Welcome to AP Literature and Composition!
One of the best indicators of success in AP is a strong reading background; therefore, this summer I am asking you to read three novels representing various time periods, cultures and writing styles. Complex ideas and elegant expression are difficult to comprehend on a first reading, so the following two novels should be read over the summer and again when we study them in class: Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky; and Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison. I am also asking you to read a third novel from among these choices:
· Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt—Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for autobiography, this memoir recounts McCourt’s impoverished childhood and early adulthood in New York and Ireland.
· Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens—This novel (1859) ranks among the most famous works of fiction, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution.
· The Shipping News, Annie Prouix—Winner of the Pulitzer Prize 1994, this novel, set in Newfoundland, makes it clear why Prouix is “recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.”
(All novels are available for check out in the LRC, but many students choose to purchase these novels in order to annotate them.) On the first day of class there will be a reading test on the two required novels, and, for your choice novel, you will write an in-class essay the second day answering a typical AP test prompt. Questions? Email me at [email protected].
One of the best indicators of success in AP is a strong reading background; therefore, this summer I am asking you to read three novels representing various time periods, cultures and writing styles. Complex ideas and elegant expression are difficult to comprehend on a first reading, so the following two novels should be read over the summer and again when we study them in class: Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky; and Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison. I am also asking you to read a third novel from among these choices:
· Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt—Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for autobiography, this memoir recounts McCourt’s impoverished childhood and early adulthood in New York and Ireland.
· Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens—This novel (1859) ranks among the most famous works of fiction, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution.
· The Shipping News, Annie Prouix—Winner of the Pulitzer Prize 1994, this novel, set in Newfoundland, makes it clear why Prouix is “recognized as one of the most gifted and original writers in America today.”
(All novels are available for check out in the LRC, but many students choose to purchase these novels in order to annotate them.) On the first day of class there will be a reading test on the two required novels, and, for your choice novel, you will write an in-class essay the second day answering a typical AP test prompt. Questions? Email me at [email protected].