tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6352625826349400447.post4252302775173257285..comments2023-10-11T10:39:30.873+02:00Comments on Notes from the North: The Sunday Salon: Classics that Suck (or how I am a horrible, no good, very bad person)Zeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11504105694800511170noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6352625826349400447.post-17599277820042389352010-04-12T20:43:08.935+02:002010-04-12T20:43:08.935+02:00GREAT question, Zee! I definitely don't think...GREAT question, Zee! I definitely don't think classics are immune to bad reviews. In fact, I feel like for a book to be a classic, it has to provoke some sort of discussion. Otherwise, what's the point? In that way, I don't know if Diary of Anne Frank would be a classic if it weren't so poignant at the end or if other books had been published before it that tackled the same subject.<br /><br />I almost think it's BECAUSE of Anne's whinyness and complete TEEN-ness that this book gets such an emotional response. Her youth really shows.Aartihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02354873119188597611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6352625826349400447.post-11641714175344396112010-04-12T19:54:42.939+02:002010-04-12T19:54:42.939+02:00I'm so glad you posted this! I had the same r...I'm so glad you posted this! I had the same response to that article, only mine was in relation to the review of Grapes of Wrath. I mean some of the Amazon reviews were clearly written by people who can't spell and I guess we can make fun of them for that. But the Steinbeck reviewer - I liked Grapes of Wrath better than that person did, but I think the reviewer made some fair points. Why should we be less entitled to our opinions on books just because the books are considered "classics"?Jennyhttp://jennysbooks.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6352625826349400447.post-2563196839219489432010-04-11T17:39:35.743+02:002010-04-11T17:39:35.743+02:00Amanda~~I never finished Don Quixote. I just could...Amanda~~I never finished Don Quixote. I just couldn't. It wasn't my kind of book. I agree that as long as you say why you didn't like it then it is fine to dislike a book. :) <br /><br />Nymeth~~I'm glad you liked it. I really wanted to like it. I felt like I SHOULD like it. But I just didn't :). And I agree with you, no book should be untouchable.Zeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11504105694800511170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6352625826349400447.post-47768072887256251882010-04-11T17:26:03.707+02:002010-04-11T17:26:03.707+02:00I love Anne Frank, but I don't think disliking...I love Anne Frank, but I don't think disliking it makes you a horrible person at all! I grew up to that book, and my reaction to it was pretty much the reverse of yours. I first read it when I was 9, and I didn't know THAT much about WW2. I knew the basics, of course, but I didn't read it as a historical document about a Jewish little girl - I read it as the diary of a girl growing up; a girl who, despite her radically different circumstances, was VERY easy to relate to. She made me feel less alone. I loved the book exactly for its universality and its humanity (still do) and I wasn't bored for a second. This was probably the book I re-read the most growing up, and the reason was not its historical relevance - it was what it meant to ME personally, just like any literature.<br /><br />Having said that, you're perfectly entitled to your opinion, and it doesn't make me think any less of you. I don't want to live in a book in which any books, classic or not, are untouchable. I want people to feel comfortable expressing their likes and dislikes :)Ana S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16092495983972185943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6352625826349400447.post-3245913472566615422010-04-11T17:21:27.201+02:002010-04-11T17:21:27.201+02:00I give classics negative reviews all the time. I r...I give classics negative reviews all the time. I read a LOT of classics, and there are those I like and those I don't. I dont' think there's anything wrong with that. I don't mind acknowledging what's good in a classic I disliked, or why it was an important work, but just because it has good things in it or is important doesn't mean I'm going to like it! I can appreciate, for instance, why Don Quixote was groundbreaking, but I hated every minute of the book. And I said as much. Nothing wrong with that at all!Amandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07026099426503180472noreply@blogger.com