The Most Overrated Classics

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Nikolas Farmakis
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Re: The Most Overrated Classics

Post by Nikolas Farmakis »

I would also add Macbeth by William Shakespeare to your list of overrated books!
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Rwill0988
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Post by Rwill0988 »

I agree with a lot of you. Required reading can really take the joy out of a book (and this is coming from a teacher who studied English literature in university).

My top five are all novels that were over-hyped by the time I read them. I’m okay with struggling through a book and looking for meaning.However, these books put me off classics for a while. They also taught me a valuable lesson about who to accept book recommendations from.

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3 Middlemarch by George Eliot
4. Paradise Lost by John Milton
5. Portrait of an artist by a young man by James Joyce
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Maddie Atkinson
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Post by Maddie Atkinson »

I always found that anything by Charles Dickens is overrated. I know that they are classics, but because he was paid by the word to write his books, they are too hard going and heavy on the descriptions. In my opinion most people who say they love Charles Dickens are probably lying and just saying that to sound academic. The books are good from an english literature point of view in terms of the analysis of them, but when just reading them for pleasure, they are just not enjoyable and are too difficult to read.
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SarahTheReader
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Post by SarahTheReader »

If I were to have come across this post when I was in high school, I definitely would have said almost every single Shakespeare book I was forced to read. But now it's a different story since I enjoyed and am thankful to have read them. If I had to say one book I found to be overrated, and still have yet to get myself to read it again since high school, it would have to be Macbeth by Shakespeare. For some reason, I just can get past the scene where Macbeth is talking about the blood on his hands and the ghost. Maybe I'll make it my goal to revisit it in 2021 but for now, it's definitely my top overrated classic that I've read so far.
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Katherine Powell-Polkey
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Post by Katherine Powell-Polkey »

The Great Gatsby and Romeo & Juliet are extremely overrated in my opinion.
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Brad McLean
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Post by Brad McLean »

In general, I agree with you about "Catch 22". I found that I had to force myself to see the intended humor most of the time. The premise was great, but it just didn't work.

"The Tale of Two Cities" is another book I found overrated. It is interesting for the history and how it was (or may have been) in that time. I just found it to be too light on details and some of the character development. The ending also seemed out of place with the story. I just didn't enjoy it the way I expected to.
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Post by Elendu Clement Ekechukwu »

I'm yet to understand why people put to kill a mockingbird as a classic. To me, the book is so overrated.
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Michael Adam Glidden Forteski
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Post by Michael Adam Glidden Forteski »

I got so excited when you include The Way We Live Now in your underrated list. That is one of my favorite classics alongside Middle March.
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Hannah Oakey
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Post by Hannah Oakey »

For me, one of the most overrated classics is The Time Machine by H. G Wells. I found it to be lacking in emotion and the characters and scenes were poorly depicted. There was no warmth or depth to the writing. I dragged myself through it because it was a classic and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. I was sorely disappointed and it is one of the most boring classics I have ever read.
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Post by Philosopher2022 »

I am not so much into classic even though i have read a few classic books. From your list, i can really say any was overrated.
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Post by alexsbookhoard »

I completely agree with The Catcher in the Rye being overrated! I read it for a college class about teaching literature in high school, and I remember wondering why this book gets the hype that it does. I don't remember it being particularly well written and Holden was, and still is, one of the most obnoxious characters I've read.
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Post by Quizlit4Stephen »

I couldn't get into The Portrait of Dorian Gray at all
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Post by Rahaa2023- »

Such a great explanation❤
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Post by Susann Heidy Castro Garnica »

When I started reading "To Kill a Mockingbird" I had a lot of trouble with the southern accent, but somebody helped me out and it's become one my favorite books of all time.
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Post by liyifan »

I don't think 'Kill a Mockingbird' is an overestimated classic book. I think this book is a valuable and meaningful novel that tells a story about justice, courage, compassion, and growth in a sincere and touching way.
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