I’m a sucker for books like this. Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature’s Greatest Hits is a breezy guide through World Literature. Jack Murnighan’s approach is to summarize the book humorously, then talk about the best lines, and finally, what to skip. Murnighan has a Ph.D. in medieval and renaissance literature. It shows in some of his favorite picks like Milton’s Paradise Lost. I have a few quibbles. Murnighan picks Wings of the Dove by Henry James as his best book. I’d probably go with Portrait of a Lady or the underrated The Bostonians. Murnighan does a nice job on recommending translations by giving examples. I had a wonderful time with this book! GRADE: B+
Sounds like fun. I like these kinds of books too. If only I didn’t have a huge pile of “must reads” already waiting….
Jeff, you would really like this book. Not only is the author knowledgeable, but he’s got a bit of Dave Barry wit.
I like books like this, too. Gives you the illusion of reading some books you will probably never get to.
I know the feeling, Patti! I have stacks of books everywhere. I would have to live to be 300 to read them all.
OK, I’m ordering it, darn you.
Jeff, you won’t be sorry.
I know many people like this sort of thing, but I don’t think this concept works with books any better than it would to listen only to highlights of a symphony instead of the entire work.
The recommendation to read just highlights or excerpts of books is – to me – a bit like someone recommending reading the last chapter of a mystery novel because that’s the “best part” and why bother with the rest?
That’s not to say I’m comparing “Literature” to favorite mystery novels, my point is that anything decently written is the sum of it’s parts. By only sampling bits and pieces you strip away the weight, sum of impressions and personality of the book. Imagine reading only only a few highlights, or only the last chapter, of ACKROYD, SANDS OF MARS, GREAT EXPECTATIONS or SHOGUN, MICE AND MEN. Just doesn’t work.
My standard in books like this is: “Does the author convince me to read some of these classics I’ve missed?” Murnighan does it time after time. In fact, after reading BEOWULF ON THE BEACH, I ordered Rober Musil’s massive THE MAN WITHOUT QUALITIES, all 1700 pages of it. That’s a pretty good sales job.