Sunday, April 27, 2014

What Are Classic And New Classic Books

By Essie Osborn


In order to understand the genre of neo-classic literature, it is first necessary to be able to identify classic, or vintage, literature. Vintage and new classic books are generally applied to fiction, which is made-up literature, as opposed to non-fiction, which is factually true literature. Examples of fiction books include "Little Women", "Catcher in the Rye" and the Harry Potter series of seven novels. Non-fiction books include the "Holy Bible, " "Gray's Anatomy" and the "History of Classical Music."

What is vintage literature? Some experts restrict this definition to literature created during Ancient Greece and Rome. Others see it as a book that really stands out or representative of an entire period or style. Classical books tend to evoke strong emotions. Examples of this genre of literature include "Oliver Twist, " "Gone With the Wind" and "Robinson Crusoe." Neo-classical literature would include titles such as "1984, " "Lord of the Flies" or "A Clockwork Orange."

"Wuthering Heights" was first published in 1847. Written by Emily Bronte, it was initially published under the pseudonym of Ellis Bell. The author died the following year. Set in the Yorkshire moors in England, the theme of the book is how jealousy and vengefulness are destructive emotions, both to the individuals concerned and the people around them.

"The Count of Monte Cristo " was written by Alexandre Dumas in 1845. The story takes place in Italy, France and islands in the Mediterranean. It details the wrongful imprisonment of a man who escapes from prison, earns a fortune and devotes himself to wreaking revenge on the people who helped land him in prison. A great read for people who love revenge stories.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" was written in 1876 by Mark Twain, nee Samuel Clemens. The book is an adventure story based on the character of a young boy, Tom, growing up alongside the Mississippi in the fictional town of St Petersburg. The story spawned five sequels, two of which were never completed. These were "Huck and Tom Among the Indians, " and "Tom Sawyer's Conspiracy."

Jacqueline Susann's "Valley of the Dolls" represented the sex and drugs world to which young women escaped from the manipulative men in their lives. The term "dolls" in this context refers both to the women in the story and to the pills that they took to cope with life. The reference to pills as dolls was coined by the author herself.

Also entitled, "The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death, " "Slaughterhouse-Five" is a satire about World War II experiences. While the book is an easy read, the underlying story is anything but. It was written by Kurt Vonnegut in 1969, Slaughterhouse-Five was made into a film in 1972 starring Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche and Valerie Perrine.

"A Clockwork Orange" is an example of the dystonian genre of literature. These are written about negative or depressing societies. In this case, the story's anti-hero, a teenage boy, relates tales of his life of violence. Written by Anthony Burgess, the book occupied the Time Magazine's list of the 100 best English language novels since 1923. It was made into a film, directed by Stanley Kubrick, and released in 1971.




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