Condensed Classic Literature
The Orion publishing house is to publish slimmed down versions of the great novels, much to the indignation of purists and scholars.
At this point regular readers would expect me to start banging on about dumbing down and a new half-witted generation … but ….
I’ve not read any of them so cannot offer an exact critique only an overview of the principal.
Condensed books have always been something of an anathema to lovers of quality literature but I have to confess when reading some of the best known classic I have often thought
What this author needed was a good editor !
Writing today tends to be shorter and snappier, whereas before styles leaned more to the verbose. Add to that, many were actually serialized for months in magazines and periodicals before being published as books - possibly therefore requiring more ‘padding’.
Some may also be unaware that many of the classics written by the likes of Jane Austen et al were actually published in 3 volume sets on first edition, once again credibility in verbosity ?
Orion claim to have pruned the first batch down to an average 400 pages per book losing up to 40% of the books original text. This sounds a lot to us but may well have positive results.
If these books get a new lease of life and a new audience used to ‘easier reads’ then that has to be a good thing.
They can, after all, always get the full text version should their appetite be sufficiently whetted.
The Goldeneye verdict ?
Overall, if properly done, then a good idea !
Exposure to literature should always be encouraged in any way possible, it is not only the domain of old stuffed shirts - everyone should at least try one or two - it’s never been so cheap to buy them.
Try them on the young as well - tell me what young boy ever failed to get captivated by Treasure Island ? Just get the books in your house and around you.
Encourage the young to read
the dinosaur said,
April 19, 2007 @ 11:10 pm
I agree that many great works of literature written for previous generations are not palatable to the modern reader and it is a shame if that means they are getting neglected and forgotten, so perhaps a condensed version has a chance of success- however I foresee a danger! In the process of editing there will be a temptation to impose modern interpretation and political correctness, I hate to see history being rewritten as it often is in the present times, it would be shameful for the great voices of the past who talk to us through books to be misquoted too. Whoever edits the book should put their name to it and accept the responsability, the edited version must never be used educationally either or it will overshadow the original in the future.
Rod said,
April 20, 2007 @ 8:48 am
Dino
you raise some interesting and important points.
I would hope that the editing would be limited strictly to cutting out extraneous matter. I should not want to see anything actually ‘rewritten’ as it were.
Certainly nothing should be updated, especially in the name of bloody political correctness !
looking back said,
October 10, 2010 @ 2:11 pm
I have found myself interested in reading some of the literature I was required to read in college - and didn’t. nSomewhat of a regret - yet i was just not in a literary mode ( for lack of a better description ) and would like to go back and read some of those books now - if I have to read the original text I will definitely not make it - or at best maybe read one. If however there werem condensed editions that would suit me fine. I could envision myself reading at least several of the books depending on how long they were. I would like to see them roughly cut in half and slightly larger type than the original versions. I think that there is reason to leave some portions of the books intact and then summerizing portions that are less significant - for example - a portions of a book - example -
During the next 28 pages Sarah went about her daily duties as has been described earlier in the book - the only significant happening was when a lost traveler accidently stopped by her house - he was lost - we continue as he knocks on Sarah’s door - mid morning - while she is doing a neighbor’s laundry which she does to help make ends meet.
Rod said,
October 10, 2010 @ 7:10 pm
LB,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site - hope you’ll return.
There’s something in what you say, it does allow you to get through more books in fact I’ll be brutally honest . . .
When it comes to many of the early classics by the likes of Dickens etc then an abbridged version would probably be better !
Best wishes
Rod