The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published 10th April 1925
Ranked #2 of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th century by the Modern Library

Sorry for the obvious choice

  The ultimate exploitation of the American dream and conspicuous consumption of which was entailed, Fitzgerald highlights the danger of the shallow nature which occurs around material wealth.  Compatible with Aristotle’s tragic theory, the reader may feel sympathy towards all characters as there is not one who does not suffer, neither is there one who we completely admire.  The irony of tragedy occurring after the Great Depression only insinuates further the way in which material cannot compete with genuine human compassion.  The scene in which the eponymous character Gatsby is portrayed to throw all his shirts onto his own bed before the character of Daisy to try and achieve impressing her (a feat which he has striven to do for years) evokes a cringe-like sympathy from the reader.  The way in which the character of Daisy does in fact admire this gesture only makes the reader more disgusted at the conspicuous nature which is present in almost all characters in the novel.  Consequentially when the novel ends the final reaction evoked is not as cathartic as most tragedies; instead we are left with a feeling of emptiness.

One of my favourite aspects of this novel is the irony in the fact that Fitzgerald presents the reader with what was allegedly a wonderful time, America had just overcome the 'Great Depression' and people were supposed to be happy again.  Perhaps critical of possession and over-indulgence, Fitzgerald may cause the reader to conclude that in the absence of material riches, human beings are no longer blind to the true core of happiness and the things that really matter.  After all, it isn't a bottle of perfume or a library full of unopened books that people battle for throughout The Great Gatsby, it is each other.

"It is in the thirties that we want friends. In the forties we know they won't save us any more than love did. "

5/5

The House of Mirth

Edith Wharton
Published 14th October 1905
Ranked #69 of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th Century by the Modern Library

Yes, this front cover rubs the ironic feminism in your face just a bit too much but it was the prettiest one on Google so there.  Yet again this is another why-the-hell-have-I-not-seen-this-film entry, reminding me of how badly I need to visit our good old pal amazon.com

  A fabulous modern classic: when F. Scott Fitzgerald meets Jane Austen –a heart wrenching conventional tragedy with significant feminist issues.  Wharton presents the instinctive lust towards hedonism, as well as the tug-of-war between animalistic desires and material want.  With deep characters and major issues such as love, jealousy, social class and exposure, Wharton’s novel is empathisable to any reader at any time in any culture, making this a timeless piece of artwork.

  Throughout this novel I was constantly reminded of the quotation in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey whereby his character Henry Wotton says:

'People say sometimes that beauty is only superficial. That may be so. But at least it is not so superficial as thought is. To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.'

Entirely relevant to current day with regard to jealousy, beauty is beautiful in itself.  It is delicate and should be treasured, it shouldn't evoke such ugly reactions from those who are envious, nor those who are dubious in a Shallow-Hal "oh she's pretty so she can't possibly be nice" type philosophy.  This novel realistically presents the reader with the true horrors of jealousy.

I also like this book because Edith Wharton was born exactly 130 years before me, yay!

4/5

The Catcher In The Rye

J. D. Salinger
Published 1951
Ranked #64 of the 100 best novels of the 20th Century by the Modern Library

I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody

  Although targeted at adults, the themes and language used by Salinger tend to appeal more to the adolescent readers.  The casual lexical choices make this novel somewhat “approachable”, enabling the usually younger reader easily capable of grasping deep concepts such as rebellion, sexuality and self awareness.  The use of a male protagonist is especially effective, as it breaks away from the age old convention for men to maintain a strong exterior.  Unlike many other novels to which ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ can be compared to such as ‘Vernon God Little’ by D.B.C. Pierre and Lionel Shriver’s ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’, Salinger successfully portrays the awkward turbulent battles a young man must endure without melodrama; through excessive profanity or over-sexualising his novel, thereby making it easier for the reader to empathise with his protagonist.  Arguably through the use of what is often regarded as a groundbreaking new style of writing (which many following authors unsuccessfully emulate) and a subversion of classical gender roles, Salinger has created a modern masterpiece.

  I am so happy that this can never be turned into a film, the action within this novel is too thin of a veneer to make it watchable.  No amount of theatrical technique could do this beautiful piece of work justice.

4/5



The Postman Always Rings Twice

James M. Cain
Published 1934
Ranked #98 of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th century by The Modern Library

  An ideal novel for a "light reader" who would like to head in the direction of something a bit more highbrow.  Like many modern classics, The Postman Always Rings Twice can be received on a very basic novel, the action perhaps overshadowing the true morale if this is the reader's chief focus.

  An extremely sexually fuelled passionate crime novel is presented to us, with the stereotypical femme-fatale and carpe diem attitudes of our characters cleverly adapted so to not become cliché.  The fiery infatuation that Cain portrays is effectively reflected through the use of shortly structured paragraphs and fluent casual language.  This almost staccato style of writing gives the reader a sense of urgency and allows us to empathise with the character of Frank, who we read of as left in a terrifying limbo and agonising internal struggle.

  I find the end to this novel extraordinary, a very similar scenario to James Baldwin's concluding chapter of Giovanni's Room.  Haunting and traumatic, both are bound to move every reader.

  One of my main praises of Cain is the way in which in minimal words, his characterisation is stunning, something a lot of shorter novels fail to achieve.  In only a few pages we are presented with three characters which we may empathise with, judge, hate or love.

Why oh why have I not watched this film!  Not unlike Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon, this novel begs to be adapted for the screen.  Indeed if you ask anybody of this piece of Cain's work, they will assume you are referring to the film.  I need this.

4/5

The Wasp Factory

Iain Banks
Published 16th February1984

I absolutely hate books like this.  It's not trash eg. Jodi Picoult, it's mock-modern classic.

Here is a man who is clearly incapable of writing anything with any meaning or depth.  If you don't believe me, look at the final page and the number at the bottom in the centre.  Banks attempts to create an exploration of warped psychology.  Instead of using more subtle (and often more effective) techniques, 'The Wasp Factory' has absolutely no structure or change of tone and just rubs vile visual illustrations into the reader's face.  Yes it will disgust you, but it won't disturb you because it is as shallow as a puddle of piss.  The only disturbing aspect of this "novel" is that it has been published and that Iain Banks was named in The Times' list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.  Such a rubbish twist as well. Too far.

1/5

The Lord of the Flies

William Golding
Published 17^th September 1954
Ranked #41 of the 100 greatest novels of the 20th Century by the Modern Library

I read this about 4 years ago during my GCSE's and I'm so grateful I was given this as apposed to 'Of Mice and Men'!

 

Perhaps one of the most successful novels to bridge the gap between children’s and adult literature, Golding portrays the issues of adolescent evil occurring under the suspension of system.  Loosely based around the classic children’s favourite ‘Treasure Island’, Golding converts what could be perceived paradise into a hellish environment. Arguably influenced through witnessing the psychology of pre-pubescent boys whilst teaching himself; Golding conjures a frighteningly believable yet far-fetched scenario in which a group of boys are left to their own devices which consequentially leads to dire circumstance.  His use of Christian analogy is made all the more vivid through his use of colour imagery, emphasising the devilish features of his antagonist Jack, and the fair innocence of the character Ralph, who’s weeping for its loss finalises the novel.

 Adaptations

The film which is surprisingly (at least co-) directed by Disney is abysmal, like many screen adaptations of classics the most important parts are left out, arguably because these are more subtle happenings with a more symbolic purpose which are less appropriate for a film whose purpose is to portray action.  Apart from that painful adaptation of 'The Great Gatsby', I really don't think they left a single thing out -yawn!
Despite this, I saw the most fantastic stage adaptation of 'The Lord of the Flies' at the Ipswich Regent Theatre (https://online.ipswich.gov.uk/PEO/).  Another of my friends performed at Doncaster Theatre playing the role of Piggy which I sadly missed, it looked superb.  Either way, even if you have not read the book I would strongly recommend watching this script put into play anywhere

4/5