Hmmm...

[3pipeproblem]

Alan is reading the book I have assigned for class on Thursday. This may be an omen I should do the reading. How unfortunate.

Comments

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Would that be Oronoko by Aphra Behn?

[3pipeproblem.livejournal.com]

Oh, indeed it would.

Can you offer me a compelling reason to read it?

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Mmmm. AB's plays and poems are far more fun. This novelette is important because it's one of the first to deal with a black hero, plus of course Aphra Behn is the first female writer in the English tongue to earn her living with her pen (as opposed to aristo amateurs who were around before), but Oronoko isn't actually very readable today.

However, I saw a great stage version done by the Royal Shakespeare Company a couple of years ago, not Aphra's, done by an African playwright. If you have some room to wiggle and can choose another work by AB, I'd vote for The Rover (her most popular play) or some of her poetry. If the charge is to read a novel written in the era, why not go for Defoe?

[3pipeproblem.livejournal.com]

Sadly, no wiggle room. Incidentally, I wasn't sure which version was on the syllabus, so I ended up checking the play version out from the library as well.

I get to read Defoe over Thanksgiving break ;)