beccilini Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 It's interesting to see that so many read the same books as we, around the world! So, our themes in A1 (I've got Swedish A1 HL btw) seemes to be "independent women" and "childhood", and then we have some others... They are not too bad actually (well none of them is exceptionally happy either) but some are depressing and boring!Here they are, don't remember the parts (titles may be wierd since I have swedish)Simon and the Oaks (M. Fredriksson) - Swedish book, about a adopted jewish boy during the 2nd world war, it was okJane Eyre (Brontë) - I liked it =)Nässlorna blomma (H. Martinsson) - Swedish, about a orphan boy, depressingSwedish Poems - nah i'm not to fond of poemsEmmigrants (swedish title Utvandrarna) (V. Moberg) - I liked it =) but it's a bit longMadame Bovary - so boring! But I wrote my WL1 on itTherese Raquin - Se above commentA Dolls House - it was OK Miss Julie - Didn't like it (Amazed that so many of you read it aswell, swedish author and all!)1984 - I find it very depressing, but it is kind of goodHjalmar Söderberg novels - some are good, some are less goodThe Dwarf (Dvärgen) (P. Lagerkvist) - I hated it first time I read it, now I like it when I can analyse it better. It is about an evil dwarf.A comedians childhood (En komikers uppväxt) (J. Gardell) - It is written by one of swedens famous comedians, but it is very depressing but still good. Gustaf Fröding Poems - some are depressing, one is totaly inappropriate (it decribes a sex scene ) they're ok. In English A2 we read e.g. Things Fall Apart, The Great Gatsby and The Handmaids Tale. They seem to be common. The HLs read Macbeth. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrawn Posted October 21, 2008 Report Share Posted October 21, 2008 Everyone elses guy's sound so much more interesting then ours.I dont know the specific divisions in each section but I'm in English A1 HLA Doll House Death of a SalesmanThings Fall Apart Running in the Family Macbeth5 characters in search of an authorBlood WeddingAntigoneMedeaGreat Gatsby Fifth Business Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannapersson Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Oh, ours are extremely depressing as well! I'm also in Swedish A1 HL. The link between all books is probably depressed people wanting to die.Émile Zola - Thérèse Raquin: Probably the worst novel ever written.Fyodor Dostoevsky - Crime and Punishment: Need I say anything else?Shakespeare - Hamlet: I never quite understood why he was so troubled...Edith Södergran - Selected Poems: Swedish writer sick with tuberculosis.Hjalmar Söderberg - Histories: What is the meaning of life?August Strindberg - The Father: He dies because his wife is more intelligent than him. Women are the cause of all evil.Johanna Nilsson - She goes through the painting, out of the picture (Hon går genom tavlan, ut ur bilden): She's in a mental hospital.Jan Guillou - Ondskan: Who is evil - the protagonist or the antagonist?William Golding - Lord of the Flies: Breakdown of civilisation, you know the rest.Pär Lagerkvist - The Dwarf - The Dwarf symbolizes Evil, Antichrist etc. etc.Karin Boye - Kallocain: I haven't read it yet but I bet it's really depressing (:Jonas Gardell - A Comedian's Childhood (En komikers uppväxt): He is bullied.Semla Lagerlöf - The Emperor of Portugallia: A man goes crazy with longing for his daughter.Nick Hornby - About a Boy: Actually, this is probably the happiest one. And Marcus' mother is suicidal.Mikael Niemi - Popular Music from Vittula - His best friend is suicidal and the traditional culture of his homeland is deteriorating. Otherwise, it's quite good. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandwich Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Oh, I wish we'd done Perfume. It's awesome.The most depressing one we did was Therese Desqueyroux by Mauriac. There's just nothing redeeming about that book, and it hasn't actually got any themes in it, either!! Well, it has a paucity of themes. There are some. But if themes were animals, the themes in Therese would be anorexic rats. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexter Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 I dont know about the parts but till now we took Wide Sargasso Sea ( Depressing ) Poems by Stevie Smith ( VERYYYY DEPRESSING - she has problems lol) and Men Under the sun (about war) so wat else yea we are going to take Metamorphsis ( also depressing guy gets death sentence or sth like that) Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertomx Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 (edited) I love reading, but yeah most of my A1 books are depressing:The Outsider (Camus)Metamorphosis (Kafka)Siddhartha (Hesse)The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Stevenson)I dont know how to translate these titles but anyway:La vida es sueño (Pedro Calderon de la Barca)Aura (Carlos Fuentes)Bestiario (Julio Cortazar)Cronica de una muerte anunciada (Garcia Marquez)Cumbres Borrascosas (Emily Bronte)Tirano Banderas (Ramon del Valle Inclan)El Señor Presidente (Miguel Angel Asturias)Pedro Paramo (I guess that one remains the same, Rulfo)Los de Abajo (Mariano Azuela)Laberinto de la Soledad (Octavio Paz)Poetry by Neruda, Borges, and about 4 other Latin American authorsFor A2 we've read many:The taming of the shrew (Shakespeare)The Edible Woman (Margaret Atwood)The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger)Angela's Ashes (McCourt)Visions of Gerard (Jack Kerouac)In the Skin of a Lion (Ondaajte)The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Kim Edwards)Major Barbara (Shaw)The Road (Cormac McCarthy)I also liked them all, but say The Road was veeeery moving. Its my favorite book, though, so I'm starting to think I like depressing books actually... Edited November 23, 2008 by robertomx Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkSpider Posted November 23, 2008 Report Share Posted November 23, 2008 Well, we've got some pretty depressing stuff as well,Romeo and JulietMacbethKing LeerGreat GatsbyMargaret Atwood's PoetryA Handmaid's TaleHouse of SpiritsLiterary MurderDoll HouseAntigoneBlood WeddingLord of the FliesThe only one without death in it is Doll House, and that one's depressing for other reasons. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiFruit Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 House of the spirits and the unbearble lightness of being.Both have really dirty sex scenes and depression, I dont like them Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
milson_99 Posted November 30, 2008 Report Share Posted November 30, 2008 Well since u guys all added ur books i shud add mine Anyways i dont know the parts....i just finished one year of the IB program! Going to sit the Exam in November 2009!Anyways text ive read in the first year - English A1 HLThe Great GatsbyStone AngelMidnights ChildrenHenry Lawson's short stories! (It was gud)House of Spirits (Best book ive read for the IB program so far)House of Bernarda AlbaLove in the Time of Cholera (It was alright)For the 2nd year, which i have yet to read:King Lear (am reading it at the moment....pretty gud i reckon)The songlinesChina manJudith Wright's poemsAn evil cradlingPride and PejudiceIf this is a man - the truceJudith Wright's autobiographySo yea!! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CousinItt Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) I'm in English A1 and this is what we've read so far:Brave New World - Aldous HuxleyInto The Wild - Jon KrakauerThe Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka1984 - George Orwell (HL) Edited December 3, 2008 by CousinItt Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thechorusgirl Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 I think this is it...-Anna Karenina - Tolstoy-The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald-Early Poems - Octavio Paz-100 Love Sonnets - Pablo Neruda-Master Harold and the Boys - Athol Fugard-Short Stories by Flannery O'Conner (Connor?)I know these are on our list too, but it's not all of them -Love in the Time of Cholera1984Madame BovaryMacbeth Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thoughts13 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 So far we have read:The edible Woman -margaret atwoodThe picture of dorian gray-oscar wildeThe president-miguel angel asturiasanda selection of edgar allan poe's short stories.and we are going to read oedipus rexghostsand a few others.so yes,I'd rate it as being pretty depressing.but I like it Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desi_Dakku Posted December 12, 2008 Report Share Posted December 12, 2008 I actually find the Poe's stories really gud. I like read, but since i am in this discussion our texts arent taht bad, we read in the skin of a lion, the metamorhosis, like water for chocolote and speeches.i dont find it that bad as some of my freinds! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aether Posted December 15, 2008 Report Share Posted December 15, 2008 I wish I could have english as A1!!! However, I am mexican and the books we have read in spanish are actually pretty good... of course, there are exceptions like Goethe Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilia Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 Karin Boye - Kallocain: I haven't read it yet but I bet it's really depressing (:Actually, it's really good. I might do my EE on it. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermine0817 Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 I can only add that Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jalloun is also very depressing... There is a chapter where the protagonist falls in to a grave hole and thinks about whether to stay there for ever. He also talks about his insignificancy the whole time, it's quite gloomy. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelleee Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 my god tell me about it! its like almost every book or play leads to death.king lear -Spoiler - Click me! everyone dies, well, ok maybe not EVERYONE but vast majority[Close] Madame Bovary- Spoiler - Click me! female protagonist dies, followed by husband's suicide and their poor daughter is left all alone [Close]The cherry orchard - Spoiler - Click me! ok, well...the housekeeper/servant dies. [Close]and last but not least, Oedipus rex = do you even hav to ask!??!?! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatkicker Posted February 3, 2009 Report Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) I'm not sure which ones are in which parts, i'd have to look at the list to tell you, but i'm too lazy to dig it out now, so ehre's what we've read so farThe Emporer: R(soemthing i cant spell) Kapucinski (might also be spelled wrong)Things Fall Apart: Chinua AchebeJump and Other Short Stories: Nadine GordimerRoshomon: Ryunosuke AkutagawaChronicle of a Death Fortold: Gabriel Garcia MarquezHour of The Star: Clarice LispectorLazarillo de Tormes: AnonymousHamlet: William ShakespeareRoom with a View: E. M. ForsterEssays of E. B. WhitePoems of Margaret Atwood and Langston Hughesand i cant remember what else we're gong to read. lol. Edited February 3, 2009 by Boatkicker Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saritaoel Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 LOL, whats worse than Oedipus is ANTIGONE! And that's whatI just finished, along with Othello (Which actually, I like somewhat.) We're also doing the Stranger/Outsider, but I liked that too (already read it in French)We did Wuthering Heights and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which are both also very depresseing but I liked also.What's worst is Antigone -- hated it..This semester we're going to read One Day in the Life of Ivan Desinovich, Uncle Vanya and the Stranger.I just realized our texts are not depressing at all . Thank you for that revelation! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saritaoel Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I think this is it...-Anna Karenina - Tolstoy-The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald-Early Poems - Octavio Paz-100 Love Sonnets - Pablo Neruda-Master Harold and the Boys - Athol Fugard-Short Stories by Flannery O'Conner (Connor?)I know these are on our list too, but it's not all of them -Love in the Time of Cholera1984Madame BovaryMacbethBtw, we share 4 classes at the same level (Biology, math, art and english) and my social is economics at HL too and my French at SL. Your texts are actually really good! It's so sad i'm craving others' texts. I'd love Love in in the Time of cholera, 1984 Anna Karenina etc. as my texts. How are they going?Btw, we share Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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