Thursday, August 9, 2007

Grrr!

I wrote my final review for THE HIDDEN WORLDS while I was on break today, and then I went and left it on my hard drive at work! Therefore, I will post it when I get to work tomorrow. I am supposed to go in early anyway, so I can get a new production build in before anyone else gets there (yes, I'm an IT geek). In the meantime, I have some musings for you.

After reading two serious books, I am in need of something lighthearted. Then I got to thinking about classic dramatic novels that have also made me laugh out loud. I love it when I can get a combination of both. Here are some that I especially enjoyed:

Huck Finn by Mark Twain. Serious subject matter, side-splitting laughter.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. I admit it -- I never finished it. But the opening chapters had me giggling.
East of Eden. The most lighthearted John Steinbeck novel that I have read.
The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. The parts about Nell are tragic. But the parts about Kit had me smiling.
The Once and Future King by T. H. White. Who can forget the joust between King Pellinore and Sir Grummore Grummursum?
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Too many scenes to mention.
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, when Tess and the girls giggle and sign over Angel.

Those are the ones that I remember right now. Some of them had me crying as well as laughing.
Which books have made you both laugh and cry?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always laugh when I read Julie Garwood's early historic books. They are my favorite books that she's written and the heroines are great. Many times they talk to themselves about the stupidity of men. Great stuff.

Anonymous said...

All the Jane Austen works I've read have made me both laugh and cry. She's got a great wit, but she usually includes some touching material too.

Alex Adams said...

I love East of Eden. It's one of my all-time favorites.

Pride and Prejudice always makes me smile.

Tia Nevitt said...

I love Jane Austen and thought about including her complete works in my list, but her works have mainly made me laugh. Mansfield Park is probably the one that came closest to making me cry.