick Papers, or perhaps Great Expectations. Once a person gets a few chapters into Pickwick, there is no turning back.
Oh yes,I tried for many years to read Don Quixote in Spanish. I read Spanish history and technical books but a dated novel was a bit too rich for me.
I read Mody Dick entirely through but it became boring when Melville descended into the usual mid-18th century travelogue which appears standard in these books. I understand why as there was no photography of the region and the reader needs to have a visual image of the setting.
Like Les Miserables, much better when the Waterloo details are edited out.
A word about "Moby Dick": I, too, have dropped it after a few chapters. However, my late father made an interesting observation: he had tried to read Moby Dick, off and on, for years (decades, really). When he was in his 70s he picked it up and read the whole book and enjoyed it.
His observation afterwards: the more life experience one has, the more relevant the book becomes. Younger people, he thought, cannot truly appreciate the themes being developed, since they still have 'their whole life' ahead of them. When you reach your elder years, the book will speak to you.
Hence, I shall try again in about 20 years (when I will be 77).
Another poster mentioned "A Tale of Two Cities". I think it a shame that high school's seem to insist on introducing students to Dickens (my favorite author) through this book (or the other short novel, "Hard Times"). No wonder that students are thereafter put off by Dickens and refuse to read his masterpieces. I say: start them off on Pickwick Papers, or perhaps Great Expectations. Once a person gets a few chapters into Pickwick, there is no turning back.
Why not a Tale of Two Cities? I love Dickens and this is one of my favorite works. I had to read Great Expectations in high school and wasn't overly fond of it.
Why not a Tale of Two Cities? I love Dickens and this is one of my favorite works. I had to read Great Expectations in high school and wasn't overly fond of it.
I simply do not think that A Tale of Two Cities is very representative of Dicken's main body of work (being his try at 'historical fiction'). In my high school we had to read Tale, and myself many of my peers simply did not like it (I did not 'discover' Dickens until college). Now that I have read all of his canon, I think there are better ways to introduce Dickens to youngsters. If I were a high school literature teacher, I would assign various chapters from Pickwick and David Copperfield (since the latter work is partly autobiographical).
I'm surprised that Great Expectations is one of your least fond works. I love the characters, especially Miss Havisham. I found it one of Dicken's most mature, psychologically-themed books (of course, it was also his third-from-last).
I will say that Bleak House is possibly my favorite, with perhaps the best introductory chapters of all his books.
I simply do not think that A Tale of Two Cities is very representative of Dicken's main body of work (being his try at 'historical fiction'). In my high school we had to read Tale, and myself many of my peers simply did not like it (I did not 'discover' Dickens until college). Now that I have read all of his canon, I think there are better ways to introduce Dickens to youngsters. If I were a high school literature teacher, I would assign various chapters from Pickwick and David Copperfield (since the latter work is partly autobiographical).
I'm surprised that Great Expectations is one of your least fond works. I love the characters, especially Miss Havisham. I found it one of Dicken's most mature, psychologically-themed books (of course, it was also his third-from-last).
I will say that Bleak House is possibly my favorite, with perhaps the best introductory chapters of all his books.
I'd forgotten about Miss Havisham (it's been a quarter century since I've read it). She is probably one of his most interesting characters. You're right about David Copperfield. It would probably be most interesting for high schoolers.
Yes, Moby Dick. I got through several chapters and just couldn't stand it anymore. Since then I've gone back a few times trying to pick up where I stopped, and I get a page or two into it and simply give up. I don't know what it is about that book, but I doubt I'll ever finish it. And it's the only book that's ever struck me that way.
I struggled with that one and it took me forever to read it, but I eventually finished and I'm glad I read it. But...I don't see myself ever reading it again.
I reread it a few years ago (having read it in HS, where it naturally didn't stick), and followed my husband's advice--start skipping the endless whale physiology (that is pretty incorrect anyway) chapters. Reads like a dream that way! LOL
You know, in reading everyone's posts, it really makes me consider that I really should reread all the novels we read in High School, because it certainly rings true that most (but not all) didn't make a huge impression on me then. And I am certain that the failing was mine and not the authors!
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