Most books have a short shelf life. New releases come and go, many without making so much as a splash before the next lot are set free out into the world. Sadly, the work of many authors often goes unnoticed in a world where books are competing, and more often than not, losing out to other forms of entertainment.
Then there are the classics. Those books which have stood the test of time, are still taught in many classrooms, are still in print; and often re-issued in new editions or even formats such as graphic novels.
Earlier this week, as I was uploading some classic titles to the Online Shop, A manual task which can be very time consuming, I found myself questioning my efforts. Let me start off by saying that I enjoy reading the classics, but what made me think twice about spending these hours on what at times seems like a pointless task, was the fact that I’m not sure there is still enough interest out there for them. And while I often sell a couple of classics at my weekly market stall, it probably isn’t enough to warrant the use of such an enormous amount of time. Time that could be well spent bingeing on Netflix.
What make a book a classic?
A few minutes of research will give you many different answers from many different sources, some who contradict each other. My favourite definition of a classic though is the one given by Italo Calvini in his 1986 essay on why we should read the classics.
“A classic is a book which has never exhausted all it has to say to its readers.”
This statement in itself can encompass a whole range of works, not just those that are officially defined as classics and much less strictly confined to specific genre, or even confined to the western canon. So in reality what makes a book a classic can be a subjective thing. We all respond differently to the books we read. We all get something different from them.
I know of people who steer clear of what we traditionally know as classics for the fact that some of these works can seem outdated, are tinged with bigotry, misogyny and often contain shallow female characters who only serve to stroke the male ego. And most were written by what has recently been termed as “dead white guys”, So for the most part I don’t blame them. Maupassant’s Bel Ami was horrid, and Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbevilles was both heartbreaking and anger inspiring, both for its plot and the reception it received at the time. A classic case of victim blaming. These are just two examples, but I think it would be wrong to discredit a whole branch of literature based on the failings of a few shortsighted writers, or the completely mistaken reception by audiences of the time, as is the case in Hardy’s work.
So why do I read the classics? well I can assure you it isn’t for the bragging rights. Yes I’ve read Crime and punishment, and a few other of Dostoyevsky’s works, I’ve tackled Herodotus’ The Histories which is more a work of classical literature and not classic literature, but that’s a whole other rabbit hole, and I am currently working my way, and struggling with, Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. Again, not bragging…well ok, maybe a bit.
I feel that works written centuries or even decades ago are a window to the past. they give us a glimpse of life in periods we otherwise wouldn’t have access to and I find that human interactions and the way in which we respond to the difficulties life often throws our way does not differ much. They sometimes offer a snapshot of the political climate of the time and can show us how far we’ve come or haven’t come in some instances, and this is why I continue to plow my way through these tomes.
So to try and answer the question of wether the classics are still relevant or not, well they are to me for the reasons outlined above. Are they relevant to you? well that depends on what you get from each reading of a classic work of literature. Again, we all get something different from what we read and I certainly would never tell you what to read or how to respond to what you do, but I would however say that yes, the classics still have something to offer. Especially when read as part of a varied reading list. Some only read modern fiction and some stick to the classics. My recommendation would be a little from column A and a little from column B, but whichever way you go, stick to what you love. Life’s too short for bad writing.
Thanks for reading.
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