Four Novels Every Book Lover Should Read
Seth Lerer is Distinguished Professor of Literature and former Dean of Arts and Humanities at the University of California at San Diego. He has published widely on literature and language– most recently on Children’s Literature, Jewish culture, and the life of the theater. He has been awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Truman Capote Prize in Criticism. Among his many publications, he has written the books Tradition: A Feeling for the Literary Past, Inventing English: A Portable History of the Language, and Shakespeare’s Lyric Stage.
Overview
What four books are a must for every lover of literature? Award-winning teacher, Professor Seth Lerer, will explore this question with participants in an intimate seminar devoted to exploring the riches of literary expression. We will discuss such renowned classics as: George Orwell’s 1984, David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.
Professor Lerer will show how these fascinating works help us understand some of the most pressing concerns today, including the nature of religious faith, questions of personal identity, even the quest for the American Dream. Participants will be encouraged to develop their own list of “essential reading,” as Professor Lerer helps them acquire the skills necessary for enriching their encounters with books of all kinds.