help!!

[CrazyCazzy]

I need a good book to read for my personal study in higher english and i just don't know what to go for. I've considered "Of Mice and Men," "Jane Eyre", The Da Vinci Code" and countless others. However if anyone has any goodsuggestion please tell me as I am trying to get an "A"-I like books with moral or fantasy.  

[spudqueen]

Have you considered 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen?

[mfewell]

Of your examples, Jane Eyre !! One of the best books ever written and a magical love story. Also 'A Tale of Two Cities' - again a superb love story, but the dreaded 'Dickens'. My 2 favourites anyway.

If you choose Jane Eyre, get the BBC double video with Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, 1983. A very good and close adaptation of the novel. Tears to your eyes every time.

[Aschenbach]

Of Mice and Men is thought of as a novella. Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is far more substantial.

Da Vinci Code - a lot of fun but lacks literary merit. All those conspiracies would probably make a better historical criticism.

Jane Eyre is a good book to study. You could do a compare / contrast with Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys which builds on the story of Martha.

A moral book could be Albert Camus' The Outsider (or The Stranger), Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment or Franz Kafka's The Trial. I'd stay away from the fantasy if you want to impress your examiners.

Good Luck.

[TWINKYGIRL76]

Anna Kerenina by Leo Tolstoy. Powerful, moving and tragic.

[goldenboy]

1984 by george orwell. has plenty to write about

[janesmythe22]

Joseph Conrad-Heart of Darkness (novella). He is regarded as one of the most influential writer in English (and English was his third or fourth language). The morality 'problem' was his main topic anyway, but nowhere so explicitly depicted as in this book.
You may be able to discuss the whole Western 'civilization morality' problem through this book.
See 'Apocalypse Now' and 'Heart of Darkness' (TV movie-Tim Roth, John Malkovich). Read TS Eliot's 'The Hollow Men�, read Tacitus etc etc.
'The Da Vinci Code'-definitely not-'pseudo literature.'

[Hermia]

I did George Orwell and Charles Dickens for my A-level personal study projects. I think they were both good choices 'cause you can bring in issues about history and society as well as just analysing them as a work of literature.

[Hendrix55]

Fantasy isn't necessarily non-literary, but maybe some of the work referred to as 'magic realism' would be appropriate.  Try Angela Carter, Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 

For your purpose I'd choose something that you can write a lot about rather that the book that you enjoy the most, and maybe something unusual - the examiners might get hundreds of Austens/Brontes/Dickens.  Margaret Atwood may also be worth looking into, and there are quite a lot of introductions to her work in print and on the net.  Try Handmaid's Tale, Surfacing, Edible Woman, Alias Grace.

Ooh! And Toni Morrison.  I think I'd go with her!

[spinchimp]

You should check if  books that have been translated from another language are legitimate for your course. (Camus, Tolstoy etc) When I was a lad the book had to be originally written in english to be studied on an english course - but things may have changed!

[nicola_red]

If you're looking for something a bit more contemporary how about The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart - a fantastic commentary on modern moral values.

[lemonjelly]

Try 'one flew over the cuckoos nest' by Ken Kesey, 1984 would also be good choice. Both have a moral and both are social criticisms. You could also try 'Brave New World.

[Dreddnaught]

The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde.

Reason ? It's short, it's fantasy, it's moral. AND it's a bloody good read too.

Did me well in MY English Higher.

[shivvy]

Might be worth having a look at a couple of interesting and compelling texts by an American author called Wally Lamb - 'She's come undone' and 'I know this much is true'.

Really interesting novels - you can see some reviews on amazon.co.uk

[morg_monster]

Have you read Lord of the Flies (William Golding)?  I really enjoyed doing that at GCSE, there is plenty to write about, although it is not really fantasy.  Otherwise what about one of the Northern Lights books by Phillip Pullman.  Definitely fantasy and plenty of morals and a strong storyline running through each of the three books. 

[chin85]

I agree with the above suggestion. Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy are very enjoyable fantasy books, and deal with some very serious issues even though they are childrens books.

[Yanet77]

Definitely "100 Years Of Solitude" - Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

[derekblue]

none better than "A Christmas Carol" by Dickens