Most Underrated Book by a Classic Author

[Zomby Woof]

I recommend "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen. It's a brilliant parody of the gothic romances then in vogue, zeroing in on Ann Radcliffe's "The Myseteries of Udolpho". It doesn't get the attention that "Emma" or "Sense and Sensibility" does.

It's a quick read, if you're curious.

What lesser-known book by a celebrated author do you recommend?

[buddhamama]

1. Goethe

The Sorrows of Young Werther.

[Zomby Woof]

2. Cheryl!

I didn't think I'd see you around here on Saturday. :D :hi:

[buddhamama]

4. It is somewhat unusual for me

to still be here this late in the evening on a Saturday. My internets has been acting up all day so I am catching on my reading.

How are you, my friend? thanks for reading recommendation. :hi: :hug: :loveya:

[Zomby Woof]

6. I am mellow today

We went to Nini's Dad's grave to plant a flag - he was a WW2 vet. Then we went to Costco and stocked up on some necessities - including a brand new 2.5 pound bag of coffee. :-)


:hug: and :loveya: Thanks for yours too!

[crim son]

3. You think that's underrated? I'm surprised n/t

[buddhamama]

5. it what way are you surprised?

[crim son]

7. Well, the OP asked about a "lesser known work" by an

otherwise famous author. My thought is, when you try to remember what Goethe wrote, the first thing that comes to mind is "The Sorrows..." Maybe it's just me. :shrug:

[Zomby Woof]

8. I expect mileage to vary

There are bound to be some Austen fans who say, "What? Everyone knows that one!" (I am not a big Austen fan, but I like her parody)

Anyway, some people will see some works as more obvious than others. It should still be a fun and educational thread. :-)

[crim son]

10. I wasn't attacking anybody!

I apologize if I've detracted from the fun of your thread. :eyes:

[Zomby Woof]

You did no such thing

I was just putting in my friendly two cents (I was hoping my smiley conveyed my intent). :hi:

[buddhamama]

11. oh, i meant the book of writings by the same title

"The Sorrows of Young Werther and Selected Writings"

sorry. i guess i should have been more clear.

i usually think Faust when i think Goethe.

[crim son]

19. Okay!

I guess I was just being a pain in the ass. Sorry :hi:

[buddhamama]

20. nope. do not apologize.

i glad you questioned it so i could clarify. it has been reprinted numerous times by different translators. This particular book with other writings I enjoyed the most. :hi:

[Xipe Totec]

9. Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita

if you've never heard of it, it kind of proves my point.

[Zomby Woof]

14. A point worth making then

:thumbsup:

[sir_captain]

12. Billy Budd -- Herman Melville

Perhaps really a novella, but close enough, I'd say

[Zomby Woof]

15. Read that in 10th grade

I will have to re-read it - it was eons ago.

[jus_the_facts]

13. The Good Earth ~ Pearl S. Buck

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Earth

The Good Earth is a novel by Pearl S. Buck, first published in 1931, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1932...

....so it won a Pulitzer and it is quite famous...I absolutely loved this classic..which I was initially forced to read in English Literature and ended up loving it and getting an A+ on my theme paper about it! :D

[bertha katzenengel]

16. Ugh.

Great literature. As depressing as The Well of Lonliness by Radclyffe Hall or The Pearl or The Red Pony by John Steinbeck.

Ugh.

I never knew she was beautiful.

[Zomby Woof]

17. Your post gets an A+!

:hi: :D :bounce:

[jus_the_facts]

23. The sequels were good too....

...gave me an appreciation for an author I'd otherwise have never known...eventhough the teacher who I had that year said I worshiped satan because of a Motley
Crue pin on my jacket and a Circus magazine on my desk..she sent me to the principal for that...then I blew her mind...she actually told the whole class that my paper was exactly as she'd have described the book..poetic justice was mine in the end. :D

[Zomby Woof]

24. HAHAHA!!!

A Motley Crue pin and Circus magazine??? That just means you had bad taste. :P

Fucking fundies. Of course, I lived in Pat Robertson's back yard, and you could be accused of Satanism just for not going to church. :D

[jus_the_facts]

25. Hardeeharhar...

....youthful indiscretions I DARE SAY...just beginning my education in Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd durin' that time as well...so all was not lost! :evilgrin:

[Xipe Totec]

18. Loved it. Required reading in High School

In Mexico, that is.

It was part of the World Literature series.

Sometimes, I just feel sad for the state of the public education system in the USA.

In 1970, in Mexico, my textbooks in contemporary world history already contained images of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon, as well as pictures of Valentina Tereshkova and Yuri Gagarin.

When MY children went to school in Massachusetts, their history books dated from the 1960's and had statements like: "Someday, man will walk on the moon".

It was sad and disgusting to me.

[buddhamama]

21. i haven't read it for yrs

it is worth a re-read. thanks :hi:

[datasuspect]

33. did you read the brooklyn version, "the good oit"

by vinnie "cheese feet" distefano?

[LouisianaLiberal]

22. Melville's The Confidence Man

His most difficult book, so its understandable that its underrated. I've read it twice over the years, and read a lot of commentary, and still have to guess at Melville's intent.

A few more additions to the excellent choices of previous posters:

Ibsen's Peer Gynt
Butler's Erewhon
Dickens's Bleak House
Stendhal's The Red and the Black
Rousseau's Confessions
Anything by Shaw, Rilke, TH Huxley or the James brothers - I think all are underrated

[BrotherBuzz]

26. Tales of the Fish Patrol by Jack London

A quick and exciting teen/juvenile book that I really enjoyed as an adult. I was ready to pack it all in and run away on a sailboat to seek adventure after reading it. Greek sturgeon poachers, oyster pirates, illegal Chinese shrimp market - the book has it all, and written by a man who was both an oyster pirate and member of the California Fish Patrol.

The entire books can be downloaded here - and it's FREE!

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com/Jack_London/Tales_of_the_Fish_Patrol/

[NNadir]

27. Mother Night, by Kurt Vonnegut.

[philosophie_en_rose]

28. Dickens "Bleak House"

Great Expectations and David Copperfield are more famous, but Bleak House is also very good.

[Zomby Woof]

31. Yes!

I would never recommend "Great Expectations" for anyone interested in Dickens. I never thought well of it. But "Bleak House" is one of his hidden masterpieces.

[Vidar]

34. I agree.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

29. The Sound of the Waves by Yukio Mishima

The weirdo author of Confessions of a Mask and The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea also wrote a Romeo and Juliet love story set in a fishing village.

The Possessed (aka The Devils) by Dostoevsky. It's about the original student radicals, the anarchists of late nineteenth century Russia.

[jus_the_facts]

30. The Door Into Summer ~ Robert Heinlein

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Door_into_Summer


The title was triggered by a remark that Heinlein's wife had made; in the novel itself, the protagonist's cat refuses to leave their house through any of its numerous doors when he sees snow on the ground: he is looking for The Door into Summer. Heinlein wrote the complete novel in only 13 days. No rewrite was needed, only some light editing that Heinlein did himself.

[mitchum]

32. Flaubert's "A Sentimental Education: The Story of a Young Man"

Great novel. Still comes in second to "Madame Bovary", but what doesn't?