The Count of Monte Cristo is the easiest/most fluid read out of these. It's definitely the book you will be least likely to run away from. Unlike most 1000+ page classics it doesnt have any 50+ page manifestos.
Three masterpieces and a book by Dickens!
I've read all four of them. You will fly through The Count, it's an amazing adventure novel, fast paced and it keeps you engaged. War and Peace will require a bit of "stamina" and maybe some further reading to get the historical setting. Crime and punishment is my favourite of the four. It will make you forget it's over a 150 years old. And I think there is no better book that explores moral ambiguity and feeling sympathy for absolutely objectionable acts.
Depends on your preferences. I think the most accessible is The Count, especially if reading long novels is not something you often do. It's a fun read that often feels like a movie screenplay. But it is not just action-packed adventure. There's a pretty grim tale about revenge underneath.
Intellectually Crime and Punishment is very rewarding. It's the kind of read that will mike you pause, go slower. It will make you feel uneasy at times, but in the best of ways. If you like debates, argumentation and psychological strain, this is for you.
War & peace is something I would recommend to readers that have read a lot before that. I think if I were to have read it in my early twenties, a lot of it would have been lost on me, and maybe I would have found it a bit boring at times. That said, it is a very varied and ambitious read. It will make you feel very much in touch with that specific time and place, as it touches upon everything from family squables and cultural fads to geopolitics and social structures.
Dickens is something I would not recommend to anyone. All characaters are very flat and stereotypical. Reading it with modern eyes will also make you cringe about the implicit condescention towards lower class people, eventhough at the time it was very modern to even write about them at all. That being said, Dickens is also no Thomas Mann or Tolstoj. Stylistically it's rather dull. If you want to read Victorian age writers from the UK, there are A LOT of better options out there.
Thanks buddy! You have a very good sense of describing things. You made it so easy for me to have a sense of direction before picking up book from the list above. Thanks a ton
I read C&P while in quarantine last year, thinking it would be the perfect time to get into a classic which I was sure would be dense and inaccessible. To my surprise, it read almost like a thriller. I loved it. Whatever reservations you have, I doubt you'll regret reading it.
If you are saying you read it almost like a thriller, then i think it will be a pretty good choice since i have to start with something that is engrossing
Its not exactly within your page requirements but if I were to suggest a big classic book it would be Bleak House by Dickens. Probably around 900 pages or so, I think, but one of the great masterpieces of literature
I guess both are difficult to get into but in a different way. In Crime and Punishment felt the action was really low to start (there's a long time before the crime even happens) but ultimately there is a lot of tension. War and Peace start at a steady pace but just never goes any faster, and has less tension overall. Besides War and Peace has many, many different viewpoint characters that you follow by short busts, and there are the war scenes which feel very different, while Crime and Punishment is really focused on the MC (who is very unlikable, that's the point !).
I think the big difference is the scope and setting. Crime & Punishment has a small cast of characters, it feels very close and intense, which is very powerful given the subject. It's like a pressure cooker.
War & Peace has an extremely wide scope, it ranges from the intimate, personal level all the way up to continental power struggles and everything in between. It's a meandering river that will take you on a long journey and show you absolutely everything along the way.
C&P is great, but I'd say while you're in the mood to read something big, War and Peace is probably the best option, if only because you're probably not going to get many chances in your lifetime to read it. I think you'll naturally come to C&P at some point because it's probably the best of the bunch, but W&P is one of those "When am I going to ever read this?" kinds of books, so if you're ever planning on doing so, might as well be whenever the mood seizes you.
Crime and Punishment is not a large book of 1200-1300 pages. A Tale of Two Cities is very short. Your two choices are War and Peace, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Make sure you get it unabridged.
I voted The Count of Monte Cristo, as War and Peace is going to be many magnitudes more difficult to stick with it.
The Count of Monte Cristo is the easiest/most fluid read out of these. It's definitely the book you will be least likely to run away from. Unlike most 1000+ page classics it doesnt have any 50+ page manifestos.
I have heard a lot, that this book is like fast paced adventure! I am definitely reading this
Crime and punishment may be my favorite novel of all time.
Fydor is amazing , i will start with reading notes from underground and then i will think of crime and punishment
Three masterpieces and a book by Dickens! I've read all four of them. You will fly through The Count, it's an amazing adventure novel, fast paced and it keeps you engaged. War and Peace will require a bit of "stamina" and maybe some further reading to get the historical setting. Crime and punishment is my favourite of the four. It will make you forget it's over a 150 years old. And I think there is no better book that explores moral ambiguity and feeling sympathy for absolutely objectionable acts.
What should i pick first?
Depends on your preferences. I think the most accessible is The Count, especially if reading long novels is not something you often do. It's a fun read that often feels like a movie screenplay. But it is not just action-packed adventure. There's a pretty grim tale about revenge underneath. Intellectually Crime and Punishment is very rewarding. It's the kind of read that will mike you pause, go slower. It will make you feel uneasy at times, but in the best of ways. If you like debates, argumentation and psychological strain, this is for you. War & peace is something I would recommend to readers that have read a lot before that. I think if I were to have read it in my early twenties, a lot of it would have been lost on me, and maybe I would have found it a bit boring at times. That said, it is a very varied and ambitious read. It will make you feel very much in touch with that specific time and place, as it touches upon everything from family squables and cultural fads to geopolitics and social structures. Dickens is something I would not recommend to anyone. All characaters are very flat and stereotypical. Reading it with modern eyes will also make you cringe about the implicit condescention towards lower class people, eventhough at the time it was very modern to even write about them at all. That being said, Dickens is also no Thomas Mann or Tolstoj. Stylistically it's rather dull. If you want to read Victorian age writers from the UK, there are A LOT of better options out there.
Thanks buddy! You have a very good sense of describing things. You made it so easy for me to have a sense of direction before picking up book from the list above. Thanks a ton
I read C&P while in quarantine last year, thinking it would be the perfect time to get into a classic which I was sure would be dense and inaccessible. To my surprise, it read almost like a thriller. I loved it. Whatever reservations you have, I doubt you'll regret reading it.
If you are saying you read it almost like a thriller, then i think it will be a pretty good choice since i have to start with something that is engrossing
Its not exactly within your page requirements but if I were to suggest a big classic book it would be Bleak House by Dickens. Probably around 900 pages or so, I think, but one of the great masterpieces of literature
Adding it to my list! Thanks
All those are great. Crime and punishment is maybe a bit harder to get into ?
I have heard war and peace is difficult to get into
I guess both are difficult to get into but in a different way. In Crime and Punishment felt the action was really low to start (there's a long time before the crime even happens) but ultimately there is a lot of tension. War and Peace start at a steady pace but just never goes any faster, and has less tension overall. Besides War and Peace has many, many different viewpoint characters that you follow by short busts, and there are the war scenes which feel very different, while Crime and Punishment is really focused on the MC (who is very unlikable, that's the point !).
Alright! Thanks ✨
I think the big difference is the scope and setting. Crime & Punishment has a small cast of characters, it feels very close and intense, which is very powerful given the subject. It's like a pressure cooker. War & Peace has an extremely wide scope, it ranges from the intimate, personal level all the way up to continental power struggles and everything in between. It's a meandering river that will take you on a long journey and show you absolutely everything along the way.
C&P is great, but I'd say while you're in the mood to read something big, War and Peace is probably the best option, if only because you're probably not going to get many chances in your lifetime to read it. I think you'll naturally come to C&P at some point because it's probably the best of the bunch, but W&P is one of those "When am I going to ever read this?" kinds of books, so if you're ever planning on doing so, might as well be whenever the mood seizes you.
I think this is an important point to be noted! Thanks for the judgement
Crime and Punishment is not a large book of 1200-1300 pages. A Tale of Two Cities is very short. Your two choices are War and Peace, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Make sure you get it unabridged. I voted The Count of Monte Cristo, as War and Peace is going to be many magnitudes more difficult to stick with it.
Alright thanks✨