“ ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ is a profound, terrifying, and wholly fascinating book.” That was how the critic Lionel Trilling characterized George Orwell’s classic dystopian tale when it was originally published, in 1949. With the passage of time, even the most groundbreaking works of literature can grow familiar. One way to recapture our sense of wonder is to look back at the first impressions these books made on the world. This week, we’re bringing you a selection of original reviews of classic literature. In “Expeditions to Gilead and Seegard,” from 1986, John Updike examines the compelling anti-utopian narrative of Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.” In a review from 1940, Clifton Fadiman analyzes the recurring themes of mortality in Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and, in a piece from 1939, he explores the uniquely American character of John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.” (“If only a couple of million overcomfortable people can be brought to read it, John Steinbeck’s ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ may actually effect something like a revolution in their minds and hearts.”) In “So It Goes,” Susan Lardner considers the vibrant simplicity of Kurt Vonnegut’s seventh novel, “Slaughterhouse-Five,” and, in a piece from 1927, Dorothy Parker sifts through the rules and rituals set forth in Emily Post’s “Etiquette.” (“As one delves deeper and deeper into ‘Etiquette,’ disquieting thoughts come.”) In “Songbird,” Hilton Als scrutinizes the complex and inventive work of Maya Angelou. In “The Simple Art of Murder,” Susannah Clapp appraises “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and surveys the intricate nature of Patricia Highsmith’s work. In “Black Man’s Burden,” from 1952, Anthony West writes about the masterly dexterity of Ralph Ellison’s début novel, “Invisible Man.” (“What gives [the book] its character is a robust courage; it walks squarely up to color the way seventeenth-century writing walks up to mortality and death.”) Finally, in “ ‘Possession,’ a Reader’s Companion,” Judith Thurman looks at the multifaceted narrative behind A. S. Byatt’s masterpiece. We hope that you enjoy rediscovering these literary masterworks this Sunday.
—Erin Overbey, archive editor
George Orwell’s “1984” predicts a state of things far worse than any we have ever known.
Stories of the frontier in John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” and George R. Leighton’s “Five Cities.”
Margaret Atwood and Iris Murdoch give their imaginations room to roam.
A book of many rules.
The protest of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
How Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man” confronts progressive racism.
Maya Angelou takes another look at herself.
A new film, “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” revives the chilliest crime writer of them all.
A. S. Byatt’s masterpiece.
The transformations of “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”