Summer is synonymous with free time, heat, water, and reading, and this summer, you can't miss reading these literary classics. Exams are over, and if we don't have any left for July, we're closer to having our
eTítulo and we deserve the long summer vacation that is coming. It's the perfect time to get hooked on one book after another without anything stopping us. We recommend 8 classics that you will undoubtedly love.
Why classics?
There is much to be thankful for in books. To those that entertain us with the experiences they allow us to live through their characters, to those that educate us with borrowed thoughts that reshape our own, to those that move us by making us laugh, feel fear, cry, hate, or fall in love without having to leave their pages, and we must thank the great classics for all of this and for their ability to stay with us forever. And let's not be mistaken, the great classics of literature are not so because they have a certain number of years behind them, but because, despite the passing of time, they have the ability to influence us, to change us, like no other book. They are timeless, and that is a powerful reason to read them. Another reason is that they greatly improve our general culture, and another is that having read them makes us look very good to others, and we can proudly show off 😉.
Dystopias that will help us understand the world
George Orwell's novel
1984 was written between 1947 and 1948. It was published in 1949 and in 2023 it continues to address current issues. Reading
1984 changes us. Suddenly, we will understand a lot of references that we had overlooked, and we will see the world of politics, the media, and propaganda, true, with a higher level of suspicion. This book, which is the reference par excellence of the dystopian genre, offers a prophetic vision of a future society dominated by a totalitarian regime that will not seem so futuristic or fantastic to us. The value of
1984 lies in its call for vigilance and resistance against oppression and abuse of power. Through its pages, we gain a greater understanding of the nature of freedom and control. In summary,
1984 tears off a blindfold that we didn't know we had, steals our innocence and a certain part of the illusion of living, centrifuges our brain, and then spits it out full of indignation, but with the desire to fight and, on top of that, to read it again. If we want to develop the ability to have
critical thinking, this is our novel; if we want to get stuck in a book without being able to let go and with our hearts racing, too. Go get it before they
censor it!
Aldous Huxley writes this classic work of dystopian literature in 1932. The story is set in a fictional future where society has been organized in a completely different way than we know it today (or not so much). In the world described by Huxley, humanity has managed to establish an apparent utopia through totalitarian control of the State and genetic manipulation of human beings. The Government promotes sexual promiscuity, consumerism, and constant distraction to keep the population in a perpetual state of superficial happiness and conformity. Do we still not see parallels with reality? We will see them.
Brave New World raises questions and criticisms about topics such as individual freedom, state control, dehumanization, excessive consumerism, and the search for true happiness. Huxley presents a bleak vision of an apparently perfect but emotionally empty society, in which humanity has given up its individuality and freedom in the name of stability and conformity.
Everyday magic
After the thrilling anguish of dystopian worlds, let's stop and appreciate the undeniable beauty of two books that are literary references in a genre known as
magical realism, combining fantastic and real elements in a completely natural way.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude
It is impossible not to recognize the title of this book, but perhaps it hadn't caught our attention much. Its author, Gabriel García Márquez, is the undisputed reference in this genre, and this work is a wonderful introduction to a world where the Buendía family will be our guide and host for a whole century. However, it is essential to read with a pencil in hand to jot down the names and make a family tree because they all have almost the same name, and that can drive us crazy. «Many years later, facing the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía had to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. Macondo was then a village of 20 mud and cane houses built on the bank of a river of transparent waters that ran over a bed of polished stones, white and enormous like prehistoric eggs. The world was so recent that many things lacked names, and to mention them, it was necessary to point with your finger». This is how this masterpiece of literature begins, doesn't it make you want to keep reading?
One Hundred Years of Solitude allows us to reflect on the nature of time, history, and reality, and introduces us to the rich and complex Latin American culture.
Another fundamental work of this genre is
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. As we journey through this family saga, we immerse ourselves in the turbulent history of Latin America and explore themes of love, oppression, and the persistence of family ties across generations. In
The House of the Spirits, there are beautiful women with green hair and military coups that destroy any magic. There is beauty and horror and a beautiful calm that suddenly plunges into the abyss and leaves us with twisted guts.
Antiracist classics
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
If we think about what a black woman raised in the southern United States in the first half of the 20th century had to go through to become a poet, activist, singer, and writer, maybe we don't feel like reading this moving autobiography by Maya Angelou. We won't feel like suffering. But this book is not about that; it is more about hope and why it is worth fighting for our dreams and defending our principles. This classic of literature explores, through Maya Angelou's personal story, themes such as racism, identity, and liberation.
In this literary journey, Harper Lee is an essential stop. Through this novel, we confront prejudice and racial injustice in the southern United States in the 1930s. Its pages challenge us to understand empathy and morality in a world plagued by injustices.
Great classics with hateful characters
What does it feel like to kill another person? If we have ever asked ourselves this question, Fyodor Dostoevsky answers it for us in this great classic of literature through a dark and philosophical journey inside the mind of a murderer. Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is one of those protagonists who no one can like, not so much because of his condition as a killer, but because we know how he thinks; Dostoevsky takes care to narrate it meticulously in this gruesome story that delves into ethical and moral issues, confronts us with the intricacies of human weakness, and makes us reflect on redemption and punishment.
- Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus
Mary Shelley wrote this milestone in gothic literature and science fiction in 1817, and we have all heard of it. This novel confronts us with the moral and ethical questions associated with science and the responsibility of the scientist. And if we think that Frankenstein's monster will be terrifying, we will have to prepare ourselves to endure the vileness of its creator. These books, among other great classics, not only offer us exciting narratives and memorable characters but also present new ways of understanding and contemplating the world. They allow us to explore different cultures and eras and challenge us to think critically and creatively. And although these works may be complex and challenging, they are also incredibly rewarding. Each page provides us with an opportunity to grow, learn, and discover. Let us know what you think.
