Wuthering Heights
I know that this book is supposed to be about "unrequited love" and how the passion of the main characters shaped their environment, but the more I read it (or read about it) the more I realize that it's simply a story about a girl who dates total assholes and destroys her family because of it.
Not that it isn't dramatic---it's just that I see this sort of thing happen every day and it really pisses me off.
I also think that too many characters have similar names. It's hard enough trying to figure out why the characters are such idiots without having to remember whether you're reading about elder Catherine, younger Catherine, Edgar Linton, Linton Heathcliff, Heathcliff, Hareton or Hindley. It's unnecessarily irritating and does not endear me to the novel.
I had to read this book in AP English class. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. I feel the same way about many William Faulkner novels. I feel that they're badly written and really just kind of stupid. Vague, confusing writing does not always mean a story is rich with symbolism---sometimes it just means it's a lot of crap.
It's not that I dislike the classics---I like many of them, and even when I don't like a book I can usually chalk it up to my personal tastes. Usually I can still see why a book is considered a classic, even though I personally did not care for it. I did not like Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness or Henry James' Turn of the Screw, and I really dislike most American classics. (Seriously, Catcher in the Rye? Dudes. Grow a pair and suck it up.) Again, I realize that this is probably a reflection on my own critical nature and it really just means that I didn't care about a plot enough to really try to pry into the deeper meaning of the book. Reading is like dating...if I'm not attracted, I'm going to keep my literary pants on. Yeah, I'm a bit of a Philistine.
Still, whenever I hear someone praise some obscure, barely readable classic, I wonder if that person REALLY liked the book or if they're just trying to appear educated. Just because it's a Classic, does it mean that it's good?
Not that it isn't dramatic---it's just that I see this sort of thing happen every day and it really pisses me off.
I also think that too many characters have similar names. It's hard enough trying to figure out why the characters are such idiots without having to remember whether you're reading about elder Catherine, younger Catherine, Edgar Linton, Linton Heathcliff, Heathcliff, Hareton or Hindley. It's unnecessarily irritating and does not endear me to the novel.
I had to read this book in AP English class. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now. I feel the same way about many William Faulkner novels. I feel that they're badly written and really just kind of stupid. Vague, confusing writing does not always mean a story is rich with symbolism---sometimes it just means it's a lot of crap.
It's not that I dislike the classics---I like many of them, and even when I don't like a book I can usually chalk it up to my personal tastes. Usually I can still see why a book is considered a classic, even though I personally did not care for it. I did not like Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness or Henry James' Turn of the Screw, and I really dislike most American classics. (Seriously, Catcher in the Rye? Dudes. Grow a pair and suck it up.) Again, I realize that this is probably a reflection on my own critical nature and it really just means that I didn't care about a plot enough to really try to pry into the deeper meaning of the book. Reading is like dating...if I'm not attracted, I'm going to keep my literary pants on. Yeah, I'm a bit of a Philistine.
Still, whenever I hear someone praise some obscure, barely readable classic, I wonder if that person REALLY liked the book or if they're just trying to appear educated. Just because it's a Classic, does it mean that it's good?
posted at 6:54 PM
2 Comments:
I love your analysis of things, love. We need to get together and gossip about celebrities, because you have such an outlook on their actions. It's good times, for sure.
good call. f'rinstance, i actually liked crime and punishment, even though it was painfully slow. but i could live without great expectations. so... who knows.
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