Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and what to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits

Jack Murnighan

Three Rivers Press, 2009 - Literary Criticism - 374 pages

If you're like most folks, you probably feel guilty for never reading War and Peace, Ulysses, or Moby-Dick. Or maybe you read them in school, but you didn't exactly enjoy them, right? Writer and professor Jack Murnighan says it's not the books that put you off, it was the lifeless, uninspiring way they're usually taught. Now, with Beowulf on the Beach, you'll discover not only why these classics deserve another chance, but how to read great books in general.

Balancing humor and expertise, Murnighan picks 50 of the most revered books of all time and explains what the professors never told you: that Moby-Dick is funny, Dante will make you cry, Anna Karenina is a beach read, and James Joyce is great, but only if he's talking about drinking, sex, or organ meats. Plus you get the juicy tidbits on what you're supposed to know, what you need to know, and what's okay for you to skip without feeling guilt. From Homer and Proust to Beloved and the Bible, Beowulf on the Beach is a user-friendly guide through the imposing world of capital-L Literature. In no time at all, you'll be revved up and ready to tackle Dickens or Woolf—only this time without the test.

About the author

JACK MURNIGHAN has a Ph.D. in medieval and renaissance literature from Duke University. He is the author of The Naughty Bits and Classic Nasty and has written for Esquire, Glamour, and Nerve. He lives in New York City and teaches creative nonfiction at the University of the Arts.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and what to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits
• Author: Jack Murnighan
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press, 2009
• ISBN: 0307409570, 9780307409577
• Length: 374 pages
• Subjects: Literary Criticism / Books & Reading; Study Aids / Book Notes