The Ridiculous Shame of DNF-ing a Classic Novel

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Most if not all readers have been in this position - you pick up a much-anticipated novel that so many people praise, expecting to love it just as much - and you can barely get through it.

While this is always disappointing regardless of the book's genre, when you DNF (do not finish) a classic novel - oh, boy. If you post your reading journey online, suddenly advocates for said novel start coming out of the woodwork to berate you for abandoning it.

You probably felt embarrassed for not finishing the book before you even shared your thoughts on it. After all, it's a classic! How could you possibly not enjoy it? Your contemporary lit-filled brain clearly couldn't understand the many nuances and deeper meanings behind those 20-line run-on sentences.

But why? Why do we feel the need to love and praise classic novels, only to feel stupid when we don't? Maybe it's the trauma of our high school English teachers ranting about how Shakespeare had the biggest influence on popular culture, and if you don't enjoy his plays, you're just not trying hard enough.

The truth is, there is a certain stigma around books that are deemed "classics," an idea that all real literature was written prior to the twenty-first century. Many readers criticize modern novels for their comparatively 'simple' text and easy-to-read format. If a book is too approachable, it must not have a lot of depth, right? Wrong. In fact, we can actually look to classic literature to disprove this idea.

For instance, Leo Tolstoy is known for his lengthy, dramatic Russian novels, namely Anna Karenina and War and Peace. Due to the sheer size of these books, it's a common belief that the subject matter is complicated and geared towards "intellectuals."

However, Tolstoy was actually known to write for the masses. He wanted as many as possible to enjoy and gain value from his books, regardless of their education or status.

After all, he was a modern writer in his day. During the mid-1800s, the language in Tolstoy's novels probably wasn't revered the way it is today.

As language changes and evolves, we tend to view its previous form as more sophisticated. This isn't necessarily wrong - there is something quite special about the way people used to speak and write. But that doesn't spell a death sentence for literature today.

I am a great lover of many classics, and yet some of my favourite novels have only been recently published. Do I tend to prefer the writing styles of authors like L.M Montgomery and Jane Austen? Definitely. Have they vanished into thin air because said authors are no longer with us? Not at all.

I've been treated to some truly beautiful modern novels that have captivated me with their writing, from flowery descriptions of nature to quick-witted social commentary. No doubt these writers looked to classics for inspiration when discovering their personal style, but developed it with the modern reader in mind.

There are many things to love about the classics. They are called classics for a reason - they contain themes and ideas that people can relate to, regardless of the era in which they lived. But books are like anything else- heavily subject to personal taste.

You may like the plot or character tropes from a novel, but the style of writing simply doesn't grip you. Or maybe you just have zero interest in reading a 300-page list of scientific sea creature names when you thought the book was about the discovery of Atlantis (I've been there).

Not liking a classic doesn't make you any less of a reader than someone who reveres them. It doesn't mean that you can't appreciate "real" literature. It means that your enjoyment of a novel is more important to you than scoring points for simply reading it.

Even if you love classics, eventually, you'll come across one that you won't like. And that's okay. Read the books that you actually enjoy and find entertaining. The books you relate to, the ones that keep you up until 2 a.m. because you just can't put them down. The books that remind you why you love reading. Those are the stories that you will treasure for years to come.