What are your top 5 books? Very difficult Eay! [Archive]

KAY

3rd November 2006, 17:57

It's taken a while for me to be able to narrow it down to 5 but in no particular order:

1) Catcher in the Rye.

2)The Giants House ( by Elizabeth Mc Cracken)

3) The jamacia Inn ( Daphine Du Maurier)

4) Through the narrow gate. Karen Armstrong)

5) The handmaids Tale ( Margaret Atwood)

The other two i wanted on that list were "Rebecca" br Daphine Du Maurier and "Shadows of the wind" but they missed it by a whisker.

Liz

3rd November 2006, 18:04

Ooooooo......tough one.
In the mood I'm in at the moment, my top five are.....

Animal Farm ~ George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four ~ George Orwell

The Picture of Dorian Gray ~ Oscar Wilde

Moving Pictures ~ Terry Pratchett

Ginger Geezer: The Life of Vivian Stanshall ~ L. Randall & C. Welch

Come tomorrow morning, though, and this list would have changed.

Kell

3rd November 2006, 18:08

Ooh, it's a toughie that one! Lets see, in no particular order...

The Stand by Stephen King
Winnie the Pooh by A A Milne
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
The Sacred Art of Stealing by Christopher Brookmyre
The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis (I know that's seven books, but my copy is an omnibus edition - LOL!)

Michelle

3rd November 2006, 18:11

We tried to compile a forum 'top 10' a while back, by asking people for their personal top 10. Most found it really difficult.. and the final range was extensive!

Liz

3rd November 2006, 18:12

The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis (I know that's seven books, but my copy is an omnibus edition - LOL!)

Ooooo....Clever thinking, that. ;)

mrstrecool

10th November 2006, 17:28

This is really hard, I've been thinking long and hard about this. I THINK my top 5 is:

1. Travelling Light-Katrina Kittle
2. Ophelia's Revenge-Rebecca Reisert
3. Little Women-Louisa M. Alcott
4. If Only It Were True-Marc Levy
5. The Thorn Birds-Colleen McCullough

I'm sure I'll change my mind as soon as I've hit Submit Reply!! That's my top 5 today!

Tiger

10th November 2006, 18:39

Soul Eater- Michelle Paver
Spirit Walker- Michelle Paver
Ingo- Helen Dunmore
Tide Knot- Helen Dunmore
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- J.K. Rowling

Kell

10th November 2006, 21:24

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- J.K. Rowling Tjhis is my fave HP book so far, Tiger - I loved it!:readingtwo:

Icecream

10th November 2006, 22:26

Tjhis is my fave HP book so far, Tiger - I loved it!:readingtwo:

What about 'The Half Blood Prince'?

Kell

11th November 2006, 00:17

I loved them all, but Goblet just pipped then all for me. ;)

Gyre

11th November 2006, 00:38

Hello,

Oh this is a toughie....

1. Weaveworld by Clive Barker

2. The Dark Tower - The Wolves of Calla by Stephen King

3. Little Big Man by Thomas Berger

4. Harry Potter and The Prison of Azkaban by J K Rowling

:readingtwo:

~V~

11th November 2006, 01:06

in no particular order (and subject to change):

Mr God, This is Anna by Fynn
The Eight by Katherine Neville
The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman (i'm with Kell on this one)

Sugar

11th November 2006, 20:12

Very tough. I have a top 10, but I'm not sure which make the cut for the top 5!

Possibly:

Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulkes
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
Ink Heart - Cornelia Funke
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

I might change my mind though! There are so many......

Lilywhite

12th November 2006, 14:20

Right now, the first 5 favs I can think of are....

Rebecca ~ Daphne Du Maurier

Memoirs of a Geisha ~ Arthur Golden

My Sisters Keeper ~ Jodi Picoult

Eragon ~ Christopher Paolini

Stuart: A Life Backwards ~ Alexander Masters

This is in no particular order and there are more, but I could only think of this off the top of my head. :D

12th November 2006, 22:51

I love reading lists like this. So telling.

Memoirs of a Geisha

Honest Illusions

Fighting Reuben Wolfe

Wages of Sin

Chesapeake Blue

KW

Snowflake

14th November 2006, 15:19

KAY

22nd January 2007, 22:54

i agree with sophies world but bell jar was depressing

Purple Poppy

23rd January 2007, 21:38

I find lists like this really difficult.
The ones that spring to mind, are(and they will probably change tomorrow)...in no particular order

A Traveller in Time - Alison Uttley
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things - Jon McGregor
The Woodlanders - Thomas Hardy
The Woman in White - Wilki Collins

Pp

samgrosser

24th January 2007, 13:14

Right now, the first 5 favs I can think of are....

Very well put. My first 5 right now are:

A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway (that one is always top of the list)
The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
Lord of the Rings
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
Atonement, Ian McEwan

Gyre

24th January 2007, 13:49

All great choices everyone :mrgreen:

Polka Dot Rock

24th January 2007, 15:41

I've gone on 're-reading' factor...

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Animal Farm - George Orwell
After You'd Gone - Maggie O'Farrell
Maus - Art Speigelman*

*yes PP, that again, lol!

I would also like to mention Matilda, Lolita, Brideshead Revisited, On Beauty, The Handmaid's Tale, Wise Children, Dracula and Nervous Conditions... Sorry! But I think those five above would do most nicely :)

Polka Dot Rock

24th January 2007, 15:44

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Aw, I love The Bell Jar - that's also a favourite. I read it when I was 13 and really enjoyed it, but when I read it again at 20 it really freaked me out as I was relating to it! :icon_eek: I know a lot of people find it depressing, but I find it truthful and quite inspiring.

Purple Poppy

24th January 2007, 17:26

Well done Amy...a sly plug! :friends0:

Rosie

24th January 2007, 20:25

Hmm.... this is difficult but these five are among my all time favourites

A Month In The Country - J L Carr

To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

Possession - A. S. Byatt

North & South - Elizabeth Gaskell

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

I could add a lot more:)

Purple Poppy

24th January 2007, 20:27

Rosie

25th January 2007, 12:18

I haven't read North and South yet. But I have always loved Cranford (which I re-read a few weeks ago). Some folk say its better than Cranford. What do you think? Presumably you do too as its one of your top picks!;)

I'm ashamed to admit that I've never read Cranford so I can't answer your question, but the reason I like North and South are the wonderful descriptions of the northern towns, mills and social conditions of the 1850s and I also like Margaret, the heroine - it is such a long time since I read the book but the story always sticks in my memory and so that's why I chose it.

I must give Cranford a try:) Good excuse to go to the library........:D

Purple Poppy

25th January 2007, 19:07

Mary Barton is supposed to be very good too, as a critique of the working conditions of the people employed in the mills. I just wish I had more time to read all these!

Pp

Polka Dot Rock

25th January 2007, 19:12

I read Mary Barton! I really enjoyed it, did it for a Victorian Novel course. It's totally melodramatic and quite unintentionally hilarious at times, but it's a great read. Especially as it refers to bits of Manchester that I was all too familiar with (in fact, a character - not an important one, this isn't a spolier - dies of exhaustion on Oxford Road and it really creeped me out, knowing that this must have happened. Spooky).

Purple Poppy

25th January 2007, 19:15

Another one to go on the wanted list, methinks!
Thanks PDR, I thinkkkkk......:lol:

Maureen

25th January 2007, 21:22

Wow, was quite surprised by how much people loved Memoires of a Geisha

poppy

26th January 2007, 01:58

Books that various people have mentioned which I've enjoyed are ....

Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons is wonderfully funny in this "I saw something nasty in the woodshed" still stays with me.

The English Patient - one of my favourites

A Month in the Country - this is a beautifully written and crafted little book

Brideshead Revisited - excellent

A Traveller in Time - read this when quite young and it made a lasting impression on me, mean to read it again soon.

The only book that every one raves over which annoyed the living daylights out of me, was The Remains of the Day. It's very well written I know, but soooooo slooooow. I just want to shake the butler, he is so tightly reined in and unemotional. I found it pedantic in style and frustrating. However, very much enjoyed the movie with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins.

No-one has mentioned any of E.M.Forster's books.
A Room With A view
Howard's End
A Passage to India

Anyone like these?

Funnily enough I have seen all the books, with the exception of A Traveller in Time, as films and enjoyed every one of them. The British do it so well :D

Kell

26th January 2007, 08:27

Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons is wonderfully funny in this "I saw something nasty in the woodshed" still stays with me.
i'm sure that's a lyrc to a song too... "She said, 'There's something in the woodshed'..." Can't for the life of me remember who it's by though...

ETA: The band is The Devine Comedy and the song is Something for the Weekend

Rosie

26th January 2007, 08:30

poppy, I'm so glad to see that you too like 'A Month in the Country' it is a wonderful story and I've read it about 4 times now, the film of it was good too. I've not come across many people who have heard of it.

I also like E. M. Forster especially A Room with a View and Howards End, the films of both were excellent, too:)

Purple Poppy

26th January 2007, 12:02

Poppy said;
Funnily enough I have seen all the books, with the exception of A Traveller in Time, as films and enjoyed every one of them. The British do it so well :D

I'm surprised that its never been turned into a childrens' TV drama. I loved the book, and it stayed with me too, all these years, and then last year I managed to get a copy and re read it. Love it.

Acesare*

27th January 2007, 00:44

i'm sure that's a lyrc to a song too... "She said, 'There's something in the woodshed'..." Can't for the life of me remember who it's by though...

ETA: The band is The Devine Comedy and the song is Something for the Weekend

I love that song!

muggle not

27th January 2007, 01:12

I will name my favorite 3 books. It is too tough for me to pick others as there are so many good ones.

The Grapes Of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Old Man And The Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Moon Is Down - John Steinbeck

I also really enjoyed the Trilogy by Steinbeck:
Tortilla Flat, Cannery Row, and Sweet Thursday.

Obviously, Steinbeck is by far my favorite writer.

poppy

27th January 2007, 03:23

pontalba

27th January 2007, 04:07

Rosie

27th January 2007, 20:16

Rosie, have you read any of R.F.Delderfield? Particularly enjoyed 'A Horeseman Riding By' and 'To Serve Them All My Days'.

Yes, poppy, I read both of those, quite few years ago now, I remember shedding a tear or two at the time:)

pontalba

28th January 2007, 04:41

Yes, poppy, I read both of those, quite few years ago now, I remember shedding a tear or two at the time:)
I read God is an Englishman ages ago and loved it. :D

poppy

28th January 2007, 06:23

Pontalba, if you liked God is an Englishman, I'm sure you'd love A Horseman Riding By. It has three volumes, so a longish read, but has some really wonderful characters in it. Sorry, I'm sure you don't need any more to add to your list :blush:

Renniemist

28th January 2007, 09:30

Oh my goodness I read those Delderfield books years and years ago. They were wonderful books. I think I will have to read them again.

Thanks for reminding me about them.

muggle not

28th January 2007, 15:33

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
Speak, Memory - Vladimir Nabokov
Malevil - Robert Merle
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
The Sacketts - Louis L'Amour

I suppose I selected favorites as books I can go back to and reread anytime like an old friend I haven't seen in a while. There are tons more, but that's a start at any rate, and the "top" ones change as time goes by.
I also enjoyed the Sacketts by L'Amour. There are 17 books that involve the Sacketts in one way or another. I believe that i may have mentioned somewhere that I have L'Amour's entire collection of all his books, over 100 and have read them all twice. The last time I read them I wrote, in pencil, in the books the date that I read them.

pontalba

28th January 2007, 23:14

LOL Muggle! I was counting the series as one book. ;) Ya caught me! I have a few others of L'Amour's, but not many. I do like his writing a lot though, and Sacketts is one I love to go back and reread. One of these days I might get to read all of his. I hope. :mrgreen:

Rosie

4th February 2007, 16:31

dogmatix

4th February 2007, 19:58

Impossible task! Impossible!

I don't want to leave any of the great books out:irked: and I can't even bring myself to try.

I can only list my single most favorite book of all times "Watership Down" - Richard Adams

Now I could list my favorite authors no problem.....

Ecco, Saramago, Irving

Icecream

4th February 2007, 20:51

Careful, before you know it someone will be starting a top 5 favourite authors thread..;)

Amanda1

5th February 2007, 20:53

Anna Karenin - Tolstoy
White Teeth - Zadie Smith
She Came to Stay - de Beauvoir
Age of Reason - Satre
Atlas Shrugged - Rand

stop me now!

wrathofkublakhan

7th February 2007, 06:36

Yikes ... first posting!

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
2. M*A*S*H - John Hooker
3. Dragonsinger/Dragonsong - Anne McCaffrey
4. Battlefield Earth - L. Ron Hubbard
5. And ... ten hundred others!

Kell

7th February 2007, 07:04

Hi WoKK (I hope you don't mind me shorteningyour name there!) & :welcome: to the forum! I agree with 2 of your choices right off:

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
5. And ... ten hundred others!
I read Cuckoo's Nest when I was about 15 or 16 & loved it (I was already a fan of the film). As for option No. 5, I think there are quite a few of us here who would go for that option! ;)

Acesare*

7th February 2007, 21:15

Yikes ... first posting!

Hiya and welcome. Normally I'd say Hi Wrath, but we have a Wraith and it would get too confusing :lol:

Why don't you pop across to thge introduction thread and telkl us a bit about you? I promise we don't bite :D

Amanda1

9th February 2007, 10:25

Ummmm.....top five books (non classics) at the moment are:
1. Haweswater by Sarah Hall
2. The Discovery of Chocolate by James Runcie
3. Distant Music by Lee Langley
4. Music and Silence by Rose Tremain
5. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Distant Music has just been sent to me from Amazon. It's not the sort of book I would usually read si I'm looking forward to it. I'll let you know what I think

JudyB

26th March 2007, 19:22

Tough one this - here goes...

1. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (I love everything about this - it's poetic, the descriptions are wonderful and the characters brilliant)

2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (a moving novel which teaches the reader about Afgan culture but also contains universal emotional truths)

3. The Rotter's Club by Jonathan Coe (brilliant characterisation and it captures the social and political climate so well - I think Johnathan Coe is a Dickens of our time)

4. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola (shocking and compelling tale)

5. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens (love this as it deals with the expansion of the railways and so is a social commentary of that time and also looks at forgiveness)

There are loads of novels that haven't made the list.

muggle not

29th March 2007, 23:40

Read several Steinbecks many year ago Muggle, especially remember 'The Grapes of Wrath' as being very good. Have this and also 'Of Mice and Men' and 'The Pastures of Heaven'. On my 'to be re-read soon' list.

Rosie, have you read any of R.F.Delderfield? Particularly enjoyed 'A Horeseman Riding By' and 'To Serve Them All My Days'.
Poppy, please give The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck a read. It is a relatively short book which I believe you will like. Makes one think a bit and appreciate mankind.

poppy

31st March 2007, 02:29

Poppy, please give The Moon Is Down by John Steinbeck a read. It is a relatively short book which I believe you will like. Makes one think a bit and appreciate mankind.

Thanks for that Muggle, have written it down for my next trip to the library.

Nici76

2nd April 2007, 19:26

Right, I have given this a lot of thought.....these are my most favourite books in the whole wide world! (In no particular order).

1. Jean Auel - The valley of the horses
2. Barbara Erskine - Hiding from the light
3. Barbara Erskine - Child of the phoenix
4. Nancy McKenzie - Queen of Camelot
5. Stephen King - Rose Madder

:D

Bunny

2nd April 2007, 20:53

The Crucible ~ Arthur Miller
Animal Farm ~ George Orwell
Lord of the Flies ~ William Golding
El Otro Arbol De Guernica ~ Luis Castresana
Winnie the Pooh ~ AA Milne

makes me wonder why I read so much chick lit at the moment where there are so many more mind stimulating books out there

2nd April 2007, 21:33

Somehow five is easier than ten:

Honest Illusions by Nora Roberts
Wages of Sin by Penn Williamson
Mortal Sins by Penn Williamson
Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
Fighting Reuben WOlfe by Markus Zusak

KW

KAY

8th April 2007, 19:31

Thats a good a idea

rock_faery_666

21st April 2007, 15:45

In no particular order...

The Bitch Goddess Notebook by Martha O'Connor
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Othello by William Shakespeare
An Inspector Calls by JB Priestley
Emma by Jane Austen

ellie

24th April 2007, 18:08

The Regeneration Trilogy Pat Barker
The World Is Not Enough Zoe Oldenbourg
Katherine Anna Seaton
Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell
The Woman In White Wilkie Collins

I enjoy reading these books over and over.

ellie:readingtwo:

SteffieB

13th July 2007, 16:51

What an inspiring thread this is! Ok, already, I'll read Wuthering Heights, it's been on the Leaning Tower for a, ahem, very long time now:)

After reading everyone else's lists I find it impossible to narrow mine down. Boy, did I love If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things..so thoughtful. It's nice to know there are other Zusaks to search out, too. And what's this Bitch Goddess Notebook -- the title alone is alluring:)

I just finished Good Omens on the recommendation of a really good friend...it was so good I immediately turned it over to a kid at the hospital. He's only got 10 pages to go!

I'm so glad I found this forum:smile2: Sigh!:friends0:

Hazeltree

13th July 2007, 19:28

This is so hard! There are several groups of books by authors that I really like -
Diana Gabaldon's Cross Stich etc,
Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear etc,
Trudi Canavan's Black Magician Trilogy,
J K Rowling's Harry Potter series (of course!)
Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series

Long Term favourites (single books) include:
Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Hobbit - J R R Tolkien
Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien
Devil Water - Anya Seton
Watership Down - Richard Adams

Those are off the top of my head and I know I've cheated by putting my favourite series's (if that's a word!) of books but I couldn't pick one out of a series!

Kylie

14th July 2007, 00:56

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
Dracula, Bram Stoker

Oblomov

14th July 2007, 01:03

1. Fatherland by Robert Harris
2. World Fair by E L Doctorow
3. The Night of the Generals by H H Kirst
4. Black Sunday by Thomas Harris
5. The Consort by Anthony Heckstall-Smith

Echo

14th July 2007, 01:11

Wow, this is really hard!

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
3. The Stand by Stephen King
4. Vanity Fair by W.M. Thackeray
5. all of the Pendergast novels combined by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (I know that's kind of cheating, but so what?:lol:)

Lone Watie

14th July 2007, 11:52

I agree. A lot tougher than I thought it would be. I read this yesterday, and have chewed on it ever since.

1. Daniel Defoe ~ Robinson Crusoe
2. James Fenimore Cooper ~ Last of the Mohicans
3. Larry McMutry ~ Lonesome Dove
4. The Dalai Lama ~ The Art of Happiness
5. Blackwolf Jones ~ Listen to the Drum

NiceguyEddie

22nd July 2007, 19:33

Thayt's tricky one, and subject to regular change:

David Mitchell Cloud Atlas
John Irving Owen Meaney
Harry Thompson This Thing of Darkness
John Updike Rabbit, Run
Ian Rankin Resurrection Men

If I answered tomorrow it would be a different five I'm sure.

Oblomov

22nd July 2007, 19:54

1. Fatherland by Robert Harris
2. World Fair by E L Doctorow
3. The Night of the Generals by H H Kirst
4. Black Sunday by Thomas Harris
5. The Consort by Anthony Heckstall-Smith

BTW, the above 5 are my favourite modern books. I have to classify classics separately. They are:

1. Nostromo by Joseph Conrad (I am currently re-reading this one)
2. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
4. Orlando by Virginia Woolf
5. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

Polka Dot Rock

25th July 2007, 13:16

John Updike Rabbit, Run

Ah, I love Updike's Rabbit series! I used Rabbit, Run in an exam. Although I do need to get hold of the last two :blush:
Have you read the others? What did you think of Rabbit Redux? I think I may even like it more than ...Run!

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Great choices IMO, Oblomov! :mrgreen:

Polka Dot Rock

25th July 2007, 13:20

Think I need to update mine...

Nervous Conditions - Tsitsi Dangarembga
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Maus - Art Speigelman
The Crimson Petal and The White - Michel Faber
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

Oblomov

25th July 2007, 15:31

carm

25th July 2007, 15:47

here are my choices:
1-I Know this much is true by wally lamb
2-the stand- stephen king
3-what looks like crazy on an ordinary day- pearl cleage
4-the lovely bones- alice sebold
5- kite runner- khalid hosseini
-carm

NiceguyEddie

25th July 2007, 17:23

Have you read the others? What did you think of Rabbit Redux? I think I may even like it more than ...Run!

Yes, I've read all three + the novella of a couple of years ago.

Rabbit Redux is extremely good. Rabbit and his son descend into chaos when his wife leaves. It's a while since I read them all, but as a kind of American history snapshot, it's very interesting as he goes through the decades.

I actually on chose Rabbit, Run because I didn't want to choose the Rabbit series as that's 3 1/2 books, but it could have been any of them. Rabbit is Rich is very good also.

FishAndChips

25th July 2007, 17:50

I have never liked Wuthering Heights (the wife is crazy about it) for reasons that I cannot fathom myself. The book left a bad taste in my mouth because of the unpleasant lead. I find Heathcliffe's character almost sadomasochist and his relationship with Cathy delibrately perverse. The story looks a bit too much at the negative and unredeemable aspects of humans.

I loved Wuthering Heights (I've only read it once, I wonder how it would stand up to a re-read) but I hated Heathcliffe character. I think that's one of the things that impressed me about the book, how much it made me get involved.

NiceguyEddie

25th July 2007, 18:20

I loved Wuthering Heights

Me too. I studied it for A level & loved it. The same could not be said about Hard Times as we had some drippy student teacher teaching it, who did nothing but dictate her notes over a term. Dreadful. I'll forever associate that book with her and tedium.

JudyB

25th July 2007, 20:23

I loved Wuthering Heights (I've only read it once, I wonder how it would stand up to a re-read) but I hated Heathcliffe character. I think that's one of the things that impressed me about the book, how much it made me get involved.

I hated Heathcliffe's character also and wanted to shout out to Isabelle Linton not to go near him. I really felt it when him and Cathy between them brought so much heartache to the Linton household - I found the destruction within the novel quite unbearable at times - it's a compelling read about human weakness.

Polka Dot Rock

26th July 2007, 08:56

Re: Wuthering Heights
I have never liked Wuthering Heights ... The story looks a bit too much at the negative and unredeemable aspects of humans.

That's what I love about it! :lol: It was such an amazingly modern novel for the time it was written in.

I loved Wuthering Heights ... I hated Heathcliffe character. I think that's one of the things that impressed me about the book, how much it made me get involved.

Ditto! I think anyone who thinks that Cathy and Heathcliffe are a stereotypical literary romance either a) has never read it or b) needs a quick whack on the head with a stick!

I really felt it when him and Cathy between them brought so much heartache to the Linton household - I found the destruction within the novel quite unbearable at times - it's a compelling read about human weakness.

It's such a fascinating premise, that two apparently oppressed people can 'lash out' at those or the conditions that they feel have oppressed their 'true' nature... But are both pretty horrible people anyway so you end up feeling sorry for neither of them. (Wow, I hope that made some sense...)

Also, I think people focus too much on Cathy and Heathcliffe: what about Cathy II? She's in the narrative far longer than her mother is! I like that she's essentially a spolit brat who ends up learning to be strong to survive. And Nelly's role is very interesting too.

Re: Updike's Rabbit novels
I actually on chose Rabbit, Run because I didn't want to choose the Rabbit series as that's 3 1/2 books, but it could have been any of them. Rabbit is Rich is very good also.

I really must read the last two... Is Rabbit at Rest a novella, then? I didn't realise!

Oblomov

26th July 2007, 09:08

Re: Wuthering Heights

That's what I love about it! :lol: It was such an amazingly modern novel for the time it was written in.

I know what you mean and that's what I find disturbing. At the time it was written and for sometime afterwards, it might have seemed refreshingly different from the mainstream. But looked at from the modern perspective, Wuthering Heights almost revels in latent uncaring selfishness of people....something that is becoming all too obvious in modern society, particularly British society.

Polka Dot Rock

26th July 2007, 09:22

Hmm... But I don't necessarily think that all novels should be 'correctives' to modern malaise. Surely we need novels to also be horrible and show humanity's nasty side? Holding an unflattering mirror up, as it were.

I always think it's interesting how at the end, we see capitalism prevail - As Cathy Linton and Hareton* both assume their 'rightful' (i.e. hereditary) positions as the owners of both properties. Although technically they'd both go to Hareton* if they married... *(I can't remember how to spell his name! And I can't check as I'm at work *grumble*)

Oblomov

26th July 2007, 10:22

Hmm... But I don't necessarily think that all novels should be 'correctives' to modern malaise. Surely we need novels to also be horrible and show humanity's nasty side? Holding an unflattering mirror up, as it were.

True. But as long as the nasty side of human nature is recognised as such, I can enjoy the story....after all, very few of us are really "good" :mrgreen:. But when the nastiness becomes collective and pervades the entire atmosphere of the story and involving most of the characters, it also seems to become the "norm". IMO, Wuthering Heights edges towards that trend and that is what I find a bit disturbing.

I always try to put myself 'inside' a story that I am reading - not necessarily as an important character but often as an invisible bystander - and like to have a soothing corner to retreat into. I don't enjoy stories where I cannot find that corner and I'm afraid WH was one of those. Sorry, it is a personal thing (might be bacause I grew up in a nasty atmosphere myself and always struggled to find that sanctuary corner).

Polka Dot Rock

26th July 2007, 10:37

Fair enough, that's understandable :) It's the literary critic in me emerging (clearly I'm in practice for September :lol:)

NiceguyEddie

26th July 2007, 11:08

Re: Updike's Rabbit novels

I really must read the last two... Is Rabbit at Rest a novella, then? I didn't realise!

Hmmm.. no. My mistake. It's been quite a while since I read them all. There are FOUR Rabbit novels. Plus Rabbit Remembered which is in Licks of Love. It takes up the story after his demise.

If you've read all four you'll know that Rabbit goes out the way he came in - playing basketball.

JudyB

26th July 2007, 18:47

True. But as long as the nasty side of human nature is recognised as such, I can enjoy the story....after all, very few of us are really "good" :mrgreen:. But when the nastiness becomes collective and pervades the entire atmosphere of the story and involving most of the characters, it also seems to become the "norm". IMO, Wuthering Heights edges towards that trend and that is what I find a bit disturbing.

I always try to put myself 'inside' a story that I am reading - not necessarily as an important character but often as an invisible bystander - and like to have a soothing corner to retreat into. I don't enjoy stories where I cannot find that corner and I'm afraid WH was one of those. Sorry, it is a personal thing (might be bacause I grew up in a nasty atmosphere myself and always struggled to find that sanctuary corner).

I know what you mean - I'm the sort of person who hates to see happiness spoilt by events or others and so I spent the novel feeling very protective towards the more vunerable characters, the Lintons, Hareton, Cathy 2 etc - that's the side of WH that I found unsettling. At the same time however, I enjoyed the atmospheric side of WH - which is why I enjoy the writing of the Brontes - and I found it very evocative - I first read it for A level and didn't really take it in properly but the images of the setting created in my mind stayed with me for years. It was only when I read it again in my 30's that I really appreciated it.