Friday Five: Classic Novels

Hi everyone!

Happy Friday! You’ve all made it through another week!

I was talking to a friend today about those books everyone has to read for school, and we were comparing our thoughts on each of them. So that was the inspiration for my post today.

Here’s a list of my favorite classic novels (some I read on my own and others I had to read for school assignments over the years) but here are some of my favorites, and my reasons why:

1. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne→ This book is PACKED with irony and symbolism and I just love that about it! I didn’t expect to enjoy the book when I saw that the introduction was 45 pages in itself, and I remember how daunting the book seemed to a high-school-sophomore-me. But this book ended up being my favorite classic novel thus far. I wrote a whole paper on Pearl and the symbolism surrounding her. This book has the classic love triangle, with each character having his/her own “scarlet letters” to bear. If you haven’t read this one yet, I definitely recommend it! At first, the incredibly long sentences can seem intimidating, but once you get used to Hawthorne’s writing style, you’ll come to love it. He gets so much across with his words and uses symbolism incredibly.
2. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams → Okay, I know this is a play and not a novel, BUT, I really, really liked it! I read this one year for extra credit and at first, I wasn’t too sure how I felt about it. But once I thought about the story and looked a little deeper into it, I came to love the story line, as well as all of the characters. First of all, the mom in this classical work is quite the character. She’s so stuck in the past she is missing her children’s lives in the present. The son wants nothing more than to leave the house, while the daughter would be fine staying there forever. There’s so much more to this story than what appears on the surface. I just really enjoyed Williams’ style and his characterization.
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte→ Okay, at first, I really did not like this book. But by the end, I was completely invested in the character of Jane. (That seems to be a pattern with me, I don’t like it and then end up loving it a while later…) Anyway, this book is a coming-of-age story and as the reader, you really do get to see Jane grow up. The book starts out when she is a child and by the end, she’s a grown woman. You see her come into her own and stand up for herself and her values. You start rooting for things to finally work out for her. I really liked her as a character because it felt relatable.
4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott→ Growing up I loved reading Little Women. I read it multiple times, and it never seemed to get old! I also used to read the spin-off books that followed each of the March sisters. It’s a good story, full of loveable characters, and you feel like part of the family when you read it. I definitely recommend this book!
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley→ I liked the overall plot of this book. The futuristic, dystopian style like Orwell’s 1984 that comments on social issues and aspects of life that still apply today. I think it’s interesting also that after books like 1984 and Brave New World, the idea of what our world will be like in 100 years or more has become a popular basis for books and movies today. I like reading the classics that started the trend.

 

 

Of course, there are lots of classic works to pick from that all have their merits. These are just the five that come to mind as being books I really enjoyed reading or would read again.

I’m thinking of reading some Jane Austen or Tolstoy next. Any suggestions?

What’s your favorite classic book? Let me know!

Happy Reading and Happy Friday!

~Nadette