Richard Dawkins (@RichardDawkins)
Kafka’s Metamorphosis is called a major work of literature. Why? If it’s SF it’s bad SF. If, like Animal Farm, it’s an allegory, an allegory of what? Scholarly answers range from pretentious Freudian to far-fetched feminist. I don’t get it. Where are the Emperor’s clothes?
“This classic text actually sucks” is probably the lowest form of literary criticism, especially when it doesn’t engage with any of the discussion surrounding the book.
That said, some classic texts aren’t all they’re worked up to be.
I feel like a lot of that sentiment stems from being forced to read them in High School without an instructor guiding you along to contextualize the piece and explain/help appreciate essentially why it is considered a classic.