Ilse’s Reviews > Why Read the Classics? > Status Update
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A classic is something that tends to relegate the concerns of the moment to the status of background noise, but at the same time this background noise is something we cannot do without.
A classic is something that persists as a background noise even when the most incompatible momentary concerns are in control of the situation.
— Mar 21, 2026 05:46AM
A classic is something that persists as a background noise even when the most incompatible momentary concerns are in control of the situation.
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Greg
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Mar 21, 2026 05:50AM
Classic!
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Greg wrote: "Classic!"Good one, Greg :-) - so glad to have finally found a copy in the (digital) library, I've been wanting to read this for years!
Wow! Great choice. Enjoy your read!
Albus Eugene Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore wrote: "Wow! Great choice. Enjoy your read!"Grazie mille, Albus! I loved the introductory essay, and because Calvino addresses many books I haven't read (yet ;)?), he offers lots of inspiration for future exploration (Ariosto...) - making me superhappy :).
Ilse wrote: "Albus Eugene Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore wrote: "Wow! Great choice. Enjoy your read!"Grazie mille, Albus! I loved the introductory essay, and because Calvino addresses many books I haven't r..."
Ah! I love Calvino, and it was thanks to this book that I discovered Xenophon’s ”Anabasis”, Queneau’s ”Exercises in Style”, and a few other literary gems.
I’ve never read Ariosto, but I consoled myself with the wonderful ”Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto as told by Italo Calvino” by Calvino himself.
Not to mention Pavese, Stevenson, Conrad!
In short, you’re sure to find plenty of food for thought and reading material here.
So, happy reading, my dear!
Great quotes to share,Ilse. So true!
Jan-Maat wrote: "Two tone, dual track life!"A mini-garden of forking paths!
Well put .. and when is the line crossed when a book can be so declared? What forces commingle for that I wonder
Ilse wrote: "Jan-Maat wrote: "Two tone, dual track life!"A mini-garden of forking paths!"
? Don't the paths in Calvino's view have to remain parallel rather than forking apart? Or perhaps not? Perhaps the classic and the concern of the moment can be completely detached and contradictory but all the dame co-exist in the reader's mind?
Good job, Ilse: I always remember a phrase I came across in a guide to classic books: "When a classic fails you, have the courage to admit the fault lies with you and not the classic".
