One For All
A classic is a book that doesn't have to be written again, according to Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Van Doren.
I mean who would want to alter a word of David Copperfield? How could anyone resist the lyrically formed Jane Eyre? Who would dare cut a single page from Anna Karenina?
When I had read everything from the pen of Jane Austen, I went into a blue funk, wanting more of her deceptively simple tales of families, disappointments and love. Through the occasionally gloomy Thomas Hardy, I met with the unfortunate Jude Fawley, trapped in a loveless marriage; the young and tragically beautiful Tess driven out of her home through poverty; and the despicable Michael Henchard who sold his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair.
Ruth, a fellow traveller in the book world, loves a good yarn.
Her nose is permanently stuck in something gripping, the eerie underworld of crime
reaching out and drawing her in. And she’s not averse to a spot of romance, or even a tale of wanderlust in the back of beyond. But for the last week she’s been stuck into The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas – a thick wedge of a book, brim full of action and adventure. "Oh, it’s much better than the film", she murmured before sinking back into a slump, eyes racing across the page, all further conversation a distraction to this passionate reader. I don’t expect to have a proper conversation with Ruth for some time; she’ll be far away in 19th century Paris with D’Artagnan and his friends Athos, Porthos and Aramis, fighting duels, crossing the English Channel, getting mixed up in politics, consorting with criminals and Countesses all while avoiding the evil eye of Cardinal Richelieu.
So, if you’re in between books with nothing new on the horizon, choose a classic – they come in every size, cater for all tastes – and tear yourself away from your present woes. You could dive into a tempestuous romance, discover the delights of David Copperfield (my favourite book ever), or enter a world where it’s un pour tous, tous pour un!
I mean who would want to alter a word of David Copperfield? How could anyone resist the lyrically formed Jane Eyre? Who would dare cut a single page from Anna Karenina?
When I had read everything from the pen of Jane Austen, I went into a blue funk, wanting more of her deceptively simple tales of families, disappointments and love. Through the occasionally gloomy Thomas Hardy, I met with the unfortunate Jude Fawley, trapped in a loveless marriage; the young and tragically beautiful Tess driven out of her home through poverty; and the despicable Michael Henchard who sold his wife and baby daughter for five guineas at a country fair.
Ruth, a fellow traveller in the book world, loves a good yarn.
Her nose is permanently stuck in something gripping, the eerie underworld of crime
reaching out and drawing her in. And she’s not averse to a spot of romance, or even a tale of wanderlust in the back of beyond. But for the last week she’s been stuck into The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas – a thick wedge of a book, brim full of action and adventure. "Oh, it’s much better than the film", she murmured before sinking back into a slump, eyes racing across the page, all further conversation a distraction to this passionate reader. I don’t expect to have a proper conversation with Ruth for some time; she’ll be far away in 19th century Paris with D’Artagnan and his friends Athos, Porthos and Aramis, fighting duels, crossing the English Channel, getting mixed up in politics, consorting with criminals and Countesses all while avoiding the evil eye of Cardinal Richelieu.So, if you’re in between books with nothing new on the horizon, choose a classic – they come in every size, cater for all tastes – and tear yourself away from your present woes. You could dive into a tempestuous romance, discover the delights of David Copperfield (my favourite book ever), or enter a world where it’s un pour tous, tous pour un!
Labels: Alexandre Dumas, classics, Jane Austen, Ruth, The Three Musketeers, Thomas Hardy
