The Western Lit Survival Kit by Sandra Newman
by Jenners • 01/19/2012 • 4 Stars, N Authors, Non-Fiction, W Titles • 32 Comments
The Western Lit Survival Kit by Sandra NewmanPublisher: Gotham Books, 2012
Pages: 304
Genre: Non-Fiction, Humor
Where I Got It: LibraryThing Early Reviewer Program
Why I Read It: I wanted an amusing book that would give me a good grounding the classics
My Rating: 4 stars
Book Description
As subtitles often do, this book’s subtitle pretty much says it all: “An Irreverent Guide to the Classics from Homer to Faulkner.” As you can imagine, presenting an overview of the Great Books of Western literature is a pretty tall order. Forced to be brief and succinct, Newman still somehow manages to provide a brief author bio, a look at their notable works, and an overview of the time period in which they were writing. Along the way, she also manages to work in quite a few jokes. She also includes charts that rate each work on three attributes: importance, accessibility and fun. As she notes in the introduction:
“Fun” does not mean “Quality.” Paradise Lost is a work of acknowledged genius. It is also about as much fun as being trapped in a freezer. In the Fun rating, I’ve tried to incorporate various possible sources of fun, such as the loveliness of poetry and the page-turning quality of fiction. However, it all boils down to assessing the entertainment value of the work—not the deathless masterpieceness.
Each of the 14 chapters covers a different era or literary movement—starting with the Greeks and Ancient Rome, moving through times such as The Age of Reason: When People Wised Up And Started Believing What We Believe and ending up with The Messy Twentieth: Finally Over. Two timelines highlighting great moments in Western lit and the lives of the great authors are also included.
My Thoughts
I’ve been looking for a way to get a broad overview of Western lit without actually having to read too much of it, and Newman’s book was a great way to do that. I tend to struggle with the classics—often finding them boring or impenetrable due to the unfamiliar language. Although I have a passing familiarity with many of the works mentioned in this book, I wasn’t able to place them in context or really understand WHY they are considered one of the Great Books. Newman is a snarky guide who did a wonderful job of breaking things down to their basic level while still providing insights into the feel of a work as well as why it is important. Keep in mind, though, that this is NOT a funny Cliff’s Notes. You’ll get the basic idea of a book’s plot and some insight into why it is important but it won’t replace actually reading the book in any way.
The jokey tone that Newman uses throughout the book definitely keeps the book from being as dry as some of the works it discusses, but I found her jokes uneven and sometimes forced. Still, she does a good job making light of things and making reading about the classics palatable. (For a more masterful job of making fun of the classics, track down a copy of Richard Armour’s The Classics Reclassified, which is, sadly, out-of-print at the moment.)
In the end, I found the book to be highly readable and educational. Here are a few of the things I took away from it:
- I may actually try Laurence Sterne’s Tristam Shandy as Newman does a good job of making it seem enticing (“Page for page, it’s possibly the funniest novel ever,” she says) despite the book being “flamboyantly difficult” and a reader needing to be “very smart.” Chances are, I’m nowhere near smart enough to understand the book but since it is available for free on my Kindle, I figure it is worth a shot.
- I will never in a million bazillion years attempt to read anything by James Joyce. (Or William Faulkner.) (Or Melville’s Moby Dick.)
- I’ve read more classics that I’ve remembered but I’ve blocked them out. In reading this book, it came back to me that I have read Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa (snooze!), Rabelais’s Gargantua and Pantagruel (of which I retained nothing), and several Thomas Hardy novels (of which I retain only the slightest memories).
Recommended For
Readers who want a fun overview of Western lit or who are seeking a guide to figure out which classics might be worth reading
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Well, I have to admit that I’m a classics hound. My kids laugh to think that I read War & Peace when pregnant with my first son. Hmmm, seems now like a good way to prepare for all this “war and peace” with kids the past 15 years. Looks like a good book. Thanks Jenners for the review
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This sounds interesting…not sure if I’m in the mood for it now. I’m not sure anyone can convince me to read Moby Dick, War & Peace, etc.
Classics and other difficult books had never been my first choice for reading material until recently. This interest is mainly out of curiosity as to why the classics are considered classic. My book list for 2012 is mostly made up of the classics and other difficult books I wouldn’t normally read. I’m trying to broaden my interest in books…it’s something of a task.
T
hough I’ve read Moby Dick without thinking too badly of it, I’m struggling to bring myself to read books like Wuthering Heights and Ulysses.
A book that attempts to get more people to read the classics should be awesome. Sounds like this one was just okay. Maybe I’ve found my calling.
I put this book on my to-read list when I read about it somewhere, and I’m glad to see it is pretty good. BUT! Do read William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” before you write him off completely. Oh, and I loved Moby Dick. Especially the end. It was gorgeous.
I do love certain classics, but I agree some of them are just too difficult due to the language difference. I would never attempt to read Moby Dick myself, I might fall asleep.
This sounds like a helfpul read
Tristram Shandy is a fucking scream, but like the woman says, you need to bring your A-game. There’s a film adaptation from a few years back that makes a good companion piece.
Faulkner is dispensable, but I still recommend taking on Joyce. You have to make a job of it, but it is a great education in how literature works.
Moby Dick isn’t particularly hard to read, and is actually a pretty good story. Just skip the technical chapters, which should have been edited out before publication anyway. If you can plow through Howard Zinn, you’re not going to have any trouble with Herman Melville.
I’m dying to find out what you think of Wicked.
Ooh…I love these kinds of books. I’m a sucker for fun books that I don’t feel dumber for reading.
Thanks for sharing as always.
I read Moby Dick, but I don’t remember what I thought. I have to admit that it was easier to just watch Family Classics on tv as a child instead of reading them.
And they’re classics, why?
I really struggle with the classics as well unless they are something like To Kill a Mockingbird. I just can’t seem to become invested in the story like some can. Faulkner I will never pick up again in my life. Lol.
I DO want to read this. and I’d be up for a stab at Tristam Shandy. Well, I also keep thinking I want to read Moby Dick but it’s languishing (buried somewhere) on the bookshelf belies that.
There are some classics that are just boring!
I tried Ulysses and Moby Dick and don’t think I’ll give them another chance (at least not anytime soon). I’ll have to take a look at the Classics Reclassified – see if I can find it on paperbackswap or the library.
And free is always good, so I might consider Tristam Shandy for my kindle too.
Sounds like a good book to dip into now and then.
I did try to read Ulysses by Joyce once…. never got very far either.
I looooooovvveee books like this but I must not read them. Otherwise they severely add to an already entirely overwhelming to-read list.
I haven’t read too many classics either, good to know there is a book out there that can point me.
Excellent review! The fact that this book got you interested in other books is a good sign.
What a great idea for a book! I’ve read a few Classics, but not as many as I’m sure I should have. This just may have to go on my wish list.
This book is right up your alley! Sounds like a fun one to look through and get a different take on the classics that we may have grown to hate in high school and/or college.
Sounds interesting to just have a good idea where to go next, if anything. I’m doing the Charles Dickens Month Challenge this month and I have not been enjoying at all. Also have lots of classics lined up for this year – might actually be fun to have a look at this book.
Wow! “Tristam Shandy” available for free on Kindle. Can’t wait. Thanks! As for “Moby Dick,” I have tried it twice in my life — once in college and again just two years ago. Can NOT manage it. It is rare for me to put a book down. Once I start one, I feel obligated to finish it, no matter how bad. “Moby Dick,” is obviously not bad, but I find it an absolutely torturous read.
This is such a fun book. I got it from the library yesterday and flipped through it for awhile. I must say, though, that she thought Moby Dick was a lot more fun than I did!
sounds like a great way to review the classics! another option for you is the literature section available from The Great Courses – love, love, love that store!
i will be seeking this one out! thanks for the suggestion
I’m in the middle of Moby Dick right now and so far there is some good and some bad, but it is interesting. This book would be a good way to introduce myself to a few new classics.
I HAVE to read this book! I have been seeing reviews all over the place, and think it would be really helpful to know which direction to take with some of these classics. There are some that are amazing, and others that are just plain painful. It would help to know the difference before I started them and had to abandon them in a fit of pique. This was a great review today, and I am eager to grab this one when I can. Thanks, Jenners!
This sounds like something I’d really enjoy, though I might be annoyed with any forced jokes. I’m also curious about the ones that I would decide I definitely don’t want to read after reading this!
Wow, I can’t believe those classics you DID read!
Joyce: Read Portrait of an Artist (easy to read and you can say you read Joyce). But no Faulkner?
(((
I’ll have to pick up a copy at the library.
Like yourself I struggle with the so-called classics (just your mentioning Moby Dick brought me out in a cold sweat), this sounds like a readable enough book though and all the better that it can act as a guide as to which classics may be worth a look at.
this sounds like a great book to pick up from the library this summer!
Well, I am a classics idiot so this book would be right up my alley. I suppose that is exactly I love Austen so much…that I read a classic and I actually got it and liked it. Made me feel smart.