Why I Love Classics (A Reflection)
The books that have stuck with me over the years have been predominantly from classic literature. Many years ago, I read all the Chronicles of Narnia books and instantly became enamored with C.S. Lewis’s work. I have since read more of his books than those of Narnia of course. Lately I have been drawn to The Lord of the Rings, having read The Hobbit twice many years before ever picking up the first book of The Lord of the Rings. Having known that both Tolkien and Lewis worked together and were friends within their small circle called The Inklings.
Other books that I have found that have stuck with me have been Peter Pan, Treasure Island (literally anything Stevenson), The Count of Monte Cristo, The D’Artagnan Romances, and, although I have yet to finish this massive and gorgeous piece, Les Misérables has been in my head and making me contemplate life in its many shades of light and dark. These types of stories are classics for a reason, and what makes a classic, I believe, is that they stick with you forever and put you in a different time and place than where you originally are. A great book takes you away from reality and makes you feel that you really were those characters. Surely, you think, that you must have been given a lens to spy upon their lives.
A great book, years after you have finished it, will make you feel nostalgic and want to read it again. To me, however, the first time reading a great book is the most exhilarating experience because the mind does not know what to expect. Even with such works by the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, the Brontë sisters, or even Charles Dickens, when it comes down to the chilling and uncanny aspects of literature that they were so good at, they knew how, like a surgeon or a magician, to cast a great spine-tingling chill up the spine.
Now, to reflect further still upon writers who have stuck with me that carry both the fantasy side of storytelling and the gothic side, have been The Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and George MacDonald who is considered a pioneer for modern fantasy and inspired the likes of Tolkien among others that followed. These writers could convey a story so dark and yet so light that you are not sure how to think or feel in the end. The only thing you will know is that you were either delighted in the story or, well, left feeling quite uneasy. Nonetheless, they were masters in what they did and have become classics for all ages and loved by many who have read their works.
📚The classics are a classic for a reason and I am quite proud that some of them have stood the test of time. 📚
