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April 2012 Feature of the Month: Classic Fiction

A monthly discussion on varying themes guided by our members. (Book of the Month discussions through December 2011 can be found in this section too.)
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Misfit
Bibliomaniac
Posts: 9581
Joined: August 2008
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by Misfit » Sun April 8th, 2012, 8:16 pm

Come to think of it, I should give it a re-read. It's been at least three decades. Misfit, what translation do you recommend? I have no idea which one I first read.
I adore anything by Dumas (no secret there). I read the Penguin Classics translated by Robin Buss, and we talk about that frequently at GR. Pretty much everyone I know considers the Buss translation the one to choose.

Speaking of Dumas, a great lesser known of his is The Two Dianas, loosely based on Diane de Poitiers and a fictional daughter she bore to Henri. I'd have to hunt down my old review to remember all of it, but a seriously rocking good read. Some laugh out loud moments, but some real tragic stuff as well. I recommend hunting down the old 1910 Collier Editions (two volumes about 800 pgs total). The US libraries do still have them.
At home with a good book and the cat...
...is the only place I want to be

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The Czar
Reader
Posts: 137
Joined: May 2011
Location: Nashville TN

Post by The Czar » Mon April 9th, 2012, 4:11 am

Obviously lots of classic fiction is great, that's why they are classics. Some of my personal favorites...

War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy. I tried three or four times to read this one, and could never get further than the first chapter or two. I finally stumbled on a good translation, and whizzed through it in two weeks.

This book is great because, while it is "about" the Napoleonic invasion of Russia, it is really about everything. Life, love, death, honor, morals, god... its all in there.

The Divine Comedy of Dante Alegheri - I read this in high school, and loved the imagery and the weaving of Classical and Christian mythology. You need a well annotated copy unless you have a staggeringly good knowledge base of renaissance Italian history.

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - I really don't generally care for Victorian fiction, but I love Wilde. Such sharp wit.

Candide - Voltaire - I have often been accused of being a smartass, so not surprisingly, I like Wilde and Voltaire. This is a hilarious pseudo-philisophical romp through Europe, and "the best of all possible worlds."
Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.
_______________________________________________
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli

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The Czar
Reader
Posts: 137
Joined: May 2011
Location: Nashville TN

Post by The Czar » Mon April 9th, 2012, 4:16 am

[quote=""Misfit""]I adore anything by Dumas (no secret there). I read the Penguin Classics translated by Robin Buss, and we talk about that frequently at GR. Pretty much everyone I know considers the Buss translation the one to choose.

Speaking of Dumas, a great lesser known of his is The Two Dianas, loosely based on Diane de Poitiers and a fictional daughter she bore to Henri. I'd have to hunt down my old review to remember all of it, but a seriously rocking good read. Some laugh out loud moments, but some real tragic stuff as well. I recommend hunting down the old 1910 Collier Editions (two volumes about 800 pgs total). The US libraries do still have them.[/quote]

I just signed up over at GR, what's your handle over there?
Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.
_______________________________________________
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli

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