Hello, I'm Benjamin McEvoy :) Thank you for visiting my channel. If you like this kind of bookish content, you will love the Hardcore Literature Book Club and Podcast. Deep dives into the greatest books ever written, provocative poems, evocative epics, and life-changing literary analyses. We don’t just read the great books - we live them. Together we’ll suck the marrow out of Shakespeare, Homer, and Tolstoy. We’ll relish the most moving art ever committed to the page and stage from every age. Join us on the reading adventure of a lifetime.
I'm glad to have come across this video; I've been eyeing this set for my granddaughter as I am slowly trying to build a legitimate home library to include good literature and reference manuals. Your video has convinced me this is a worthwhile investment and a bonus book idea from Mortimer Adler. Cheers!
You are impressively well-read and your passion for the written word is infectious! I have to read more classics. I am a sucker for "gimmicks" and so new books often appeal to me and almost always fall flat. There are exceptions where I find something from the past decade that really affects me (The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, Wellness by Nathan Hill, The Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy by Liu Cixin, and anything by David Sedaris), but I find most often that if I put in the effort to read an older story, I get more out of it. Thanks for the video.
You mentioned your love for rain sounds, and that makes me wonder why most readers l know, myself included, are obsessed with rain. Perhaps words and stream of consciousness are similar to raindrops in some way 🌧
I suggest Mother Courage from the play written by Bertold Brecht. The final scene when Courage, who has lost everything including the children and even her horse, picks up her cart and slowly walks off stage. It's heartbreaking.
As a huge Austen fan, it's nice to hear her characters got so many votes, and I was surprised by #1 but on reflection--of course! Perfect choice. But I was disappointed that Dickens' characters didn't get more love. I can think of 3 or 4 from David Copperfield alone that would make my list.
Book suggestion here : Moscow - Petushki, also published in English as Moscow to the End of the Line, Moscow Stations, and Moscow Circles, is a postmodernist prose poem by Russian writer and satirist Venedikt Yerofeyev. Monologue full of satire and commentary on human nature, society, pokitics, philosophy, religion , faith, love and ALCOHOL ! Great follow-up after reading Master and Margarita
Dickens created so many memorable characters, major and minor. For example, in Bleak House, I adore Woodcourt, George Roundswell, Jo, inspector Bucket of the Police,and Esther Summerson. In Copperfield, I adore Betsy Trotwood, Agnes, Peggoty, and her brother, who searched the world to rescue Emily, so many. They are born on the page but live forever.
I don't think it sounds strange, Benjamin, that you relate so much to Don Quixote. He's a reader! And one of the GOAT readers. I don't mean just that he opened a lot of books. I mean he dived into them, took them seriously, inhabited them and let them inhabit him. He's the GOAT.
I've just finished Moby-Dick and I have to say, I was not prepared for it. I should have watched this video first. I found it quite difficult with the language being an obstacle to my understanding. I agree with you, it is not a novel. It is part whaling manual, part prose poem. As someone who has only read Shakespeare in school, a very long time ago, and did not enjoy it because I didn't understand the language, this book came as a bit of a shock. After watching your video, I will have to schedule a re-read sooner rather than later, following your advice. Thank you.
At the top of my list is Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment. He embodies very modern themes of alienation, class arrogance, utilitarianism, and the timeless ones of suffering and redemption.
It doesn’t often happen that someone identifies with a character, let alone a bunch of them. I’d rather talk about those one can relate to. Otherwise, great stuff!
I'm always drawn to Keats. I was introduced to him when we read "Ode to a Grecian Urn" long ago in high school. Also, I do believe we read "Ode to a Nightingale."
"As a horse when he has run, a dog when he has tackled the game, a bee when it has made the honey, so a man when he has done a good act does not call out for others to come and see, but he goes on to another act, as a vine goes on to produce again the grapes in season"
Brilliant video!As a literature student i have been wanting to read this for a long while now. But i kept proacstinating because of the size of the book and lack of time on my part. I'm picking it up again and this video sounds very helpful for my journey ahead. I'll update my reading here as i go, to keep myself accountable ☺️
I appreciate your tip to read Faust Part one. I read it while reading The Master and Margarita. It did enrich my reading experience and helped me make connections.
I am a failed Dickens reader. My entry was The Old Curiosity Shop as a gift and Hard Times for school, and did not enjoy them. I read a third of David Copperfield and absolutely loved it, but must have been reading it too quickly and never went back to it. I keep meaning to return but it's been a long, long time.
Dorothy Parker and Clair Booth Luce despised each other. Once they met in a doorway. Luce held the door while remarking, “Age before beauty.” Parker breezed past intoning, “Pearls before swine. “
Falstaff and Prince Hal, Beatrice from Much Ado, Will Ladislaw in Middlemarch, Pierre in W&P, Achilles, Lizzie Bennett and Darcy. Jeeves and Wooster. Funny that I love Dickens but can’t think of one Dickens character I would put on this list
Everyone relates to Pierre, but Andrei was the true embodiment of what I’d wish to become. His death literally made me put the book down and stare at a wall for a few minutes
I love this video, and your comments about each of the books in the list. Thank you, Ben! Not sure, but it seems they didn't include Honoré de Balzac. From my perspective, another noticeable absence is Flannery O’Connor with her short story masterpieces - I’ve just read “A good man is hard to find” for the third time! As for literature written in Spanish, I think "Pedro Páramo" by Juan Rulfo would deserve a place in the list - a significantly influential novel in Latin American literature during the XXth century.
Having recently read Moby-Dick, I was quite happy to see Ishmael on the list, though I was a bit disappointed by the lack of Ahab. He stole all the scenes he was in, and there is not a single day when I don't catch myself thinking about him. Another character from the novel I also like, though I am in no way surprised by his absence, is the whale himself. I suppose people usually only remember as characters humans or other anthropomorphic beings, but Moby Dick is perhaps the most thought provoking (though that novel has many), and surely the most enigmatic in the book. Moby-Dick is one of those novels which once you finish you start wondering how could you live so far without ever reading it. PS: Love that Sherlock made it. Few characters have his charisma.
My dementia suffering wife once again packs everything trying to leave. Saying the most horrible things. Strong as I can be... I wish I didn't feel this love and feel providence.
King Arthur. I have shelves devoted to tellings of the Arthurian legends. Evergreen from the oral traditions of Britain to the Roman ruling times to modern times. My life would have been bereft of so much joy if I hadn't had King Arthur. It looks as if everyone here has lived that sadder life.
The Tale of Genji is a beautifully written book for sure. The subject matter is a bit hard to digest, though. One of the reasons I had to put it down. A big theme is grooming of young women. Just an fyi for anyone interested in the book.
Funnily enough, I just purchased (and received) the Emily Wilson translation today! Now, I'm even more excited to read it, and I may have purchase her translation of The Iliad next
It's a miracle that you released this video on the same day I got an assignment to read the book. For those who read the book, which chapter is the most mirrored (enriched) by japanese customs, traditios, culture etc? I need to write a paper on a single chapter comparing its relevance to Japanese culture. Would appreciate some feedback:)
My personal favorite has always been Hamlet for some reason. I think almost everyone can see themselves in him. He contains both heaven and hell but as cunning as Milton's Satan.
New fan of your channel! Love the way you have approached these reviews from a learning viewpoint. I have to say that Cathy’s demise in East of Eden shot me through with unexpected empathy like a bolt of lightning and the last scene - word - of the novel broke me completely and allowed me to come back together in wonderfully healing ways. Can’t wait to dive more deeply into your channel!
Sherlock Holmes and Don Quixote are in first and second place by a landslide in that they are recognised by almost everyone in the world just by looking at their silhouettes.
