A collection of irreverent summations of more than 100 well-known works of literature, from Anna Karenina to Wuthering Heights, cleverly described in the fewest words possible and accompanied with funny color illustrations.

Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read but Probably Didn't is packed with dozens of humorous super-condensed summations of some of the most famous works of literature from many of the world's most revered authors, including William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Emily Bronte, Leo Tolstoy, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, J.R.R. Tolkien, Margaret Atwood, James Joyce, Plato, Ernest Hemingway, Dan Brown, Ayn Rand, and Herman Melville.

From "Old ladies convince a guy to ruin Scotland" (Macbeth) to "Everyone is sad. It snows." (War and Peace), these clever, humorous synopses are sure to make book lovers smile.

About the Author
John Atkinson lives in Ottawa, Canada. He is a voracious reader of cereal boxes, microwave instructions, and subtext. John is plagued by a recurring dream where he misses the Renaissance because of car trouble. He also claims to have coined the phrase, "I had a banana on the train," which everyone tells him isn't really an expression. John's cartoon Wrong Hands has been featured in numerous online and print publications worldwide and can be seen regularly in Time Magazine.

Reviews
John Atkinson has illustrated and summarized the books you don't want to read but nevertheless feel you should. - the Paris Review Turns out you can summarize Proust's In Search of Lost Time with two pictures. - Lithub This book will appeal to people that read the New Yorker for the cartoons, or enjoy Tom Gauld's reading-themed cartoons. - ComicsDC "Very funny stuff...There is a lot going on in Atkinson's deceptively simple cartoons...and the magic is in how he achieves the maximum impact with as little as possible. So, it makes total sense for Atkinson to tackle some of the most celebrated books-with hilarious results." - Comics Grinder He compiles super-succinct summaries of literary classics in the light-hearted, humorous style that his blog readers have grown to love. - Wordpress John Atkinson, is giving all book lovers a chuckle with his condensed literary classic cartoons, which include abbreviations of famous works of literature. - Buzzfeed



Book Information
ISBN 9780062747853
Author John Atkinson
Format Hardback
Page Count 160
Imprint Harper Design
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Inc