For those who have recently finished LM, what are you planning to read next? I'm reading a novel that's decidedly different from LM--"The Last of the Mohicans" by Fenimore Cooper. While Hugo was definitely a romanticist, Cooper seems more a classicist to me.
Compared with LM, TLOTM seems almost like a short story! LOL. While Cooper's writing is not nearly as "fluent" and poetic as Hugo's, he does seem to show a lot more refreshing restraint and discipline as a novelist. That is, he doesn't just go off for pages and pages on a wild tangent, and his chapters are all about 8-12 pages long. He packs in the adventure in an exciting, yet methodical, way.
Now, truth be told, the first pages and first chapter of TLOTM were BOR-ing. And the second chapter was almost as dry. I wanted to give up so many times. But once you get to the third chapter and beyond, the story becomes more interesting and easier to follow. I'm now over a third of the way through the book, and I couldn't imagine putting it down now. I've gotten used to Cooper's awkward style at this point, and his clever story-telling is holding my interest. Although certainly not the easiest writer to read, he's definitely a nice change of pace from Hugo. Cooper gives you mostly story (at least after the first 20 pages), not philosophy. ;)
Compared with LM, TLOTM seems almost like a short story! LOL. While Cooper's writing is not nearly as "fluent" and poetic as Hugo's, he does seem to show a lot more refreshing restraint and discipline as a novelist. That is, he doesn't just go off for pages and pages on a wild tangent, and his chapters are all about 8-12 pages long. He packs in the adventure in an exciting, yet methodical, way.
Now, truth be told, the first pages and first chapter of TLOTM were BOR-ing. And the second chapter was almost as dry. I wanted to give up so many times. But once you get to the third chapter and beyond, the story becomes more interesting and easier to follow. I'm now over a third of the way through the book, and I couldn't imagine putting it down now. I've gotten used to Cooper's awkward style at this point, and his clever story-telling is holding my interest. Although certainly not the easiest writer to read, he's definitely a nice change of pace from Hugo. Cooper gives you mostly story (at least after the first 20 pages), not philosophy. ;)
So, what is everyone else reading?