For a reading challenge I read about 15 classics. The
most notable were the following
Playback by Raymond
Chandler. This novel does not belong to
the highest rank in terms of the mystery genre or the writer’s own work.
However, it was the first Chandler I’ve read in about 40 years and it made me
revise my previous hasty and callow opinion of Chandler.
The Forged Coupon
by Leo Tolstoy. This is a classic because its theme (actions have unforeseen
consequences) has lasting significance and worth. Plus, the narrative vitality
and coherence is model story-telling.
The Master andMargarita by Mixail Bulgakov. This is a work recognized as definitive in
its genre of fantasy and satire. I can’t decide if the political and social
satire is more powerful than the sheer art of the prose. In the end, I will opt
for art, I think.
My Bondage and MyFreedom by Frederick Douglass. Of course, it is a classic because it is a
traditional example of a slave narrative, but the sheer power of his prose I
didn’t expect.
V. by Thomas
Pynchon. 2013 was the 50th anniversary of this novel. Turning 50,
then, it becomes a classic because it established a standard for post-modern
prose, as powerful and exasperating as that can be.
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