Topic: 6 Great Novels that Were Hated in Their Time

[Clive]

Raise your hand if you ever had to read a classic novel in school, only to come away hating it. And keep your hand up if at some point an adult turned up their nose at you for failing to recognize genius when you saw it.

Well, here's their dirty little secret: Many, if not most, of the books you were handed in high school as required reading were hated by critics and readers alike when they first hit shelves.

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[Simon]

Not read any of them.  We read, Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm, and the one about the teacher, the title of which escapes me at the moment.

[GillE]

I didn't read Brave New World at school, but it's a fair enough book.  I didn't think it had stood up well to the passage of time.

I've never read The Grapes Of Wrath.

I read The Lord Of The Flies at school and loved it.  I actually re-read it again two years ago and loved it just as much.

I never read The Catcher In The Rye at school but I read it a couple of years ago and thought it was excellent.

I've never read Moby Dick.

I have read The Lord of the Rings so many times!  It's one of my favourites.  It wasn't required reading at school, but that was when I read it.  Suddenly, in my third year I fell in love with novels and read all the prescribed books for the whole year in about four weeks.  The English master couldn't believe it and gave me an on-the-spot quiz about the whole curriculum which I answered perfectly.  He decided to fuel my love of books and found me loads more to read, which I devoured voraciously.  Then I decided to drop English literature for my 'O' levels, saying I enjoyed books too much to ever want to study and break them into their component parts.  I had to continue with English language (it wasn't an optional subject) and I was the only student from our school to get an 'A' grade in the exams, but I still didn't get the English prize for that year - the English master never forgave me for dropping literature!

[Simon]

I love fantasy novels, and love the Lord of the Rings films, but have never been able to get into the books.  I must try again, one day.

[GillE]

I wouldn't make too much effort to get into the books, Simon - Peter Jackson did such a good job of the films that I reckon they've become the definitive version.  Tolkein seemed to dither about making the story either a children's fairy tale or a heroic epic, and as a result the story falls between both stools to a large extent.  Jackson didn't make that mistake .

Back in 1981 the BBC produced a dramatisation of the story which is available on a set of CDs.  Coincidentally, it featured Ian Holm as Frodo Baggins!  They're still available but if you can't get them at a reasonable price, let me know and I might be able to help you out.

[Simon]

Thanks, Gill, I'll investigate.

By the way, the book we read at school which I couldn't think of, was To Kill A Mockingbird.

[Rik]

Lord of the Flies was the only one of those 6 that we read. I still have a copy.

[Clive]

The only one I read was Brave New World.