As an English student (well, graduate now I guess), you can pretty much guarantee I've had to read some classics in my time. I never really thought I'd be a classics person, enjoying a lot of YA and fantasy as I grew up. Turns out, classics have a lot to tell us about the way the world was, and the way authors wanted it to be. A lot of people are intimidated by classics - even the word turns a lot of people off - but they're brilliant social commentaries and incredibly well-written. There's a reason they're so famous, after all. So here's some of my favourite classic books which aren't too difficult to read, but will definitely give you food for thought!
1. The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde
Yeah, you've probably heard of this one. You know, Oscar Wilde. Famous for saying witty things and being gay. But he was also a brilliant writer who had a unique perspective of the world. His only finished novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray confronts the dark potential which resides within a life with no consequences. When Dorian meets the charismatic Lord Henry, his ideals are brought into question. Dorian soon after makes the mistake of wishing for eternal youth, and in doing so changes place with his portrait; Dorian's outward appearance will never change, whilst his portrait will take on the marks of age and corruption. This book was considered so scandalous that even after Wilde cut material from it, it was still used against him in his gross indecency trial. And yet, you'll find nothing but honesty within its pages. Wilde brilliantly captures the hypocrisy and shallowness of society in a horror which is simultaneously dazzling and terrifying. How far would you go if you knew there was no consequences?
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
I've talked before about the fact I never thought I'd enjoy Jane Austen - she's like the go to classic female writer and for so long I assumed her writing would be cliché romances about women swooning at the sight of a handsome man. And they kinda are, but in the funniest way possible. Pride and Prejudice though. Oh man. Probably on the list of my top ten books ever to be honest. I'm sure everyone knows the story by this point: Lizzie Bennett and Mr Darcy spin round each other in a will they won't they question of social boundaries and romantic ideals. But oh my god the social commentary, the feminism, the character development. I could go on for days about this book. Lizzie is the heroine we all deserve; she loves her family dearly, she is realistic about life and what she can expect from is, she is loyal, and intelligent, and speaks her mind. And Darcy is genuinely one of the greatest male characters I have ever come across in all the books I've read. Darcy recognises his privilege and his toxic behaviours and rectifies them. He loves Lizzie and after she rejects him he betters himself to that he can actually deserve her - BUT he doesn't do it in the hopes that she will marry him in return for his actions, he does it because he is willing to learn from her, he does good things without showing off about them because he realises the right thing to do is to help and ask for nothing in return. I cannot encourage you to read it enough, and to take your time with it. There is so much going on in Pride and Prejudice that I could take it apart paragraph by paragraph.
3. Lord of the Flies, William Golding
A little bit more up to date than my other recommendations, Lord of the Flies was published in 1954 and is a commentary on the violent nature of humanity - a post-war book reflecting on violence? Shocking.
Stick with me though. I know Lord of the Flies is one of those books no one wants to read because it's on the GCSE syllabus, but if you're willing to sit down with it, I guarantee you'll see it's there for a reason. Lord of the Flies follows a group of British school boys left to govern themselves when their plane crashes on a remote island, the pilots and teachers with them killed in the accident. What begins as a fun game for the boys soon turns serious as disputes break out and violence erupts. When I first read this book, I thought the ending had completely ruined it, but after a conversation with my English teacher at the time, she helped me see the bigger picture. Golding may have been writing about a bunch of school boys, but his exploration of the warlike impulse and inevitability of conflict have stayed with me since I read it. I've got to say, it's not a very happy book, but it is masterful in its use of allegory and irony - it's also super easy to read unlike many classic books.
4. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Yeah, okay, another one from the school syllabus. But. Have you considered there's a reason it's there?
Gatsby is full of dislikable characters doing morally wrong things and saying privileged things. But hey, that's the fun of it.
I'm sure a lot of you have already watched the film but (this is true in almost every case) the book has so much more to give. So much symbolism is lost in the film because it just cannot be conveyed in the same way. And the language of Gatsby is utterly beautiful. Honestly I'm not so much of a book-snob that I think people should read the book first or that you're better for reading the book, but the film cannot do The Great Gatsby justice. In the film you see the dislikable characters acting privileged and immoral and watch as a tragic love story plays out. The book though. That book had me feeling things. It is so much more tragic than the film can portray, and there's so much more to the world than the film is able to show.
5. 1984, George Orwell
I was debating for a long time what else I could put on this list. More Austen is always advised, and there's plenty of short stories I could promote. But since I'm going for books that can teach us something about the world we live in today, it had to be Orwell's 1984. A lot of people say Orwell's ability to predict things that have now become reality is scary but as they say, life imitates art. In a lot of ways, we all know where the world is heading, but I'd say the majority are willing to feign ignorance rather than change their behaviour to work toward a better future. 1984 looks at the futility of fighting against systems we don't understand, but despite Orwell's pessimism, his writing speaks to me of hope. Everything I've read of Orwell speaks of a world which is going downhill, becoming worse with each year that passes. But the irony in his voice shines through. Yes, 1984 depicts tragic world - but it's not the world Orwell wants. It's a world which is yet to be, a world we can prevent. There's a lot more to be taken from 1984 than the obvious discussion points.
Bonus recommendation: Fantomina, by Eliza Haywood
Okay so Fantomina is like 50 hilarious pages of a woman defying social conventions by sexually pursuing a man in a strange series of disguises. I'll say nothing more because I really think you need to read it for yourself, but it is utterly bizarre (and asks really good questions about social expectations and female freedoms).
So there you are. Some of my favourite classics which left me asking questions of our world and the ways we can change it. Any classics recommendations?
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