Great melodramas/thrillers I have read

[SeattleUte]

In their own right these belong alongside War and Peace:

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Three Musketeers

LA Confidential

The Black Dalia

American Tabloid

The Call of the Wild

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The Day of the Jackal

Gorky Park

Twenty Years After

Shogun

[MikeWaters]

hey you didn't put Musashi on your list.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

hey you didn't put Musashi on your list.

Musashi.

But I confess I read an abridged version. It was great. I love all that warfare, violence and romance.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

In their own right these belong alongside War and Peace:

The Count of Monte Cristo

The Three Musketeers

LA Confidential

The Black Dalia

American Tabloid

The Call of the Wild

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The Day of the Jackal

Gorky Park

Twenty Years After

Shogun

Great list.

Are Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Twenty Years After worth it?

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Great list.

Are Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Twenty Years After worth it?

Very much. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is suspenseful and gives a great portrait of self-loathing upper class bi-sexual Oxford and Campbridge educated Brits who sold out to the Soviets, believing they were answering a higher calling but simply loathed themselves. Great Britain comes off as a fallen, tragic empire. The angst they feel at America's ascendency and much greater importance in world affairs is palpable and as sad as the rampant betrayals and corruptions. This is the type of stuff Waters loves, by the way. The psychological dueling between Smiley and Karla in flash backs and the present is for the ages; there's nothing more chilling than when Smiley realizes Karla took the measure of him many years ago, unbeknownst to him, wreaking havoc in every part of his life ever since.

When I was a kid I couldn't get enough of Dumas; so I read Twenty Years After, a huge sequal to The Three Musketeers. It contains the Man with the Iron Mask and the four friends wind up in Britain, trying to save King Charles' neck from Oliver Cromwell.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

Very much. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is suspenseful and gives a great portrait of self-loathing upper class bi-sexual Oxford and Campbridge educated Brits who sold out to the Soviets, believing they were answering a higher calling but simply loathed themselves. Great Britain comes off as a fallen, tragic empire. The angst they feel at America's ascendency and much greater importance in world affairs is palpable and as sad as the rampant betrayals and corruptions. This is the type of stuff Waters loves, by the way. The psychological dueling between Smiley and Karla in flash backs and the present is for the ages; there's nothing more chilling than when Smiley realizes Karla took the measure of him many years ago, unbeknownst to him, wreaking havoc in every part of his life ever since.

When I was a kid I couldn't get enough of Dumas; so I read Twenty Years After, a huge sequal to The Three Musketeers. It contains the Man with the Iron Mask and the four friends wind up in Britain, trying to save King Charles' neck from Oliver Cromwell.

Not trying to be anything but pedestrian, but do you read French?

Dumas is very good, and if you do, you should read Madame Bovary, though I admit I must read these classics with a dictionary close by.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Not trying to be anything but pedestrian, but do you read French?

Dumas is very good, and if you do, you should read Madame Bovary, though I admit I must read these classics with a dictionary close by.

I haven't read Madame Bovary. I should and plan to. I will read it in English.
I can't read French and I though I speak decent Spanish I prefer to read literature in my native tongue.

[Archaea]

Here's a question for you well-read types.

Many of these classics transcend their time; hence, that's why they're considered classics. However, many of them contain contemporary data which flies right over us.

For example, Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame has some allusions to his contemporary politicos.

Do you endeavor to read up on the hidden data to better understand the "message" of the work, or do you get lazy as I do, and just read away?

[Surfah]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Here's a question for you well-read types.

Many of these classics transcend their time; hence, that's why they're considered classics. However, many of them contain contemporary data which flies right over us.

For example, Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame has some allusions to his contemporary politicos.

Do you endeavor to read up on the hidden data to better understand the "message" of the work, or do you get lazy as I do, and just read away?

It depends. If I was reading one of these for a class then yes I would do secondary research a la wikipedia or sparknotes to get some background to help me during lectures and discussions or writing a paper. But for pleasure, I just read. Unless it's something that really piques my interest. I remember reading Hot Zone several years ago after picking it up in a grocery store checkout line. After that I was reading everything under the sun about ebola and did everything short of applying with the CDC and purchasing a monkey.