Freya's Classics Challenge 2015

[Freya]

I really have far too many classics sitting around on my shelves, so this is the perfect challenge to try and get through some of them!

1. Vanity Fair (1847) - William Makepeace Thakeray
2. Little Women (1868) - Louisa May Alcott
3. Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891) - Thomas Hardy

4. The House of Mirth (1905) - Edith Wharton
5. Catch-22 (1961) - Joseph Heller
6. Love in the Time of Cholera (1985) - Gabriel Garcia Marquez [8th January] ★ ★ ★ ★

7. Heart of Darkness (1899) - Joseph Conrad
8. Wings Of The Dove (1901) - Henry James
9. Lady Chatterley's Lover [German] (1928) - D. H. Lawrence
10. Berlin Alexanderplatz [German] (1929) - Alfred Döblin
11. Homo faber [German] (1957) - Max Frisch
12. On the Road (1957) - Jack Kerouac [21st January] ★ ★


Alt-1: Birdsong (1993) - Sebastian Faulks
Alt-2: Atonement (2001) - Ian McEwan [12th January] ★ ★ ★ ★

[Freya]

6. Love in the Time of Cholera [8th January] ★ ★ ★ ★
348 pgs

This book is a throwback to the days when I was applying to university and my mother was attempting to get me to consider Spanish. I ended up doing Danish instead, possibly because I never got round to reading the book! I digress. Reading this after If On a Winter's Night it felt like a breath of fresh air. In terms of plot, I've read better and I've read worse, but it carries you along well enough. What really sets this apart for me though is the language. Even though I'm reading in translation (and a slightly jarring American one at that), Marquez uses words in a way no other author I've read has. Linguistically this book is startling. However, the American translation is a little too American in places for a Brit like me, and, if I'm going to be really picky, I'd prefer shorter chapters!

Alt-2. Atonement [12th January] ★ ★ ★ ★
372 pgs

There was one significant flaw with this book, which was admittedly my own fault - I knew the film far too well to really be able to enjoy it too much. I didn't think this would have been too much of an issue, film makers really go in for artistic licence, right? But no, aside from a small section at the end, even some of the dialogue was verbatim. I fear my appreciation also suffered a little reading this immediately after Marquez's verbose prose. However, love the time period, loved some of the characters, loved the way in which the first section was told from various perspectives.

12. On the Road [21st January] ★ ★
304 pgs

I'd been warned about this book, and my previous foray into American literature of the 1950's did not leave me particularly enamoured. On the Road did absolutely nothing to dispell my previous convictions.

[Katy, Quarterly Long Reads]

You have a few I've been considering -- great list.

[Janet]

I have read 2,4,5 7 and 12. I would like to read 1,3,6,8,9, Alt 1 and Alt 2. Nice list.

[Pink]

I've read 2, 5 and 7. Catch 22 was a little tricky for me to get into at first, but it ended up being one of my favourite books. I think I want to read all of your other choices!

[Bob, Short Story Classics]

Nice list, a good mix of old and new. I have read 1,4,7,&12, can recommend all but On the Road. Hope you do better with it than I did. I also giving thought to 3,5,&9 for my own list. Been wanting to read them for awhile. Enjoy your reads.

[Tytti]

I've read Little Women as a girl, remember liking it quite a lot. It was a gift from my godmother, if I recall correctly. I think from the others the first on my list would be Berlin Alexanderplatz, I think I nominated it once, a couple of others I own, On the Road in English, and I thought about picking Conrad's book for 1890s.

[[deleted user]]

Little Women is one of my all time favourites. Have #3 and #9 on my list for this challenge and #1 almost made it but I had too many choices!

[Andrea]

This is a great list! I've read at least half of those and don't have anything bad to say about them. Wonderful picks, I'm sure you'll enjoy!

[Freya]

Thank you all! I'm excited about some of them and less about others - some I started and they didn't catch my imagination at the time. Hoping they will this time around though!

[April]

I'd love to know what you think about Berlin Alexanderplatz. I'm trying to catch up with German classics. I've read Homo Faber. After a certain point it became quite difficult and I don't think it's a book you read to enjoy.