With so many books to choose from, we love to highlight some of the classics that we love. We have compiled a list of 7 classic novels that you should read. Keep reading to find out which 7 novels made our list!
This is a series and that is why some obvious choices didn’t make the list. You can see the previous books selected here. Our latest list includes memorable classics as well as lesser known classics. You can see the full list down below!
7 Classic Novels That You Should Read
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
- A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Handmaid’s Tale
Even if you aren’t an avid book reader, there is a good chance you read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It is taught in most schools across the United States. The brilliant dystopian novel tackles heavy themes which has made it one of the most censored books in the world. If you haven’t gotten around to reading it, then you need to fix that as soon as possible!
The Outsiders
The Outsiders may not be considered a classic by many but in my opinion, it is a classic. Thiis was the first novel that piqued my interest in books and was the first time I lost myself in a novel. It is a great novel for young adults and for teenagers who might not have found a book that speaks to them. It still amazes me that S. E. Hinton was only 15 when she started writing this novel.
A Confederacy of Dunces
A book that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. The novel was published 11 years after the author committed suicide. Toole’s mother repeatedly asked Walker Percy, an author and college instructor to read it. When the novel was finally published, it was well received and Toole went on to win a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
That just goes to show you publishers don’t know anything about books. Toole’s story is a tragic tale of unrecognized talent. Now if you go to New Orleans, you will most likely see a copy of A Confederacy of Dunces a few times. One of the reasons I visited New Orleans was because of how Toole writes about the city in his novel.
East of Eden
John Steinbeck is considered one of the best American writers of all time and for good reason. Steinbeck himself considers East of Eden his magnum opus and was beloved by the public, instantly making it a bestseller. Critics were not as generous and attack the construction of the novel as well as the narration. In 2003, the novel was selected by Oprah’s Book Club and sells around 50,000 copies a year.
Conclusion
These are 7 classic novels that you should read. Many of these classic novels get overlooked but they are powerful works of fiction that are beloved by many for good reason. What classics should be included in future lists? Let us know in the comments below!
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I would strongly add : Solzhenitsyn, August 1914. Hemingway, Green Hill of Africa. Gibran, The Prophet. Franz Kafka, America also Metamorphosis and Other Stories, least but not last, Papillon by H. Charriere
Stockholm – Sweden.
your book choices are painfully lberal… handmaid tale, Steinbeck… why not just tell them to read Das Kapital?
Das Kapital is not only leftist but for most people boring and unreadable. People left and right want to read a story not a treatise. But I agree with you about The Handmaid’s Tale.
Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter (well written and kind of a classic 1966 I think)
How about Cervantes don Quixote, Camu’s Plague, Hesse’s Steppenwulf, Gogol’s Diary of a mad man?
Everybody should have their own book list .I have read David Copperfield twice, and Crichton’s Timeline twice. But the Brethren I have read 4 times by John – what’s his name ? He wrote The Firm and the Client …
I’ve read only two from this list, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Little Women.
Hard Times by Dickens
Dr Zhivago
The guns of August
Foxes book of martyrs
All creatures great and small
Oh Jerusalem!
I started the Confederacy novel twice and could not get through 50 pages. Of all the excellent novels in history, I do not see the value of this novel.