Classics: Love Them or Hate Them?

I once scandalized my book club by stating that I hated A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  I found the symbolism just so obvious.  Another classic I re-read recently is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and I didn’t enjoy it either; it was just too melodramatic for my liking.  “The two worst people in the world fall in love, unfortunately for the people around them who have to put up with their nonsense” (https://bookriot.com/2017/06/19/honest-plot-summaries-19th-century-novels?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Riot%20Rundown&utm_term=BookRiot_TheRiotRundown_Tue-Thur).

Since I’ve had my own disagreements with classics, I was interested in a recent article in Literary Hub in which famous writers skewer books often considered classics:  http://lithub.com/14-classic-works-of-literature-hated-by-famous-authors/.

And here’s further proof that classics have not always been loved.  The Huffington Post had a feature entitled “12 Classic Books That Got Horrible Reviews When They First Came Out” (http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/bad-reviews-classics_n_6527638). 

On the other hand, some people love classics.  BuzzFeed recently featured a list of 22 classic novels which people recommended; both of my dislikes are on this list so caveat emptor:  https://www.buzzfeed.com/chelseypippin/22-classic-novels-that-wont-bore-you-to-death?utm_term=.xoqj38Vq12#.cu2DBJgpNO.

So which classics have you loved or hated?