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Extremely Shortened Versions of Classic Books For Lazy People

When it comes to classic literature, people can generally be divided into the following three camps:

1. Those who have read it.
2. Those who pretend to have read it.
3. Those who keep saying they’re going to read it, but never do.

Hats off to the first camp, but we can’t really blame those from camps two and three. After all, classic books can often seem pretty formidable, not least because they’re often rather long. War and Peace is over 1,400 pages, Don Quixote is close to 1000, and James Joyce’s Ulysses, while not quite as long, is still, well, Ulysses.

But thanks to Cartoonist John Atkinson, such must-read books need no longer be intimidating because he’s kindly reduced them all to just a handful of words in these funny drawings below. Now you too can pretend to have read the best books! But beware, spoilers lie ahead!

John told Bored Panda that he’s planning on doing at least one more in the cartoon drawings series, but he hasn’t decided which books to include yet. So if you can think of any book to read that you’d like to see condensed then drop your suggestions into the comments section below!

More info: John Atkinson | Facebook | Twitter (h/t: laughing squid)

abridged-classics-books-shortened-comics-wrong-hands-john-atkinson-1

abridged-classics-books-shortened-comics-wrong-hands-john-atkinson-2

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What do you think ?

POST

MiklósNagy 8 years ago

Divine Comedy: Hell + two acts nobody read. Ever.

19points

LeannKing 8 years ago

I read them both... Lol

1point

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AmyBellows 8 years ago

1984: Rebel develops Stockholm Syndrome. Eventually. Like everyone else.

13points

MarkTaranto 8 years ago

A Separate Peace: Kid grows up. Catcher In The Rye: Troubled Kid Grows Up.

7points

DariaB 8 years ago

Oopsie.... Looks like the one who abridged these haven't really read "Dante's Inferno". If they did, they'd know that 1. - It's really called The Divine Comedy; and 2. - Protagonist crosses all hell and purgatory until he reaches his love in paradise....

6points

BellaKonstantinova 8 years ago

It's the first part of The Divine Comedy and it IS called Dante's Inferno, or just Inferno (by Dante). The whole Divine Comedy was made in three parts - Dante's Inferno, Dante's Purgatory and Dante's Paradise (or Heaven). But since the most popular part is Dante's Inferno they placed it here. And yes - it does not "break loose" it's more of an All Hell. Or "Where will I be after laughing at that kitten, check in this book" :)

16points

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SusannaVesna 8 years ago

I read Inferno by Dan Brown, where he talks about Dante's Divine Comedy or Inferno. That description was enough! :P

0points

DariaB 8 years ago

Yeah, I know, it's a joke, but still....

0points

JanLanik 8 years ago

Fahrenheit 451: Simplification of books leads to a distopian future and a nuclear war.

5points

OhKloyde 8 years ago

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - A troubled kid travels with a slave. Oliver Twist - An orphan asks for more porridge, is kicked out. He gets in trouble, and discovers his family. Pride and Prejudice. They did not like each other. Then they like each other.

4points

AmyBellows 8 years ago

Where The Red Fern Grows: Boy loves his dogs. They die.

3points

ИринаЧумак 8 years ago

Would be funny to see The Count of Monte Cristo and The Picture of Dorian Gray

3points

PaulettePasco 8 years ago

The Count Of Monte Cristo: Poor nice guy turns bad. Becomes rich and goes extensive lengths to exact his revenge

3points

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ИринаЧумак 8 years ago

Thought about some other novels of Alexandre Dumas. All are pretty condensable :)

1point

maggiemoonbeam 8 years ago

Wish I could do it!

0points

Kryllez 8 years ago

Origin of Species: "Descent with modification, survival of the fittest".

2points

SusannaVesna 8 years ago

The War & Peace cracked me up! These r so true though! My mum always irritated me by saying things like "Oh my God, you still didn't read this and that! At your age I have read all of these "divine" classics!". I understand the importance of classic literature, but there are loads of great modern books out there, and one shouldn't feel bad about themselves just cz they haven't read "the classics". Hats off to those who did and can summarize it to us lazy people! :D

2points

DariaB 8 years ago

I agree with you on this one. Sure, if you can, it's great to read classics, you make your knowledge rich with information and your intelligence sparkling with creative fantasy, but unless it's connected to your major or professional field of interest, it's not really an obbligation, it's enough just to know about the contents. And btw I haven't read War and Peace either, I read Resurrection by Tolstoy, see, a non-classic masterpiece of a classic author.

1point

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TheodorŠik 8 years ago

Beowulf kiled Gredel and hi mother, the dragon part was only aded in lates movie..... -_-

2points

JosephHutt 8 years ago

Not sure that's correct. Around lines 2500-2800, Beowulf departs with Wiglaf (after bringing peace to the land by slaying Grendel and his mother) in search of this dragon. He tries to kill it, his sword snaps, and the dragon kills him instead.

3points

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RobinFinesilver 8 years ago

The Da Vinci Code - She's Jesus

1point

LuckyFlesh 8 years ago

Animal Farm. People are pigs and pigs are people.

1point

BrianZhong 8 years ago

I feel like all these books suck now.....

1point

LucaGiordano 8 years ago

try turning the light switch on :-)

2points

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MadisonRuss 8 years ago

TOO LAZY TO READ IT :):):)

1point

NikkiG 8 years ago

someone should try lord of the flies

1point

KrumValkov 8 years ago

Kids go to island. They kill each other for power. Free will is bad, must obey.

4points

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UlrikaTückdeMantel 8 years ago

ha ha ha ha.... thank you - you made my day!

1point

Ugh, do I have to? 1 month ago

The Three Musketeers: "the boys" do stuff. evil lady causes trouble...

0points

Mike Sy 8 years ago

Should be punctuated What. Do you think?

0points

Liesl Emerson 8 years ago

Atlas Shrugged

0points

MajaSirola 8 years ago

How about the following: Hamlet, Macbeth, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, In Search of Lost Time, The Lighthouse, The Buddenbrooks, Heart of Darkness, 1984... Brilliant!!

0points

MCRAFTER19 8 years ago

So me

0points

MillieYoung 8 years ago

A series of all the religious texts

0points

OhKloyde 8 years ago

Pride and Prejudice. They did not like each other. Then they like each other. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - A troubled kid travels with a slave. Oliver Twist - An orphan asks for more porridge, is kicked out. He gets in trouble, and discovers his family.

0points

RyanHeppel 8 years ago

The Metamorphosis: being a bug sucks

0points

maggiemoonbeam 8 years ago

These remind me of a wonderfully silly book from the '70s called ShrinkLits: Seventy of the World's Towering Classics Cut Down to Size by Maurice Sagoff -- but these are even shorter! Sagoff condenses books into brilliant short poems. I recommend it to anyone who enjoyed this.

0points

RobinFinesilver 8 years ago

Of Mice and Men: Two grifters on road trip. Dumb one kills mice. Clever one kills dumb one.

0points

EricKoenig 8 years ago

Thus Spoke Zarathustra: God dies. Nobody understands Zarathustra.

0points

NicklePickle 8 years ago

In Dante's Inferno hell didn't break loose, the protagonist traveled through hell. Big difference.

0points

AlenDuspara 8 years ago

The Stranger - A guy not giving a single f**k. Gets capital punishment and give small amount of f**k.

0points

JohnDoe 8 years ago

I'm going to sue you for spoilers! No, just kidding, these are hilarious man! :) here's my take on it: Love in the Time of Cholera: Man loves woman, doesn't get her, then he gets her. The Metamorphosis: Man turns to bug, nothingness, man dies.

0points

AnnBrookens 8 years ago

Perfect!

0points

TulayPalaz 8 years ago

Hahha well done!

0points

KatherineCollyer 8 years ago

Lord of the Rings

0points

FelixLanmüller 8 years ago

The catcher in the rye: boy drops out of school. Parties hard. Looks for ducks.

0points

LuisMayorga 8 years ago

Brave New World: People look behind quilt of civilization to find ugly stitching

0points

ChristineQuigless 8 years ago

Please do Jane Eyre and A Tale of Two Cities!

0points

JovanaGeorgievski 8 years ago

'We' by Zamyatian Man creates a robot. Man falls in love with a robot. The robot breaks his heart, man dies. The end of the world. 'Catcher in the Rye' by Salinger A boy drops out of school, hires a prostitute in order to talk to her, asks weird questions about ducks. Becomes a writer.

0points

JohnWallace 8 years ago

St. Augustine's "Confessions": "I'm made of suck, but still pretty smart."

0points

GlendaWilliams 8 years ago

My abridged Moby D**k....Crazy man chases whale. In the end only one survives.

0points

Lee-AnnGilliam 8 years ago

Modern versions: Harry Potter series: Kid loses parents, has lousy childhood and gets lots of people killed.

0points

UmaIvana 8 years ago

Lolita. An old man falls for young women but she is love with another old man. Everybody dies. Deccameron , Boccacio- A group of hippies in The Middle Ages tells naughty stories. Camus -Plague: City is closed due to plague. Les Miserables. Everyone is miserable. Happy ending for the main role of girl in the book.

0points

MikiNyckel 8 years ago

I've read a few of these, they didn't interest me at all. Personally I found them to be a bore. I've learned that 'classics' are not my thing. Great post, I love it :D

0points

NinoGogáladze 8 years ago

We need more! <3

0points

NinoGogáladze 8 years ago

we need more ^_^ <3

0points

POST

MiklósNagy 8 years ago

Divine Comedy: Hell + two acts nobody read. Ever.

19points

LeannKing 8 years ago

I read them both... Lol

1point

Load More Replies...

AmyBellows 8 years ago

1984: Rebel develops Stockholm Syndrome. Eventually. Like everyone else.

13points

MarkTaranto 8 years ago

A Separate Peace: Kid grows up. Catcher In The Rye: Troubled Kid Grows Up.

7points

DariaB 8 years ago

6points

BellaKonstantinova 8 years ago

16points

Load More Replies...

SusannaVesna 8 years ago

I read Inferno by Dan Brown, where he talks about Dante's Divine Comedy or Inferno. That description was enough! :P

0points

DariaB 8 years ago

Yeah, I know, it's a joke, but still....

0points

JanLanik 8 years ago

Fahrenheit 451: Simplification of books leads to a distopian future and a nuclear war.

5points

OhKloyde 8 years ago

4points

AmyBellows 8 years ago

Where The Red Fern Grows: Boy loves his dogs. They die.

3points

ИринаЧумак 8 years ago

Would be funny to see The Count of Monte Cristo and The Picture of Dorian Gray

3points

PaulettePasco 8 years ago

The Count Of Monte Cristo: Poor nice guy turns bad. Becomes rich and goes extensive lengths to exact his revenge

3points

Load More Replies...

ИринаЧумак 8 years ago

Thought about some other novels of Alexandre Dumas. All are pretty condensable :)

1point

maggiemoonbeam 8 years ago

Wish I could do it!

0points

Kryllez 8 years ago

Origin of Species: "Descent with modification, survival of the fittest".

2points

SusannaVesna 8 years ago

2points

DariaB 8 years ago

1point

Load More Replies...

TheodorŠik 8 years ago

Beowulf kiled Gredel and hi mother, the dragon part was only aded in lates movie..... -_-

2points

JosephHutt 8 years ago

3points

Load More Replies...

RobinFinesilver 8 years ago

The Da Vinci Code - She's Jesus

1point

LuckyFlesh 8 years ago

Animal Farm. People are pigs and pigs are people.

1point

BrianZhong 8 years ago

I feel like all these books suck now.....

1point

LucaGiordano 8 years ago

try turning the light switch on :-)

2points

Load More Replies...

MadisonRuss 8 years ago

TOO LAZY TO READ IT :):):)

1point

NikkiG 8 years ago

someone should try lord of the flies

1point

KrumValkov 8 years ago

Kids go to island. They kill each other for power. Free will is bad, must obey.

4points

Load More Replies...

UlrikaTückdeMantel 8 years ago

ha ha ha ha.... thank you - you made my day!

1point

Ugh, do I have to? 1 month ago

The Three Musketeers: "the boys" do stuff. evil lady causes trouble...

0points

Mike Sy 8 years ago

Should be punctuated What. Do you think?

0points

Liesl Emerson 8 years ago

Atlas Shrugged

0points

MajaSirola 8 years ago

How about the following: Hamlet, Macbeth, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, In Search of Lost Time, The Lighthouse, The Buddenbrooks, Heart of Darkness, 1984... Brilliant!!

0points

MCRAFTER19 8 years ago

So me

0points

MillieYoung 8 years ago

A series of all the religious texts

0points

OhKloyde 8 years ago

0points

RyanHeppel 8 years ago

The Metamorphosis: being a bug sucks

0points

maggiemoonbeam 8 years ago

0points

RobinFinesilver 8 years ago

Of Mice and Men: Two grifters on road trip. Dumb one kills mice. Clever one kills dumb one.

0points

EricKoenig 8 years ago

Thus Spoke Zarathustra: God dies. Nobody understands Zarathustra.

0points

NicklePickle 8 years ago

In Dante's Inferno hell didn't break loose, the protagonist traveled through hell. Big difference.

0points

AlenDuspara 8 years ago

The Stranger - A guy not giving a single f**k. Gets capital punishment and give small amount of f**k.

0points

JohnDoe 8 years ago

0points

AnnBrookens 8 years ago

Perfect!

0points

TulayPalaz 8 years ago

Hahha well done!

0points

KatherineCollyer 8 years ago

Lord of the Rings

0points

FelixLanmüller 8 years ago

The catcher in the rye: boy drops out of school. Parties hard. Looks for ducks.

0points

LuisMayorga 8 years ago

Brave New World: People look behind quilt of civilization to find ugly stitching

0points

ChristineQuigless 8 years ago

Please do Jane Eyre and A Tale of Two Cities!

0points

JovanaGeorgievski 8 years ago

0points

JohnWallace 8 years ago

St. Augustine's "Confessions": "I'm made of suck, but still pretty smart."

0points

GlendaWilliams 8 years ago

My abridged Moby D**k....Crazy man chases whale. In the end only one survives.

0points

Lee-AnnGilliam 8 years ago

Modern versions: Harry Potter series: Kid loses parents, has lousy childhood and gets lots of people killed.

0points

UmaIvana 8 years ago

0points

MikiNyckel 8 years ago

I've read a few of these, they didn't interest me at all. Personally I found them to be a bore. I've learned that 'classics' are not my thing. Great post, I love it :D

0points