Open a book and you are in undiscovered and unchartered territory. You are swept away from the comfort of your home to traverse strange lands as you tramp through regions unknown. You walk in the rain; you suffer starvation, thirst, and are often in danger. It is a world where anything can happen anytime.
Some stories will always remain favourites. In fact, as the years go by, the mystery they hold only deepens, the language remains as gripping as when it was first read, and the story as fascinating. These books are referred to as classics. They do not age.
Fasten your seat belt
Have you read of the adventures of Allan Quatermain? He lives in Durban, South Africa. He loves to be outdoors and finds English cities and the climate unbearable. He loves his life in Africa. The Africans consider him their own and refer to him as Macumazahn meaning “Watcher by Night” because of his nocturnal habits and his keen instinct.
One day, he has visitors – Sir Henry Curtis and his friend Captain Good. They want Allan to find Sir Henry’s brother. He was last seen heading towards what they believe is the location of King Solomon’s mines.
As you turn the pages you cross the desert, climb the mountain, go into caves, and try to survive in this unknown land. The book is King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard. Haggard wrote this book (1885) just when the new world was opening up. People were making forays into lands far away and discovering ancient civilisations. Coming soon after the news of the Pyramids of Egypt and the discovery of many other unknown cultures, it fuelled the imagination of readers creating in them a longing to know more about the world outside their own neighbourhood. The book was a huge success. If you were to pick it up today, despite the years gone by, it would still intrigue and fascinate. Haggard wrote more books featuring Quatermain.
Animals and friends
Another that will find place in a book lover’s shelf begins like this: “The first place, that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it. Some shady trees leaned over it, and rushes and water-lilies grew at the deep end…”
This is the story of Black Beauty , as told by the horse itself. He begins the story of his life when he was a colt on an English farm living with his mother. As he grows older, circumstances cause him to leave the farm, and be employed in London. He speaks of the many times he was ill–treated, and of the many times he was treated with kindness. This book was an eye-opener for readers as they learned how badly horses were treated at that time. Anna Sewell, the author, endowed the animals in the book with feelings, emotions and characteristics just like people. This made the story more poignant.
The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book were written by Rudyard Kipling. The author was influenced greatly by his stay in India, initially as a child, and then by a work stint. The first book tells the story of a little boy called Mowgli who has grown up in a forest and thus has a problem with his identity. He does not realise he is a “man–cub”. But that is put right by his friends in the jungle and he is taken to live in a village with other humans. The second book has eight stories in all, five of them about Mowgli.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Call of the Wild, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, White Fang, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Railway Children were all written in the 20 century.
How about The Magic Pudding ? This is an Australian book by Norman Lindsay. A koala named Bunyip Bluegum wants to see the world. So he sets off. But around lunch time he is hungry. He meets Bill Barnacle the sailor and Sam Sawnoff, the penguin. They are eating a pudding. This is no ordinary pudding! It’s a magical one. No matter how much you eat of it, it becomes whole again.
Other must-read classics
Aesop’s Fables
Arabian Nights
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Rudolf Wyss
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman
Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
