Thursday, January 31, 2013

The Classics

Every so often, in the midst of my long reading list, I like to tackle a 'classic'. I'm not going to attempt to define what that means, but to me, it's a book that's well known and published some time ago. DH Lawrence's 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' is my latest selection. I've read it before but a long time ago. I have links with DH Lawrence. He went to school on the site of the school that I attended. He was born a stone's throw from where I lived for 18 years. He was a student teacher at an infant school I attended. Er - a long while before I attended. He wrote a book that was considered so disgusting, they tried to ban it. Since I write hot erotic romance - I thought, I'll read that book again.




Oh dear. I'm sure it's very worthy but so far I'm finding it hard going. It's so dense and learned and meaningful that the pace is slow enough to send me to sleep. I haven't got to 'those' pages yet. Maybe it will pick up then. I do like the show of society at that time - attitudes of men toward women and both genders' attitudes to sex but tastes change. We're a fast moving society who like constant stimulation (not necessarily sexual!), we want page turners, to be caught up in the world the author creates and this world DH Lawrence describes is long gone and of little interest to me.

I will finish it. There are bits I've liked very much but I fear I'm not clever enough to understand anything but the sexy bits! I think I thought that the first time round. The thing that really tickles me is that my books, example above, would most definitely have been banned!

2 comments:

JoAnne Kenrick said...

LOL I'm sure we'll all be wearing Scarlet letters on our dresses, and shunned from society writing what we do.

As for Lady Chatterley's Lover, I have similar feelings toward the book. I actually got to the sexy parts and gave up. It wasn't worth the agro. Instead, I turned to the British mini series that Sean Bean was in. Now THAT was worth it and had an impact on me. "Come ta shed" is a line I often say when suggesting a little nookie to the other half.

I'd suspect it was made a classic simply because Lawerence dared to show more during 'those scenes' -nothing like shocking society to be come an instant classic ;)

Barbara Elsborg said...

Come ta shed - LOL - Right, I'm going to adopt that one on the understanding that OH does NOT drag me down to our shed which is cold and full of creepy crawlies.