Hey everyone! I am looking for great Classic-Modern literature suggestions.

Books that have left a mark on you and that you think anyone should read.

 

Right now I am trying to enter to a little literature gathering group so as a entrance test I must propose a book for everyone to read. I've been thinking already of a few books but I thought some of you must have some wonderful suggestions too. :)

 

And please! try not to come up with something of Paulo Cohelo or Dan Brown.

I think Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior is one of the best books I've ever had to study in my years studying literature. Kingston's an Asian American writer, and her novel is a sort of semi-autobiography, dealing with being an immigrant and finding the balance needed to live between two different cultures. It's part fantasy (there's a chapter that tells the story of the legendary Chinese woman warrior, Mulan), and it's part real-life drama. If you like Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, you'll like this.

 

Oh, and I quite like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, too. I used to hate it when I was much younger, but after reading it again as an adult, it's really quite amazing. Especially when you read it from different perspectives. I mean, it's so easy to say that the book is about the dangers of technology and all that jazz, but it's also about the importance of having a loving family and being responsible parents... I felt sorry for the Monster in the story because he had no love in his life, mainly because he didn't have parents. The one he did have completely abandoned him. This point is very close to home, and perhaps that's why I found the book very moving.

1. How recent is modern? 20th century?

 

2. Tell us more about the group, if its just a small, informal book discussion, then something like 'The Brothers Karamasov' would be a bit long and heavy.

Pai, thanks for your recomendation... I will ask in the libraries of my city if there is a book avaliable in my language. At first sight the thematic of the book is not that appealing to me (Chinese-American, feminism), but meh, maybe I should expand my intellectual horizons. :D Thank you.

 

And Frankenstein... Yes, I know it can mean a lot more than the typical understanding of it. But there's still a cliché about it... Plus I don't want to read it again. I also did read it when I was very young. Hah.

 

1. How recent is modern? 20th century?

 

2. Tell us more about the group, if its just a small, informal book discussion, then something like 'The Brothers Karamasov' would be a bit long and heavy.

 

1. Yes... XX and XXI century mostly.

2. The group... It's quite small I believe. No more than 10 people. But I don't think it matters if it's long and heavy as long as it's a very good book. I've heard that the Karamázov Brothers is such a wonderful book. Maybe I could propose it later if I ever get chosen to be part of the group.

Btw, so far these are the books that I have in mind... And that I am sure, I could get here.

 

1. Yasunari Kawabata - First Snow On Fuji (Japan)

2. Milan Kundera - Immortality (Czech Republic)

3. Manuel Puig - Kiss of the Spider Woman (Argentina)

4. Boris Pasternak - Doctor Zhivago (Russia)

5. Philip Michael Ondaatje - The English Patient (Sri Lanka-Canada)

 

Have you people read any of these books? which would you choose? I put Kawabata first because I heard his writtings are simply splendid.

I was actually expecting for more suggestions from my highbrow coldplaying fellows...

 

:inquisitive:

What about In Lucia's Eyes by Arthur Japin? It's a historical novel about Casanova's first love. The original is in Dutch by the title Een Schitterend Gebrek. I'm kind of lazy, so here's a description:

 

Amsterdam 1758, and a man is artfully seducing a woman. He is, to all appearances, Monsieur le Chevalier de Seingalt, a French government envoy selling shares to the Dutch; she is a courtesan, well known in Amsterdam for the fact that she never removes her veil. He sets her a challenge: if she can find a woman who has suffered after falling in love with him, she is entitled to resist his charms; if not, she should succumb. What Seingalt doesn't know is that he has already met the veiled woman many years ago, in another life. What Lucia doesn’t know is that Seingalt will go down in history as one of the world’s greatest lovers, Casanova.

 

http://www.arthurjapin.nl/boekboek/show/id=72466

 

You can read an excerpt in English here. Definitely go check it out if you like it.

 

There are also translations in German and French, I think.

Read anything by Sonya Hartnett.

Every single one of her books has the ability to blow your mind into a thousand tiny pieces.

 

Her books are haunting, beautiful, and deeply psychological. They make for long and engaging discussions. If I would suggest one, it would be Surrender. But be warned, it is a tad disturbing.

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee.

^ya that

What about In Lucia's Eyes by Arthur Japin? It's a historical novel about Casanova's first love. The original is in Dutch by the title Een Schitterend Gebrek.

 

That book seems interesting, actually. Reminds me a little of Tolstoi's Anna Karenina, which I'm reading atm and is also about this woman who ends up victim of her passion for a player. Btw, I thought Casanova's historical character was a Venetian man, not French?

 

Her books are haunting, beautiful, and deeply psychological. They make for long and engaging discussions. If I would suggest one, it would be Surrender. But be warned, it is a tad disturbing.

 

Thank you. You got my attention. Can you tell a little bit more about the topics in her works?

 

Btw, By disturbing do you mean sexually disturbing? A friend yesterday told me he was reading "Desire" of Elfriede Jelinek (Nobel Prize 2004), and he told me a little about the story which was really disturbing in that way actually. :inquisitive: But I actually feel tempted to add it to my list of "books to read" Hahah.

 

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee.

 

Taken from wikipedia: the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial injustice and the destruction of innocence. Scholars have noted that Lee also addresses issues of class, courage and compassion, and gender roles in the American Deep South.

 

It actually looks interesting but can you give more of a personal opinion of it? why do you actually recomend it?

 

----

 

So many good books recommendations. Thanks. :wacko:

Taken from wikipedia: the primary themes of To Kill a Mockingbird involve racial injustice and the destruction of innocence. Scholars have noted that Lee also addresses issues of class, courage and compassion, and gender roles in the American Deep South.

 

It actually looks interesting but can you give more of a personal opinion of it? why do you actually recomend it?

 

 

I'm recommending it because I really enjoyed the book. We just read it in class for school and I loved how the book delivers the themes through the eyes of a child. It is very well written.

9 Stories - J.D. Salinger

 

Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger

 

Seymour: An Introduction... - J.D. Salinger

 

He far surpassed Catcher in the Rye with all of the above.

^I completely agree with you, particularly with Franny and Zooey.

 

I'd also second the recommendation for To Kill a Mockingbird. It's a classic piece of American literature and is just an amazing story.

 

I HIGHLY recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude or Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. They have a lot of magical realism, which some people don't love, but they are both incredible stories.

 

This one is not exactly modern, but try also Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It's dark... about a man who commits murder basically to see if he can get away with it. I haven't read it in years, but it made a huge impression on me when I first read it.

Mock-

Yeah!

Ing-

Yeah!

Bird-

Yeah!

Yeah-

Yeah!

 

Mockingbird, I'm gonna buyyy you a mockingbird, and if that mockin-bird don't sing, I'm gonna buy you a diamond ring...

As far as classics go, I've always gone more for Romatic or Medieval and Renaissance stuff, I'm not much of a fan of modernism, so I might not be much help...

 

If you want to go for eye-rollingly obvious classic choices, you can't go wrong with Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. They look big and scary at first, but they're endlessly readable and very well written.

 

For something more recent (sorry I'm a geek) I'd highly recommend Frank Herbert's original "Dune". Perceived destiny and the horrible things that can come from it, cultural entitlement and prejudice, ecology and ecological destruction, capitalism vs. people ("the spice must flow"), drug trafficking, monopolies, jihad and terrorism, the role of religion in government... There would certainly be a lot to talk about. Depending on which way you look at it it can be seen as an allegory for a lot of different things. But most importantly, it's a great story. :D

Thank you. You got my attention. Can you tell a little bit more about the topics in her works?

 

Btw, By disturbing do you mean sexually disturbing? A friend yesterday told me he was reading "Desire" of Elfriede Jelinek (Nobel Prize 2004), and he told me a little about the story which was really disturbing in that way actually. :inquisitive: But I actually feel tempted to add it to my list of "books to read" Hahah.

 

No, no! There's not much sexuality in her books, actually. :lol:

And I sent you a PM about Surrender.

Yes! Read Michael Ondaatje's works! He writes so beautifully. I haven't read The English Patient, but I did read his memoir, Running in the Family, which is about finding out about his identity by going to his birthplace and exploring different stories about his different family members...

 

Also, if you've read Bronte's Jane Eyre, you might find Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea interesting... It's about Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester's crazy wife... In this book, she is depicted as a victim, and Mr Rochester is a jerk! :P

9 Stories - J.D. Salinger

 

Franny and Zooey - J.D. Salinger

 

Seymour: An Introduction... - J.D. Salinger

 

He far surpassed Catcher in the Rye with all of the above.

 

I really wanted to read Catcher in the Rye. But I wasn't so keen on the idea of starting "American Literature". I think I will soon. Seems really interesting!

 

I'd also second the recommendation for To Kill a Mockingbird. It's a classic piece of American literature and is just an amazing story.

 

I HIGHLY recommend One Hundred Years of Solitude or Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. They have a lot of magical realism, which some people don't love, but they are both incredible stories.

 

This one is not exactly modern, but try also Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It's dark... about a man who commits murder basically to see if he can get away with it. I haven't read it in years, but it made a huge impression on me when I first read it.

 

OKAY! To Kill a Mockingbird... Is good I get it!

And I've read already the other books you mentioned. :smug:

As far as classics go, I've always gone more for Romatic or Medieval and Renaissance stuff, I'm not much of a fan of modernism, so I might not be much help...

 

:(

 

The book you just reviewed looks awesome though. It gets on my list of books to read! :wacko:

 

No, no! There's not much sexuality in her books, actually. :lol:

And I sent you a PM about Surrender.

 

Haha, okay. I'm quite disappointed. :kidding: Thanks!

 

Yes! Read Michael Ondaatje's works! He writes so beautifully. I haven't read The English Patient, but I did read his memoir, Running in the Family, which is about finding out about his identity by going to his birthplace and exploring different stories about his different family members...

 

Also, if you've read Bronte's Jane Eyre, you might find Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea interesting... It's about Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester's crazy wife... In this book, she is depicted as a victim, and Mr Rochester is a jerk! :P

 

Ondaatje... My friend who belongs to the literature gathering and encouraged me to try to enter told me he would vote for reading Ondaatje. I'm confused now! I was really rooting for proposing Kawabata's book. :P

 

I think we did read Jane Eyre in English class at school... But it was a very little version of it for english students. It was long time ago but still I think I remember Bertha Mason. :lol: Maybe I should read the real book... But as it happens with "American Literature" I'm not normally too keen on the idea of reading "English, Victorian Literature". I think it might be, cause besides Shakespeare, we never had anything of that kind to read at school, where I developed my pleasure for literature. :)

I remember Jane Eyre!

Wuthering Heights was a thousand times better, in my opinion. I would highly suggest that one. (Heathcliff > Rochester. :P)

 

I'm a big fan of the whole English Romantic period...especially in poetry. In fact, there are some good poets you might be able to read. Byron, Keats, Wordsworth...They're all so great.

Classic literature: ANY and EVERY Sherlock Holmes story ever written. :heart:

1. How recent is modern? 20th century?

 

2. Tell us more about the group, if its just a small, informal book discussion, then something like 'The Brothers Karamasov' would be a bit long and heavy.

 

What he said

I'd recommend you Garcia Maquez, Goethe and Carlos Fuentes but you've probably read them :P

what about herman hesse or albert camus?

Yes, I have read García Márquez and also Goethe but not Carlos Fuentes... what can you recomend from him?

 

I've also read Hesse's Steppenwolf (one of the best books I've read) and have tried to read Siddhartha two times before but never advanced too much (I have to read it all sometime soon!). What have you read from him? And I know Camus is sort of existencialist... I'm quite fed up with my own existencialist shit (questions no one has answers for) so I've never read anything of him.

 

Haha, just realised that last part sounds quite funny. :P But didn't know how to express that in other way. Gotta improve my English skills a little.