While it’s fun, now and then, to heap scorn on overrated classics, today I’m curious about underrated classics. Are there books from 50, 100, or 150+ years ago that have stuck with you, but don’t get much attention from the bookish community? For me, W. Somerset Maugham’s
For me, it's anything by Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence and House of Mirth (as well as her other works, though those are my favs) are so underrated, and I seldom meet other reads who have read them.
I am a shameless Stephen King fan. I think his best is "The Stand" amazing story. I also like Ernest Gaines "Of Love and Dust" Toni Morrison "The Bluest Eyes". Maya Angelou "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" poetry as well. So many books 📚 so little time. Lol
Oh, I love Razor's Edge. Adding Wallace Stegner's books here - I read Crossing Into Safety every few years and am about to read Big Rock Candy Mountain later this spring (in the stack next to my bed!).
I also adore The Razor’s Edge and am thankful to a high school English teacher that assigned it. In that same vein I love Hesse’s Siddhartha and Beneath The Wheel and feel like neither of them get much play these days.
Although I wouldn't say it's a favorite, given the current Big Read I have to say "The Tennent of Wildfell Hall" is wonderful, and I think it's a shame that the other Bronte sisters' work gets so much more praise.
Herman Hesse's work in general has stuck with me, with "Steppenwolf" probably as my top choice.
I'm going to stretch the definition of 'classic' a little bit and send some love to the Edward X Delaney detective novels by Lawrence Sanders. The first one — The First Deadly Sin — was published in 1973, so it makes the 50-year cutoff :-)
Jeremy, I think you will like these for the same reason you enjoy Louise Penny: There is a lot of character development alongside a compelling crime.
Edward X Delaney is someone I always wished I could run into in real life. He's an excellent detective, devoted to his wife, and loves sandwiches. These books introduced me to the idea of a 'sink sandwich,' a notion that has stayed with me for decades. Edward LOVES to make sandwiches with unusual fillings, and his favorites are so messy, they have to be eaten over the sink — hence the name, sink sandwiches. As a preteen whose family was big on cooking but also sticklers for manners, I fell hard for the idea of making and eating something so delicious you have to consume it in a rush while standing in the kitchen.
All of that goodness is contrasted with very grizzly murders and terrifically wily villains. The stories are a combination of procedural and psychological thriller — the murderers often toy directly with Delaney.
Online lists will tell you that the Deadly Sins series begins with The Anderson Tapes. Don't believe the lie! The Anderson Tapes is a fun read about a robbery in NYC, all told through tape transcripts. Delaney makes an appearance, but it's not *really* a Delaney book.
The first true installment is The First Deadly Sin, and they books are worth reading in order because of Delaney's character arc. (They're conveniently named Second Deadly Sin, Third, etc.) I recently re-read The First Deadly Sin, and I thought it held up well to my nostalgia and the fact that I've read decades' worth of crime novels since.
If you want to try a throwback detective series, this is a good one!
My underrated book pairs with one I think is overrated. I think Jack Kerouac's THE DHARMA BUMS is a much better book than ON THE ROAD and it should be the Kerouac that is read first & taught in schools.
The 1929 novel “Passing” by Nella Larson, about a black woman passing as white in the 1920’s. There was a tv movie/series made about it recently too.
The Good Earth! I absolutely treasure that book, re-read it every few years.
For me, it's anything by Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence and House of Mirth (as well as her other works, though those are my favs) are so underrated, and I seldom meet other reads who have read them.
I read My Antonia last year - amazing novel. Heartbreaking and beautiful.
I am a shameless Stephen King fan. I think his best is "The Stand" amazing story. I also like Ernest Gaines "Of Love and Dust" Toni Morrison "The Bluest Eyes". Maya Angelou "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" poetry as well. So many books 📚 so little time. Lol
Of Human Bondage was my first Sommerset. I have read most of his books, but my fav is The Painted Veil
Oh, I love Razor's Edge. Adding Wallace Stegner's books here - I read Crossing Into Safety every few years and am about to read Big Rock Candy Mountain later this spring (in the stack next to my bed!).
I don't know about underrated, but "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck is a book I've always thought was incredible.
I want to go in record as a Willa Cather reader. She is amazing.
Years ago I read The Street by Ann Petry. It really stuck with me.
I also adore The Razor’s Edge and am thankful to a high school English teacher that assigned it. In that same vein I love Hesse’s Siddhartha and Beneath The Wheel and feel like neither of them get much play these days.
I would never call Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston underrated but it's still not widely read. Hurston is amazing.
I read The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng, which features W. Somerset Maugham and now I'm doubly convinced I need to move him up on my TBR list.
Although I wouldn't say it's a favorite, given the current Big Read I have to say "The Tennent of Wildfell Hall" is wonderful, and I think it's a shame that the other Bronte sisters' work gets so much more praise.
Herman Hesse's work in general has stuck with me, with "Steppenwolf" probably as my top choice.
“Ask The Dust” by John Fante. You’re welcome.
I'm going to stretch the definition of 'classic' a little bit and send some love to the Edward X Delaney detective novels by Lawrence Sanders. The first one — The First Deadly Sin — was published in 1973, so it makes the 50-year cutoff :-)
Jeremy, I think you will like these for the same reason you enjoy Louise Penny: There is a lot of character development alongside a compelling crime.
Edward X Delaney is someone I always wished I could run into in real life. He's an excellent detective, devoted to his wife, and loves sandwiches. These books introduced me to the idea of a 'sink sandwich,' a notion that has stayed with me for decades. Edward LOVES to make sandwiches with unusual fillings, and his favorites are so messy, they have to be eaten over the sink — hence the name, sink sandwiches. As a preteen whose family was big on cooking but also sticklers for manners, I fell hard for the idea of making and eating something so delicious you have to consume it in a rush while standing in the kitchen.
All of that goodness is contrasted with very grizzly murders and terrifically wily villains. The stories are a combination of procedural and psychological thriller — the murderers often toy directly with Delaney.
Online lists will tell you that the Deadly Sins series begins with The Anderson Tapes. Don't believe the lie! The Anderson Tapes is a fun read about a robbery in NYC, all told through tape transcripts. Delaney makes an appearance, but it's not *really* a Delaney book.
The first true installment is The First Deadly Sin, and they books are worth reading in order because of Delaney's character arc. (They're conveniently named Second Deadly Sin, Third, etc.) I recently re-read The First Deadly Sin, and I thought it held up well to my nostalgia and the fact that I've read decades' worth of crime novels since.
If you want to try a throwback detective series, this is a good one!
My underrated book pairs with one I think is overrated. I think Jack Kerouac's THE DHARMA BUMS is a much better book than ON THE ROAD and it should be the Kerouac that is read first & taught in schools.