3 Classic Novels I Did Not Finish
I have learned my lesson. I have been humbled countless times. Classic novels have a reason why they’re so popular. Dracula, The Hobbit, and Pride and Prejudice were all books I was hesitant to read; old books are hard and wordy, I would whine. I finished these three books with my jaw dropped and reeling from the journey I had just experienced. How could I fear such books only a few years ago, but now sense their golden ghosts hovering in my writing? There are countless novels I rolled my eyes at or sighed at the thought of, but I am constantly proven wrong about these assumptions. Yet, despite the amount of joy I experienced in finally tackling these classics, it is impossible to love every tale.
Here are three classic and well-loved books I abandoned before giving them a chance.
Cover art of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds
The War of the World, H. G. Wells
I watched the Tom Cruise movie adaptation when I was too young to even know it originated as a book. I was spoilt—I enjoyed the apocalyptic experience without the work, just staring at a screen with a teddy bear in my arms. At college, the original book was on our reading list. I had good memories of the movie; this should be fun. Yet, I struggled. Every time I opened the book I faced lengthy sentences and in-depth scientific jargon. I only remember flashes of the story: hordes of humans described as ants, a woman in a carriage, a man with a shovel. You might be able to guess that I came away from my English Literature class with a grade I can’t brag about. A sci-fi horror should be up my alley, but the past pain of forcing myself to read the same sentence over and over until it broke through the thick skull of my forehead is something I don’t feel brave enough to revisit anytime soon.
A gorgeous cover of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.
2. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
Reading and learning about Oscar Wilde and his troubles as a homosexual man in 1800’s London was a subject I felt eager to explore through his most notable writing, yet, I have an impatient streak. Deep and colourful descriptions tend to lose their grip on my attention span, and with The Picture of Dorian Gray, it was the fastest case of me realising the past seven pages had drifted by, misted behind the curtain of daydreams, that I have experienced in a long time. I can not recall a single note from my short first attempt at reading, and can’t even remember the page number I had reached. Wilde’s narrative felt, at the time, too poetic and abstract for my adrenaline-hungry mind. I also keep calling it The Portrait of Dorian Gray—apparently my attention span struggles after the first word.
My gifted copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories - this book includes his darker, horror stories rather than a wide selection of his work, which suits my interests more!
3. Selections of Edgar Allan Poe’s Work
Perhaps it was the poetry or the focus being more on the women he loved rather than my much anticipated horror short stories, but I struggled to sink my teeth into his writing. ‘The Raven’ was startlingly brilliant, yet reaching those horror stories—I wanted to earn the right to read ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’—felt like waiting for a bus with an oncoming hurricane approaching in the distance. People have suggested I skip to the good parts, but it feels wrong to abandon the lesser known works just to reach the popular sections. But there is still hope: for Christmas, I received a lovely edition of Poe’s work with the collection focusing on his horror writing, so the opportunity to return and give Poe another try is very tempting!
Were any of these stories ones you love? Let me know in the comments what you love about them, and convince me to return to these classics, or share classic stories that you D.N.F.!
