Quote:
Originally Posted by CallOfCth'reader
Why is it a good thing that people read those stories in particular, whether original or re-written?
A "classic" is just a story, and isn't something so important that the message needs to be translated by other authors. The re-writes may be wonderful to read, but that will be down to the new author's writing style, and nothing to do with the original material.
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I agree to a point, but I think you are wrong about a "classic" just being a story. There is something special about a "Classic " book that stands out from the rest of its contemporaries and makes certain that it doesn't just fade away and be forgotten. "Classics" are books that are still being read several hundred years (at least) after the author has laid down his/her pen for the last time. We often say (book title) is a modern classic but I don't know how we can be so sure about that. A book that is popular does stand a better chance of staying in print and becoming a classic, but it is only with time that a book is really found to qualify as a "classic" book I think.