Catch Up On The Classics During COVID-19
By: Anna Kirkpatrick-Jung
Tags: Quarantine, Reading, Covid 19, Coronavirus, Classics

In no particular order…

First up, I recommend just about anything by British writer George Orwell, but I’m particularly going to suggest that you check out Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, both eloquent, page-turning dystopian narratives written in the 1940s. These two books are not just two must-reads within mid-century classics, but must-reads within dystopian fiction, speculative fiction, and two of my personal favourites.

Crossing the Atlantic, American writers J.D. Salinger with his 1951 novel Catcher in the Rye and Harper Lee with her 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird — both novels which tend to find themselves on high school reading lists. You might have read these when you were a teen or you might have passed them by, either way, if you haven’t ever read these at all or haven’t read these since you were a teen — these are well worth checking out.

African-American writer Richard Wright’s 1940 protest novel Native Son holds a combative history of acceptance and complaint within American public schools and libraries, is graphic and harrowing, and is a classic of African-American literature as it depicts the realities of African-American life in Chicago in the 1930s.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s isn’t just a film! Although if you want to watch it during quarantine obviously go for it! But the original 1958 novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote, along with the small selection of his short stories that often get bound together in its book form, is next on this list. Capote’s writing is exquisitely crafted, bringing you into the position of a somewhat neutral on-the-shelf but curious observer, with plenty to set your brain ticking.

Crossing the Pacific, Chinese writer Eileen Chang and her 1943 collection of short stories Love in a Fallen City is well worth picking up. Chang is often commended as one of the greatest Chinese 20th Century writers.

There are so many well-crafted, absorbing, challenging, and insightful books from this era. So, here are just a few more mid-century classics for you to catch up on during quarantine / self-isolation:

Guatemalan writer Miguel Ángel Asturias ’ 1946 classic novel The President

’ 1946 classic novel American writer Carson McCullers with her 1946 novel A Member of the Wedding

French-Algerian writer Albert Camus ’ 1947 novel The Plague (although that might sit a bit too close to home at the moment!)

’ 1947 novel (although that might sit a bit too close to home at the moment!) Japanese writer Osamu Dazai ’s 1948 post-war novel No Longer Human, a Japanese modern classic

’s 1948 post-war novel a Japanese modern classic American writer Ernest Hemingway ’s 1951 esteemed novel The Old Man and the Sea (if you haven’t read any Hemingway yet, definitely get into this!)

’s 1951 esteemed novel (if you haven’t read any Hemingway yet, definitely get into this!) British writer William Golding ’s 1954 dystopian novel Lord of the Flies which depicts a group of island marooned preteen boys in their attempt to survive and govern themselves.

’s 1954 dystopian novel which depicts a group of island marooned preteen boys in their attempt to survive and govern themselves. Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe ’s 1958 novel Things Fall Apart is often noted as his greatest work and cited as one of the most-read (if not the most widely read) books within modern African literature

’s 1958 novel is often noted as his greatest work and cited as one of the most-read (if not the most widely read) books within modern African literature South-African writer Es’kia Mphahlele ’s autobiographical 1959 novel Down Second Avenue , banned under apartheid, depicted the author’s struggle for an education and his challenges as a teacher under apartheid

’s autobiographical 1959 novel , banned under apartheid, depicted the author’s struggle for an education and his challenges as a teacher under apartheid American writer Sylvia Plath with her semi-autobiographical 1963 novel The Bell Jar

I hope this gives you some books to add to your TBR, and better yet, some books to enjoy reading while you stay home during this pandemic.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

By the time this is all over, you’ll have caught up on some classic mid-century books — some of which may have been on your TBR for a while while others may have become new additions to your TBR after reading this article.

Happy reading, and be safe and well!