Friday, February 20, 2015

The Problem with Classics: Reading The Sun Also Rises



Many of us who consider ourselves frequent readers make some attempt to read classic novels. They are the foundation of modern literature, their stories and characters are referenced by modern writers, and oftentimes they are really amazing books. So some readers set goals to read a certain number of classics or join reading groups like The Classics Club.

We may approach with excitement or apprehension as we open to the first page of that revered work, that cornerstone of literature. Then we read.

So what happens then?

It depends.

In my experience, one of three things happens. The first is the wonderful realization that you have found an amazing new author. You scramble to the internet and immediately begin compiling a list of the rest of the author's books. You rejoice that someone saw fit to keep this book available for decades or even centuries.

Other times, we finish a book and appreciate certain qualities about it. We admire the social commentary or some beautiful phrasing. Perhaps we see how it was the impetus for a movement or inspired books that came after it. We can join the conversation now, happy to know what everyone is talking about when they bring up that obsessive captain and his white whale.

But sometimes, we close the cover of a book and feel underwhelmed. It's entirely possible that we can engage from a distance and perhaps even see some merits. But a book and/or author that has been lauded for a long time just leaves you feeling meh.

I recently finished Hemingway's first major novel, The Sun Also Rises. I read his short story "Hills Like White Elephants" in college, but this was my first foray into a novel. And I found myself unimpressed. I understood the themes - Hemingway is writing about men after the first World War who feel stripped of their masculinity, men who don't know what to do with themselves now that the fight is over. But the story, the characters, even the writing left me wondering what all the fuss was about. I feel like I have checked some box off of a literary to-do list, but I'm not overcome with a desire to read Hemingway again anytime soon.

The problem, of course, is that we start wondering what is wrong with us. If a book has been revered for such a long time, surely it is deserving of all that praise. But I don't think that is true. Some really well-written, important books missed the opportunity to be dubbed "classics." Other books have been pushed into the hands of students and readers for decades, despite their failure to resonate with modern readers.

So here's the bottom line, friends. Reading classics, just like reading any other kind of book, will give you a mixed bag of experiences. Hopefully you will find some books that you adore. Others may strike you as duds. That does not mean anything about you as a reader. It does not mean that you aren't smart enough or that you don't get it. It means that the designation of a classic, like so many other things in life and art, is subjective.


What classic novels fell short for you?

19 comments:

  1. True. Any classic work -- like any modern novel -- is not for everybody. I love Jane Austen and Willa Cather, but I find Henry James a bit of a slog, to put it mildly, and I have yet to pick up Ernest Hemingway. We should resolve not to feel guilty based on what we've been told -- as serious readers -- we "should" like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel like I've only touched the tip of the iceberg with so many of these authors, but some books make me want to read more by that author and others make me feel like I've done enough!

      Delete
  2. I have a very up and down relationship with Hemingway. I read The Old Man and the Sea in high school and absolutely hated it...had no intention of reading him again. Then I picked up A Moveable Feast in college...his memoir about living abroad amongst Fitzgerald, Stein, et al in Paris. And then I read In Our Time, a collection of short stories. A Moveable Feast was definitely my favorite as I felt like it was more personal than anything else. Second fave was In Our Time. The Old Man and the Sea remains a big fail for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A Movable Feast seems to be the one Hemingway that most readers enjoyed. Maybe I will give it a try at some point!

      Delete
  3. Oh man. Hemingway. ...ugh. I could not stand For Whom the Bell Tolls. I couldn't stand his short sentences. The story is awful too. Pamplona in July was not as bad. The descriptive passages were beautiful, and the sentences were not short and choppy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's so good to know I'm not the only one who finds his writing less than thrilling!

      Delete
  4. Oh man. Hemingway. ...ugh. I could not stand For Whom the Bell Tolls. I couldn't stand his short sentences. The story is awful too. Pamplona in July was not as bad. The descriptive passages were beautiful, and the sentences were not short and choppy.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great thoughts. I really do tend to feel underwhelmed by most of the classics I read. I try to make a point to read classics every few months, but I really try not to give myself grief over disliking something. There are too many other good books to worry about the bad ones.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't usually feel bad about disliking a recently published book, but there is some sort of weird guilt for me in not enjoying a classic!

      Delete
  6. I am a big fan of classics, but like any genre it's taken time and experience for me to work out what I like. Personally, I'm really into big Russian epics, anything with a feminist slant and Fitzgerald. But Dickens and Hardy bore me something rotten. I don't feel guilty about it at all - different strokes for different folks, and all that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a really good point, Sam. I think it's easy to feel like we should read and enjoy classics, period. But we are going to enjoy different styles and periods of older books just like we do with modern stories.

      Delete
  7. Like you and Sam said, the designation classic is subjective and it covers a range of literature that just isn't going to work for everyone. I'm maybe more disappointed when I don't like a classic in the same way I'm more disappointed when I don't like an overly-hyped book, because I really expected to love it, but I don't feel guilty about either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a great comparison. Somehow that helps me feel better too, since I feel no guilt when I don't love a super-hyped book!

      Delete
  8. Eh, Hemingway. With the exception of his memoir, A Moveable Feast, I couldn't care less about him or his books. When a writer comes across very clearly as a misogynistic asshole, I don't spend time worrying about why I don't care for his work. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a great point. Hemingway was certainly not a kind human being, by any stretch of the imagination.

      Delete
  9. Personally, I think Hemingway is over-rated. Every book of his that I've read has fallen short for me. I just don't like him, and don't understand those who rave about his writing. But that's just me. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think you are alone! A lot of readers seem to find his novels less than impressive.

      Delete
  10. This is a great post and has sparked a lot of great discussion. You raise some interesting questions about the literary canon and what constitutes a book or piece of writing as a "classic." Why is it that Hemingway is often cited as one of the greatest American writers of 20th century while others are not? How is this general consensus created, what is the criteria, who or what committee makes the final decision? Well, I don't have the answers but i agree with you that it is all subjective and one should not feel obligated to like a classic just because of it's high ranking literary status. I can appreciate a lot of "classics" from a critical standpoint but that doesn't necessary mean that I have to like it. Hemingway tends to fall into that category and while I don't harbor as much hatred towards him as some of the folks here do, I do believe that he does deserve to be regarded as an important literary figure--his unique style and narrative approach is undeniably influential in pushing the the novel form into a whole new direction. He's obviously not for everyone and I fully understand where people are coming from who despise his work but for me, it just comes down to this: read whatever interests you, don't conform to general opinion, defend your opinion with well reasoned arguments--life's too short to read what people think you ought to read.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These are some great points, Jason. I guess in the case of Hemingway, I start to wonder if other authors wrote in a similar style at the same time and they just fell by the wayside because no one's personality was as big and bombastic as his!

      Delete