No matter how hard you try to convince some readers that they are not obligated to read every book that was ever once designated a “classic,” there are some people who just really want to read books that a culture decided everyone has to read at least once. Or maybe they want to read these books because of residual guilt from never quite getting to every book on that summer reading list from childhood. Whatever the case, classic literature still generates interest and book sales, especially in the age of BookTok. So what is a fellow queer reader to do when they want to pick up a classic, but they want to invest in stories in which they see themselves represented?
Well, I am so glad you asked. In roughly the last decade, there has been a surge of books, both for adults and young adults alike, that have reimagined pieces of classic literature from a queer perspective. (The joys of old books entering the public domain, am I right?) Not only do these queer retellings help reinforce the notion that we’ve always been here, but they allow readers young and old to imagine, if just for a novel at a time, what history might have looked like if queer people had alway...
English (US)