Classics > C Classics

Advantages: excellent psychological insights
Disadvantages: very lengthy

...heavy so that it can't be recommended for use on public transport. Unfortunately my Russian is not good enough to read the original as surely it would have been even better. A true must read for lovers of classical literature and for those interested in crime and criminal law! ... Read review

Advantages: Witty and insightful novel
Disadvantages: very short

Candide is subtitled optimism and this is a source of great irony throughout the novel. Though Voltaire himself was said to have thought the peice as a flimsy little exercise, it is extremely entertaining for the modern audience. The premise behind this story is that a young man, named Candide is taught to believe in the premise "All is for the best, in the best of all possible worlds". Voltaire then sets out to show just how wrong this is. As Candide ...
...loves with terrible atrocities happening all around him, he sticks with this philosophy. The genius of this novel, is in Voltaire's ability to create agonising twists and turns for his protagonist whilst keeping his tongue firmly in his cheek. The ending in particular shows one of the great final ironic statements in literature, up there with Joseph Heller's Catch 22. Highly Recommended. ... Read review

Advantages: great reading
Disadvantages: none

...Baron Hulot and of course Cousin Bette. You could say the story is fairly typical, a once rich Baron Hulot who is married to a beautiful although now ageing woman called Adeline is not faithful and has never been. His extravagant lifestyle of supporting various mistresses has taken it's toll on the family life and lifestyle. Adeline has always been virtuous and never complaining however, now that her daugher should be getting married, there is no ...
...under the watchful eye of Cousin Bette. She is the poor relation who always had to suffer the humilation of having to work and living in poor conditions while her now aristocratic but once a village girl cousin Adeline is living in grand apartment - even though it's a bit worn down for the lack of money. But, Cousin Bette is not planning to be the little quiet relation always in the shadow. She plans her revenge on the family but mainly her cousin ... Read review

Advantages: Great read
Disadvantages: Some difficult language and very small print

This book was first published in 1938 and I bought the newest Penguin paperback edition from Amazon for £10.49. Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, USA, in 1809. He was orphaned but went to live with a foster father. Somewhat controversially these days, Poe married his 14 year old cousin when he was 27. She died 11 years later from TB. He died aged 40, after a live of blighted by family tragedies and his own illnesses. His depression and pre-occupation ...
...These are key themes in this anthology. There are 73 stories in this book - some long and some short - as well as 62 poems. There are also 3 essays written by Poe, discussing the poetry. I will only discuss some of the stories here as 73 is far too many to go into. The first story is "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall". I found reading this quite difficult going and it's not even that exciting. It's set in Rotterdam and Pfall wants ... Read review

Advantages: interesting use of form and narrative; brilliant character detail and pace.
Disadvantages: Long....

Clarissa 'The longest novel in the european language'. A statement that is about as qualiatative as 'Britain's loudest band'. This is how most people will know of Clarissa. Which is a shame for two reasons: the length of the damn thing is what perhaps justifiably puts people off reading it; moreover, the novel truly deserves to be considered one of the finest in the English language, regardless of its length. I won't distil the plot as the other ...
...that. Also I want to focus instead on the intricacies of the novel and why Dr Samuel Johnson considered it to be 'the first book in the world for the knowledge it displays of the human heart'. One thisn that is important to remember when reading Clarissa is that, like most novels of its time, it was written in serial form. The detail and pace of character development and events in the novel are therefore perhaps more akin to that of a season of ... Read review