HELP! Book comparison to do for Lit A2 Coursework

For my English Literature A2 Coursework I have been given the task of a book comparison, I have no idea which books to pick that can be easily compared. Could anyone help as this is seeming like an impossible task?

What kind of genres do you like? Have you read any books you really enjoyed recently? If you can narrow it down I might be able to help recommend some. Classics are always a safe bet since there are lots of resources for them, but if there are more modern books you'd prefer to look at you can get your teacher to check if they're ok.

I am not fussy when it comes to genres although I would maybe prefer romance or feminism novels. I know classics are a safe bet, but I wouldn't know where to start in determining which one to do.

Sounds good!

While I'm making a shortlist - which books have you already studied for AS and A2? Just so I don't include them.

Thanks, that would be a great help!

At AS I studied- The Kite Runner, The Great Gatsby, Auden & Rosetti poetry. For coursework I did The importance of being Ernest and Much Ado about Nothing.

At A2 I am studying- Wuthering Heights, Macbeth, The Bloody Chamber and The Pardoners Tale.

Does your A2 coursework have to include one of those texts?

Nope, we are not allowed to use any of those texts as they have already been covered

Thanks, that would be a great help!

At AS I studied- The Kite Runner, The Great Gatsby, Auden & Rosetti poetry. For coursework I did The importance of being Ernest and Much Ado about Nothing.

At A2 I am studying- Wuthering Heights, Macbeth, The Bloody Chamber and The Pardoners Tale.

Must be a different syllabus to the one I teach. Just two books? Any genre/date?

It sounds like AQA B, the same spec I'm on.

Any of Jane Austen's 6 novels would be good to look at for quite a look of issues. Presentation of society, of women's position (Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility - since all Austen novels have female protagonists, any should do!), of men, of romance. There's quite a look to look at! You could also maybe look at how far Austen is a comedic writer (Pride and Prejudice & Northanger Abbey might be good for that).

I haven't read North & South, but that might be good for looking at presentations of change in society. If I was doing that, I'd probably compare it to Gone With the Wind, but that's a pretty long book so might not be to everyone's tastes. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens could be a good comparison for two societies contrasting (if you're able to use Animal Farm, the depiction of the French and Russian revolutions might make for an interesting essay with a historical basis).

You could look at dystopian fiction - not to my tastes, but a lot of people like to compare 1984/Animal Farm/Brave New World/The Handmaid's Tale. I wouldn't know what exactly to look for, but I'm sure others could point you in the right direction if you took that route.

Being a bit sneaky, but since you're doing Gothic lit for the exam, try perhaps looking at some pastoral? Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Brideshead Revisted etc (try looking at the AQA Lit B specification for the list of books in the Pastoral section).

Oh, and Frankenstein / Jane Eyre might be good for comparing the true nature of monstrosity (Frankenstein and the Creature, Mr Rochester and Bertha Mason).

I hope this helps - there are probably a lot more I could say, I'll keep thinking about it. I hope you get at least an idea or a hint in the right direction from this list, though.

It sounds like AQA B, the same spec I'm on.

Yes, I guessed as much. I teach AQA A, which is three books including a compulsory Shakespeare. Your advice is sound. Keep up the good work.

Thank you very much, this has helped a great deal. I am liking the idea of the Jane Austen books I shall have a word with my English teacher and see if they sound ok. Thanks again for the help. The spec I am on is AQA B yes!

Hey a friend just sent me this website; has some pretty good example essays for A2 gothic with Macbeth, Wuthering Heights and The Bloody Chamber. Hope it's helpful.

You didn't post a link, but I'm assuming that it's jakedoesrevision.blogspot.co.uk? A great site!

Thanks, that would be a great help!

At AS I studied- The Kite Runner, The Great Gatsby, Auden & Rosetti poetry. For coursework I did The importance of being Ernest and Much Ado about Nothing.

At A2 I am studying- Wuthering Heights, Macbeth, The Bloody Chamber and The Pardoners Tale.

Thanks, that would be a great help!

At AS I studied- The Kite Runner, The Great Gatsby, Auden & Rosetti poetry. For coursework I did The importance of being Ernest and Much Ado about Nothing.

At A2 I am studying- Wuthering Heights, Macbeth, The Bloody Chamber and The Pardoners Tale.

Any of Jane Austen's 6 novels would be good to look at for quite a look of issues. Presentation of society, of women's position (Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility - since all Austen novels have female protagonists, any should do!), of men, of romance. There's quite a look to look at! You could also maybe look at how far Austen is a comedic writer (Pride and Prejudice & Northanger Abbey might be good for that).

I haven't read North & South, but that might be good for looking at presentations of change in society. If I was doing that, I'd probably compare it to Gone With the Wind, but that's a pretty long book so might not be to everyone's tastes. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens could be a good comparison for two societies contrasting (if you're able to use Animal Farm, the depiction of the French and Russian revolutions might make for an interesting essay with a historical basis).

You could look at dystopian fiction - not to my tastes, but a lot of people like to compare 1984/Animal Farm/Brave New World/The Handmaid's Tale. I wouldn't know what exactly to look for, but I'm sure others could point you in the right direction if you took that route.

Being a bit sneaky, but since you're doing Gothic lit for the exam, try perhaps looking at some pastoral? Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Brideshead Revisted etc (try looking at the AQA Lit B specification for the list of books in the Pastoral section).

Oh, and Frankenstein / Jane Eyre might be good for comparing the true nature of monstrosity (Frankenstein and the Creature, Mr Rochester and Bertha Mason).

I hope this helps - there are probably a lot more I could say, I'll keep thinking about it. I hope you get at least an idea or a hint in the right direction from this list, though.

It sounds like AQA B, the same spec I'm on.