How come I don't get classic literature?

[Continuity]

Hello there fellow Escapists,

This summer, I have been given the task to read 20 foreign literary classics, like Hamlet, Inferno, Don Quijote, Robinson Crusoe and etc. As of writing this review, I have only read Inferno and Don Quijote.

Let me stop you right there. I have read hundreds of classic novels and I can tell you for a fact these two are tough nuts to crack by comparison to most. In fact i've not finished either.

I strongly suggest you start with some easier material.

Edit: if you want something great read Les Misérables

EDIT 1: Should I feel stupid for not liking classic literature?

EDIT 2: If a book is considered "good for it's time" does that mean it holds up today? And should it be regarded as better than anything in recent years?

Question 1: No, but classic literature is culture on a stick. If you don't like culture then at best you're ignorant.

Question 2: In my opinion the classics are classics, full stop. They were classic when they were written, they are classics now, and they will be classics for as long as they and we exist. Part of what makes them classics is the historical context in which the book is written. You cant just pick up a classic and read it as if it were written yesterday and expect it to be like modern books... you have to take the time and effort to ground yourself in the history and culture that the book came out of, the best way to do which is just to read more classics!

I firmly believe that classics are not merely "good for their time" and in fact if you gave me the mandatory choice between loosing all fiction works written after 1950 or before, I wouldn't hesitate to loose the newer novels. So yes, classics do hold up today as great works of literary art... do they hold up as pulp fiction for the modern unwashed masses? no, but then that's no what they are trying to be.

 

[Ryank1908]

I think it essentially boils down to the fact that those pieces of literature were written for audiences before your time. As in, hundreds of years before it. That's not to say you can't enjoy an old piece of literature - I absolutely love Heart of Darkness by Conrad and Pound is my favourite poet - but unless their themes and characters can properly connect with you on some level, you lose the instant connection of time; that familiarity between your mental dialect and the way the author has written the book.

Sounds pretentious, I know, but you get what I mean.

 

[Grospoliner]

Simple. You are not part of the target demographic that the books were written for. If you can't read them objectively then you're not going to understand them.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Nothing wrong with not liking classic literature. Just because a book is considered a classic doesn't mean you have to like. Not everyone is going to like every book. For example I read The Brothers Karamazov and absolutley loved it. Based of that and a recommendation I decided to read War and Peace which I found to be kinda of 'meh' and a bit long slog to read.

 

[Jack and Calumon]

Calumon: Maybe you shouldn't care and read what you like?

Um ... sorry, but what's a "Calumon"

Who is Calumon? WHO IS CALUMON?

Calumon, this person question you, should I tell him about you?

Calumon: Ummm... Why are you talking funny? I guess you can...

Jack: Very well. You see MAH BOI, I, after a ludicrous chain of events, started posting from both my perspective, and Calumon, a Digimon, the one in my avatar. Why? Well it's all detailed in this wonderfully preserved thread!

IT'S SO WONDERFUL! [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.188887-Calumon-Explained-By-me-and-Calumon#5831408]

Everything is outlined there, from motives, to reason I do it. Might need some sprucing up, my old style of writing is boring while now I flow with writing better than a bird through the skies.

Calumon: More like a pirate through mud! :3