It is a truth universally acknowledged that High School English can somewhat put a dampener on a love of reading. When I was young, I was not a big reader, at least of fiction. Each week when we went to the school library to borrow books, I always headed straight towards to the non-fiction section, more specifically the dinosaur and animal books. I would read kids' books, but I just loved learning about dinosaurs and animals. It wasn't until a was around 11 that a book series started gaining popularity and I jumped on the band wagon that was Harry Potter. It is pretty much since then that I have identified myself as someone who loves to read. In between waiting for the next Harry Potter book, I would read other books in the childrens'/young adult sections, and I would always enjoy reading.
High School English class, I think, put a big downer on my love of reading. I was still eagerly anticipating the next Harry Potter book and would consume it within the week of its release. However, English as a subject and the choice of texts to study, did taint my love of reading. The only texts I look back on fondly were To Kill a Mockingbird, Midsummer Night's Dream and Dead Poet's Society (RIP Robin Williams, and thank you for your perfect portrayal of Mr Keating in DPS) and one book I selected myself when we had that rare opportunity to select our own piece to study. I really did detest the majority of what we read (don't get me started on Animal Farm), and reading was something I only did in my spare time if it was Harry Potter.
I did have to read Jane Austen's Emma one year, and I never finished it. I found it dull, and Austen's writing difficult to follow as a teenager. That was pretty much the extent of my reading the "classics".
After High School, I would read for pleasure but always stories that interested me and I certainly didn't branch out that much, I have pretty much been a fantasy fan through and through.
It wasn't until recently, after watching the recent film adaptation of Great Expectations (with Helena Bonham Carter) that I found myself with an overwhelming desire to read the book. So, read it I did. And I was surprised how much I loved it. While Dickens's writing can be a bit hard to read at times, his style is incredible, I was surprised at how modern his writing was, and the story, so well formed. It was very cleverly written and the story is heart-breakingly wonderful.
So, I've started a bit of a "read all the classics" mission. While I'd only read (and not finished) Jane Austen's Emma (and I really, really did not like it), I decided next on my agenda was the remaining Austen books, as I did love the '95 version of Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, so I was confident I would enjoy reading Austen. And so far, I have been pleasantly surprised at just how much I am enjoying it.
I started with Northanger Abbey, which I enjoyed immensely. The storyline was good, and John Thorpe was a very well-written character because man, I hated that pompous ass. Mansfield Park was the next on the list and I absolutely adored it. Although Henry Crawford turns out to be, uh, not so agreeable, am I the only one that had a wincy literary crush on him? And the ending scandal certainly added a bit of juiciness and was certainly not an element I expected to find in her work.
Next on my list was Persuasion and honestly, I loved this one most of all. So far it is my absolute favourite. Considering Austen is seen as being THE romance writer, the romance in this one is exquisite. So different to the others, with some very interesting and complex characters, especially in Anne and Captain Wentworth. Ah, their love story is just, perfection. The letter he writes to her in the end, was honestly surprising. My opinion of Austen's writing was that it was stiff and somewhat lacking deep, deep emotion. How mistaken I was. I put Wentworth's letter to Anne in the end, write up there with Pip's "Out of my thoughts" monologue to Estella in Great Expectations, in terms of romantic heart flutters. Ah, perfection!
Now, It's been a week since finishing Persuasion and I started on the infamous and most talked about of Austen's work, Pride and Prejudice. So far, I am enjoying it, it seems to explore a variety of other types of characters not introduced in her other works, and Mr Darcy is wonderfully detestable. Lizzy is surprising, much unlike the other heroine's of Austen's novels. And this is what I love about her writing, this is what has surprised me. Each and every character (especially her leading ladies) and each and every plotline, is vastly different. Each story has its charms, and each has its characters that you love, and love to hate, and love to love even though you should hate. Her writing is wonderful and I am in all honesty, surprised I have enjoyed making my way through Austen's works. After this one, and then Sense and Sensibility, I have a big selection (which I plan on growing) of other classics to make my way through.
And this is what I am really enjoying about reading the classics. Each time, I find myself pleasantly surprised that it is not too far removed from modern writing, although the styles can be a bit harder to follow along with, and certain words, etc, but there are wonderful things in each, stories you can follow and love and feel for. Not to mention, having a wonderful glimpse into the past and thinking "Wow. Someone who lived a couple hundred years ago, wrote this, and here I am, all these years later, reading and enjoying this piece of the past". It is that where I find the true charms of the classics, and why they are indeed classics, that after all these years later, someone living in the time of smart phones and the Internet, can enjoy these books just as much as people did when they were first published.
