Classic and Modern

[DvChWi]

I have a friend is a big fan of the classics.  In fact, the majority of his reading is classics.  He believes that the classics are much better than modern literature, and that modern literature is shallow and badly written.  I disagree.  I think that there are good and bad books in both periods.  Some classics are overly wordy, have badly managed and boring plots, and are otherwise not very good.  Many modern books are sharply written, have great stories, and are of very high quality.  I thought I would take this debate to the 'net, and let you guys comment on the issue.  Maybe you could reccomend good modern books for people who are fans of the classics.  

[Josh]

Oh, sure, all time periods have their fair share of clunkers and classics.

Modern books like Sharon Shinn's trilogy about angels and all of Buechner's work are destined to become classics themselves, and for good reason; both authors are masterful storytellers and competent wordsmiths.

In the classic world, you've got plenty of overrated rubbish (Dickens' Great Expectations comes to mind, along with many of Hemingway's works) as well as truly excellent books (The Great Gatsby, Huck Finn, Lord of the Rings, Count of Monte Cristo...).

So yeah, both old and new are worth digging into.

[DvChWi]

In the classic world, you've got plenty of overrated rubbish (Dickens' Great Expectations comes to mind, along with many of Hemingway's works) .

Thats funny.  Great Expectations is one of my friends favorite books, by his favorite author(Dickens).  

[Josh]

Dickens and Hemingway are quite possibly the two most uninteresting authors I've ever read, based on my limited knowledge of them (one Dickens book and two Hemingway).

[Vlad!]

I like Hemmingway. Though I must admit, I've only read one book and one short story by him.

The 'classics' have a great deal of good books for the very reason that the bad ones (and I'm sure there were many) didn't survive the test of time to become classics in the first place. Unfortunately, modern readers generally don't have the ability to parse the complicated sentences and syntax used by authors of a century ago or more, so writers like Dickens, who were much more comprehensible in their own time, seem wordy and hard-to-follow nowadays. Not that Great Expectations is the best book in the world, but I enjoyed the abridged version much better...

I don't think you should say that the classics are the only books worth reading. But if you do consume the occasional classic, you will be able to catch more allusions and your reading skills will improve. Plus, who knows? You just might enjoy it.