What Makes A Book A Classic

Uncle tom s cabin a mediocre novel sometimes makes it under the.

What makes a book a classic. What makes a book a classic. A classic must have something else something that has either caused it to endure or has in the case of modern classics inspired the faith that it will do so. Any book that retains import through the many seasons of one person s lifetime can be considered for classic status. For to do so it will need relevance and meaning that can outlast any fashion of the time and thus remain in one s mind.

Impact and import historic and artistic is another quality often demanded of a book before it can be awarded classic status. It is difficult not to be influenced by the writing community when it comes to the word classic. And while parts of any book may. For example the average reader might not consider steven king s novel the shining the story of a haunted hotel to be a classic but those who study the horror genre may.

You know to me that was a quintessential story about a young man. One that you have re read again and again and still love. A book of recent vintage that is of high quality acclaim and influence needs a few generations to determine whether it deserves to be called a classic. While most people are referring to literary fiction when they refer to the classics each genre and category of literature has its own classics.

But what makes a book classic for you. Maybe it s a book that your parents read to you. Well to me a classic is a book that deals with a classic meta theme very well and i think of james agee s a death in the family. Is it a book you ve been told to read in school.

These aren t exactly hard fixed definitions though which is why we want to talk about what we think makes a book a classic. Christopher smith defines a classic as any book that is not a new book one that merits re reading 5 10 even 100 years or more after its publication to that point entertainment weekly issued a list of the new classics 100 of the best reads from 1983 to 2008 which suggests that perhaps the concept of a classic is fluid. In a huffington post piece c. Has universal appeal great works of literature touch readers to their very core partly because they integrate themes that are understood by readers from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of experience.

How old is the book.