What Makes a Book a Classic?

This past summer, I had the honor of being a substitute teacher for Donita K. Paul, a fantasy author I greatly admire. She’d planned to teach a class on writing for teens at an Oregon writers conference but couldn’t come due to health issues. And I was asked to teach her class. I did my best to stay true to her plans. She even gave me her notes so that I could use them to teach with.

There was much brilliance in those notes, of course, but one thing I’ve gone back to several times was her discussion on what makes a book a classic. All writers are hoping that their book will stand the test of time. But most books don’t. Donita urged the class to think about some beloved classics and see if we could determine what it was about them that continued to resonate with people, decades, and sometimes centuries, later. Then she gave three marks of a classic.

1. A classic reveals the human condition. It shows people as they are. Real people. Flawed people. Stuck in the trenches and doing life as best they can. Think of the cast of Les Miserables, A Christmas Carol, or Sense and Sensibility, all classics that are still popular today. These are books that reveal the human condition at its best and worst.

2. A classic reveals or illuminates a universal truth. You could call this a theme. And Donita pointed out that many of these are presented as adages or proverbs. For example:

-After sunshine comes the storm.
-A man is known by the company he keeps.
-What goes around, comes around.
-Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
-A penny saved is a penny earned.
-A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.
-A friend in need is a friend indeed.
-Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.
-You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.
-All that glitters is not gold.
-A woman’s work is never done.
-Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.

3. A classic inspires the reader to a higher level of humanity. In Les Miserables, Jean Valjean continually does more and more to help everyone he meets. At the end of A Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge wants to make the most of his life. And in Sense and Sensibility, Marianne Dashwood’s brush with death helped her understand much about life and her sister Elinor’s behavior as she admits in this scene from the movie.

MARIANNE: [Speaking of Willoughby] If his present regrets are half as painful as mine, he will suffer enough.
ELINOR: Do you compare your conduct with his?
MARIANNE: No. I compare it with what it ought to have been. I compare it with yours.

So let’s talk classics. What are some of your favorites and why? Can you point out how the characters rose to a higher level of humanity?

Guess what? Donita K. Paul has a new book coming out from Zondervan in January 2014. And I’m giving away a copy, though you won’t get it for a few months, since it’s not available yet. I’ll pre-order it for you. International entries are welcome. Here’s some info on the book.

Cantor D’Ahma has waited his whole life for this day. Born with a gift, the young Realm Walker is finally ready to leave his elderly mentor and accept his role as protector and defender of the realms. But mere hours after he first steps through a portal, Cantor discovers that his job will be more dangerous and difficult than he ever imagined. The realms are not as safe as they once were, and members of the Realm Walkers Guild have become corrupt and can no longer be trusted. To make matters worse, his first assignment—finding a dragon to assist him on his quest—has led him to one who is clearly inept. With the help of his new friends Bixby and Dukmee, Cantor must uncover the secrets of the corrupt Guild before they become too powerful to be stopped. But can his skills progress in time? And will Cantor remember where his true allegiance lies?