Showing posts with label John Atkinson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Atkinson. Show all posts

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Abridged Classics by John Atkinson


Abridged Classics by John Atkinson is an extraordinarily silly but sometimes spot-on book of literary cartoons in which classic books are described in few words.

Some examples:

The Pearl by John Steinbeck: Owning stuff is problematic.

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: Old-timey Gilligan's Island

Recommended - Some of the cartoons worked for me and some didn't. They're funniest when they hit the main plot points of a book accurately and I thought some missed the mark. In general, Abridged Classics is a fun book that I'd particularly recommend for people looking for a cute coffee table or waiting room book. If you read it from cover to cover, it'll take 5-10 minutes, depending upon whether or not you sit around trying to think up alternative abridged synopses (I did that -- I'm on the 10-minute end).

Note: While I gave this book an average rating at Goodreads, I liked it enough that I'm considering hanging onto it so that I can flip back and see what the author has to say about future classics after I've finished reading them (there is a handy, dandy index - yay). I don't, unfortunately, own a coffee table. I know, weird.

Addendum: In case you're unable to see the print on the cover, it says:

War and Peace: Everyone is sad. It snows. 

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