SOLVED. Pre-1986 Non Fiction collection of synopses of Classic Literature in a fun way. Two-Minute Masterpieces? [s]

[Erin]

Possibly titled something along the lines of 2 Minute Masterpieces or 5 Minute Classics or something like that, but Google searching doesn't pop anything up that looks right.

I used to read this in the public library while I waited for my mom to pick me up after school. It was a collection of fun synopses of classic literature in just a few sentences, or a poem, or things like that. I remember the entry for "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" particularly. It was a poem.

The place: Peru. The time: long gone.
A bridge of rope much traveled on
Goes crashing down. Five natives die.
God's will, or chance? These five- but why?
Survivors tell, each one, a tale
Of hope and love, joy and travail
Whose summing up reveals no plan
To justify God's ways to Man But this:
We're loved a while and then forgotten
Both by gods and men
But when our lives are sacrificed
Love, itself, will have sufficed.


There's a bit more, but my memory gets too foggy after 35+ years to pull it forward.

I don't recall if the whole book was poetry about classic literature, or if there was some prose mixed in, but it was all in the vein of boiling down those books we all should be familiar with into bite-sized nuggets of knowledge. To this day I have never read The Bridge of San Luis Rey, but I feel I know exactly what the themes of the novel are due to this book and the above-referenced poem.

Any leads on finding this? Now that I actually have read a lot more classic literature than I ever had as a young teenager, I'd like to see if the entries stand up.

Possibly totally wrong, but in my dusty memory the cover had a cartoony drawing of William Shakespeare with a quill in his hand...

[Ayshe]

ShrinkLits: Seventy of the World's Towering Classics Cut Down to Size maybe?

[Erin]

Ayshe, you are a wonder! This is exactly it. Armed with the title I was able to look it up and find the exact poem I remember (amazingly well, if I do say so myself, considering I read it some 35+ years ago). Thank you!

[Erin]

Do not know how to reshelve, but this is now SOLVED.

[Kris]

Glad you found your book, Erin. I marked your request as Solved by clicking the small "edit" link after the header/ topic title. This only works on the Full Desktop website - not the Mobile website or app. (On the Mobile website, scroll to the bottom and tap on "Desktop version".)

[Erin]

Thank you, Kris! Yes I'm on mobile, and looked in vain for a way to edit. I'll remember your tip for next time.

[Kris]

You're welcome. I think many people don't realize they can switch to the full Desktop version (with all the group features) if they use a mobile browser like Chrome or Safari -- and avoid using the app.