‘A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it
has to say.’
- Italo Calvino
For a lot of people, a classic is an old book that it sounds
good to say you’ve read - probably written by a dead author, something quite
long and something we know is ‘good for us’. I think we need to move towards
Calvino’s definition of a classic as something that endures, transcends time
and generation, and poses questions about and offer solutions for the issues of
our time. Another quote from Calvino says that ‘there is nothing for it but for
all of us to invent our own ideal libraries of classics.’ I love this idea. It
puts the categorisation process into the hands of the readers. When you decide
upon your classics you might ask yourself:
- Do I feel a strong connection to the book regardless of when it was written?
- Do I continue to think about the book well after finishing it?
- Do I find myself revisiting and rereading the book?
- Do I find the book has an effect on my life?
With this in mind I would start my list with Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence, Villette by Charlotte Bronte and Atonement by Ian McEwan.
What would make your personal list of classics?
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