About us
"Classic lit" goes beyond standard 19th-century English novels. We look for, read, and discuss works of fiction (usually novels, but occasionally plays) that have endured in their genre. The time-frame may be thirty years or three hundred - yes, there ARE modern classics (looking at you, Don DeLillo). Now, that doesn't mean we don't love 19th-century English novels. We just want to challenge ourselves to discover authors and works beyond that category.
We have two basic rules for book selection: nothing over 400 pages, and nothing out of print that is not available for free online. (Personally, I have a "no Russian literature" rule, but the page limit generally takes care of that.)
As of February 2025, we will meet via Zoom every two months:
February, April, June, August, October, December.
Upcoming events
1
The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien (1978)
Location not specified yetThe Things They Carried (1990) is a collection of linked short stories by American novelist Tim O'Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground in the Vietnam War. His third book about the war, it is based upon his experiences as a soldier in the 23rd Infantry Division.
O'Brien generally refrains from political debate and discourse regarding the Vietnam War. He was dismayed that people in his home town seemed to have so little understanding of the war and its world. It was in part a response to what he considered ignorance that he wrote The Things They Carried.[1] It was published by Houghton Mifflin in 1990.[2]
Many of the characters are semi-autobiographical, sharing similarities with figures from his memoir If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. In The Things They Carried, O'Brien plays with the genre of metafiction; he writes using verisimilitude. His use of real place names and inclusion of himself as the protagonist blurs fiction and non-fiction.[3] As part of this effect, O'Brien dedicates The Things They Carried to the fictional men of the "Alpha Company," giving it “the form of a war memoir,” states O’Brien.2 attendees
Past events
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