Fast-food society

That term, fast-food society, was invented for this. The Times has an article which paradoxically speaks volumes on this and the state of current literature.

To howls of indignation from literary purists, a leading publishing house is slimming down some of the world’s greatest novels.
Tolstoy, Dickens and Thackeray would not have agreed with the view that 40 per cent of Anna Karenina, David Copperfield and Vanity Fair are mere “padding”, but Orion Books believes that modern readers will welcome the shorter versions.
The first six Compact Editions, billed as great reads “in half the time”, will go on sale next month, with plans for 50 to 100 more to follow. (Ben Hoyle)

You don't need to be a literary purist, only a self-respecting reader. That 'padding' was included for a reason. These authors wanted their novels to be like that. You either take them or you leave them.

What was more, he said: “We realised that life is too short to read all the books you want to and we never were going to read these ones.”
Research confirmed that “many regular readers think of the classics as long, slow and, to be frank, boring. You’re not supposed to say this but I think that one of the reasons Jane Austen always does so well in reader polls is that her books aren’t that long”. (Ben Hoyle)

Surely life is too short as well to invest time in this kind of thing. We think it would be healthier and more rewarding to show readers how actually classics are not like that. To show them that padding is not padding but literature. What is rewarding about reading a mutilated version of a book? What is worthy of pride in saying that you never could actually read the real thing but you loved the short version?

The Brontës - as we have seen here time and time again - fare more than well in polls too. And yet they want to do this to their novels, starting by Jane Eyre in September.

The first six titles in the Compact Editions series, all priced at £6.99, are Anna Karenina, Vanity Fair, David Copperfield, The Mill on the Floss, Moby Dickand Wives and Daughters.
Bleak House, Middlemarch, Jane Eyre, The Count of Monte Cristo, North and South and The Portrait of a Lady will follow in September.
Each has been whittled down to about 400 pages by cutting 30 to 40 per cent of the text. Words, sentences, paragraphs and, in a few cases, chapters have been removed. (Ben Hoyle)

Simply unbelievable. And shouldn't it be half the price as well?

Matthew Crockatt, of the London independent bookshop Crockatt & Powell, poured scorn on the enterprise. “It’s completely ridiculous — a daft idea,” he said.
“How can you edit the classics? I’m afraid reading some of these books is hard work, which is why you have to develop as a reader. If people don’t have time to read Anna Karenina, then fine. But don’t read a shortened version and kid yourself it’s the real thing.” (Ben Hoyle)

Exactly!

Louise Weir, director of the online bookclub http://www.lovereading.co.uk/ , described the Compact Editions as “a breath of fresh air”. She added: “I am guilty of never having read Anna Karenina, because it’s just so long. I’d much rather read two 300-page books than one 600-page book.” (Ben Hoyle)

The director of a book club called love reading says that? Well, it does say it all.

Honestly, these novels are already sold in short, easy versions for English-learners, with basic words and phrasings, very to the point. Perhaps we should all stick to that, what's the point in new vocabulary too? Or - even faster - Book-A-Minute has a great deal of classics condensed to just a few sentences. Here are Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights among them. Now go to your book club and discuss them.

Categories: Books, In the News, Jane Eyre