Serious, yet enjoyable Western canon literature

[Digby]

Can anyone recommend some Western canon literature that is both serious, the type that is supposed to improve you in some sense, but still enjoyable to read.

I tried some philosophy, Nietzsche I think it was, and I found it by turns intriguing, obscure and occasionally completely impenetrable. I think it may have been an old translation, but still, can anyone recommend some canon works that "read well" today?

I'm all for being improved, but I'd prefer to enjoy the process of self improvement, more so than not.

 

[N Fowleri]

Since you mentioned philosophy, you could try Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness.

There are endless wonderful novels, but one that comes to mind is W. Somerset Maughm's Of Human Bondage.

Then, I would say there are some deep questions about a mission to improve oneself. What does this mean? What is lacking that should be improved? Is it still you if you are significantly changed (improved)? In addition, many people would say that "self-improvement" tends to happen when people are being seriously challenged by life events, rather than reading brilliant and entertaining literature.

Best wishes!

 

[Tom C]

The original film adaptation of Of Human Bondage is one of Bette Davis’ best films. Takes less time than reading the book.

 

[ZolaIII]

Try with gnoseology and epistemology in general and start from founders of formal logic like Aristotel and move forward to Kant and breaches. See what you can find as a study program on university or even go to the lectures if you can. I can't help you directly as I never did it on English.

 

[DWPress]

If philosophy is of interest you might check out Joseph Cambell's The Power of Myth or A Hero's Journey. A good read as well as deeply informative to Western thought.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

James Joyce: "Ulysses". It's worth persevering.

 

[Rednaxela]

How about The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles?

A short and easy read, chock-full of rubbish, yet incredibly intriguing and with a surprisingly deep message that’s potentially life changing.

It may not be your cup of tea, but in that case I think it’s still worth reading just as a historical artifact.

 

[BinkieHuckerback]

'Jane Eyre' - I had to read it for 'o' level, and I don't see why you should get off Scott free.
Not really, it's an essential read.

 

[mhardy6647]

James Joyce: "Ulysses". It's worth persevering.

Not an easy read though.
Heck, I'd recommend Gravity's Rainbow -- but it's not quite canonical. Yet.

 

[Fregly]

Tolstoy Anna Karenina
Rainer Maria Rilke Poems, Steven Mitchell translation
Dostoevsky Notes from the Underground

 

[Fregly]

I think the Dubliners or Portrait of the Artist are more enjoyable than Ulysses for Joyce, which is a bs endurance test at times.

 

[Presently42]

James Joyce: "Ulysses". It's worth persevering.

And his Portrait of the Author as a Young Man. His short stories are well worth the read too. Do have a guide or footnotes handy: you'll need them.

Really, there are just so many phenomenal books out there, it's hard to choose. I might say Pynchon's works have made me a better person - others will refuse to give him a Pulitzer for his magnum Opus, Gravity's Rainbow. Anything Tolstoy, Dostoyevskiy, Turgenyev, Pushkin, Gogol.... And what about the existential writers, like Sartre and Camus? Or some magic realism, like from Borges, or Cien años de soledad? Really, it's hard to say what might be enjoyed; and what is life changing.... Frankly, I'd put Tolkien's works on my list of books that changed me. And the Wheel of Time series. What about Don Quixote or Tristram Shady? They certainly marked me. A Confederacy of Dunces maybe?

What of poetry like Wordsworth or plays like Shakespeare?

 

[Somafunk]

The Tao of Pooh ,

On a more serious note ,

Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance- An Inquiry Into Values : Robert M Pirsig Probably my most read and valued book, still got my original copy with loads of scribbles, highlighted sections.

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 72 : Hunter S Thompson , Thompson at his gonzo best on Nixon vs McGovern campaign trail for the 1972 presidential election - very good

 

[mhardy6647]

I had to read Pirsig's above-mentioned book for... an undergrad biochem laboratory course.
Taught by a really, really odd professor, who ended up doing hard time in jail --for some pretty bad stuff.

So... my memory of the book is a bit tarnished.

Oooh, Borges. Yes, oh yes.
I have an anthology of his short fiction that I absolutely treasure. (EDIT: The anthology is called Labyrinths)
I suppose my only regret is that I can only read him in (English) translation.

A little googlin' will turn up a copy of an English translation of his famous short story Funes the Memorious, if the OP'd like a taste of Borges.

EDIT^2: Second the recommendation of Dubliners above.

 

[Robin L]

Principia Discordia is as good a good start as any.

Principia Discordia | the book of Chaos, Discord and Confusion | Fnord!

Principia Discordia | the book of Chaos, Discord and Confusion | Fnord!

principiadiscordia.com

Pynchon's "Against the Day" is worth it for the giggles.

The Master and Margarita manages to be seriously entertaining with subjects of some seriousness.

 

[Robin L]

Not an easy read though.
Heck, I'd recommend Gravity's Rainbow -- but it's not quite canonical. Yet.

It's canonical enough fer me. I'd recommend "Against the Day" first seeing how its potential canonization is slightly higher, Easier to read, bigger story, no Brigadier Pudding to clean up after. All this and quaternions too.

I'm pretty sure it was the pudding that prevented the Pulitzer Prize.

 

[mhardy6647]

It's canonical enough fer me. I'd recommend "Against the Day" first seeing how its potential canonization is slightly higher, Easier to read, bigger story, no Brigadier Pudding to clean up after. All this and quaternions too.

I'm pretty sure it was the pudding that prevented the Pulitzer Prize.

The Pulitzer Prize was, as I remember it, essentially awarded to Gravity's Rainbow, but then withheld due to the perceived pornograpic nature of some of the episodes in the book. I imagine in 1973 it was a bit outre (I didn't first read it until 1976).

I believe I have everything Pynchon's ever published, and maybe most of what's been published about him, too.
I can see Mason & Dixon from my easy chair even as I type this.

 

[Presently42]

I'm pretty sure it was the pudding that prevented the Pulitzer Prize.

Eh, nothing a little antibiotic won't take care of

 

[Robin L]

Eh, nothing a little antibiotic won't take care of

That's what they thought, but look at what happened anyway?

Is there any ketchup 'round these parts? Emmmmmmmm.

 

[Ilkless]

Hesse's Siddhartha