Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
One of the problems with classics is that they are forced down our throats in school when we're teenagers, but most of them were not written for children. When I was in school I thought that Dickens was the most tedious writer imaginable, but when I "rediscovered" him when I was in my 30s I was just blown away by his writing. Very few teenagers have the maturity to be able to appreciate his wit and social satire - I know I didn't when I was that age. These are books written for adults, not teenagers, which is why I'd always suggest having another go at authors you did find dry as dust when they were forced on you in your schooldays.
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I had that experience with Steinbeck--in school we had to read
The Pearl, which I hated and which made me avoid Steinbeck for years. Thankfully I eventually tried Steinbeck again.
On the other hand, I despised
Jane Eyre in high school, and when I tried to reread it a few years ago, I still despised it.