How would you summerize classic or famous novels in just six words?

Stephen broods, Leopold wanders, Molly fantasizes. (Ulysses) If you had asked for eight words, I’‘d add; Time passes.

Dumb impatient teenage lovebirds kill themselves. – Romeo and Juliet

Monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, YOU! – On The Origin Of Species by Charles Darwin

Sparkling vampire loves a human female. – Twilight

Hamlet is pissed. Everyone gets killed. – Hamlet

Trust your instincts (I mean it!) – Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Lassie first leaves then comes home. (Lassie, come home.)

Crazy Don fights windmill; windmill wins (Don Quixote)

Dies and then dead man riding. (El Cid)

Wesley saves Buttercup. Twue Wuv Pwospers. – Princess Bride

Everything decides your fate except you – Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Best o’times, worst o’times, it was. – A Tale Of Two Cities (NOT, as some might think, War and Peace).

Migrant worker kills woman, gets shot…. Of Mice And Men – John Steinbeck.

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The Roman Empire Declines and Falls…. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire – Edward Gibbon

My all time favourite, but not by me, and in less than 6 words;

“Clever Girl” Jurassic Park

I loves me some prepubescent flesh – Lolita

Man creates monster, monster is misunderstood – Frankenstein

Men venture under ground, get lost…. Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Jules Verne

International Date Line almost bankrupts eccentric…. Around the World in 80 Days – Jules Verne

Endless discourse on various submarine wildlife…. 20,000 Leauges Under the Sea – Jules Verne

Big Brother really is watching you…. 1984 – George Orwell

Normal sized human meets tiny peeps- Gulliver’s Travels.

@Brian1946 That’s 21 words…

Beautiful woman takes lover, train ride. (Anna Karenina)

Beautiful woman takes lover, then arsenic. (Madame Bovary)

Hysterical mother marries off three daughters. ~ Pride & Prejudice

“A long boat ride, then massacre.” — The Odyssey, Homer

“I’m a bug now. This sucks.” — Metamorphosis, Kafka

“They might be giants. (Probably not.)” — Don Quixote, Cervantes

Boy and friends defeat evil wizards – Harry Potter Series

Christmas-time forced introspection, apparition style – A Christmas Carol

Miser realizes error just in time – A Christmas Carol

Holden whines, as adolescence really bites. – Catcher in the Rye

Salty hopalong wooden grim flabby fish : Moby Dick

Psycho wreaks havoc on two households. Wuthering Heights

Great expectations often turn out differently. Great Expectations

Orphan acquires new relatives and happiness. Bleak House

Child raised by wolves learns humanity. The Jungle Book

Perceived adultery makes Puritans really mad. The Scarlett Letter

The Horror of having to explain. Heart of Darkness

Two Texas rangers drive cattle north.

One ring, epic journey, hobbits win. Lord of the Rings

Adamant atheist swiftly owns religious nutjobs – Letter to A Christian Nation (Sam Harris).

Inquisitive monkey always gets into trouble. – Every Curious George book

Two hot cowboys camp and kiss. Brokeback Mountain

Fly away. Have adventure. Fly home. – Peter Pan

Car crash! Author’s biggest fan = crazy. (Stephen King’s Misery)

Kid runs away, plays with monsters. – Where The Wild Things Are

War, Kristallnacht, silver boots, then… aliens? (Slaughterhouse-Five)

Food falls from sky, hilarity ensues – Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Husband masturbates, wife fornicates, “son” ruminates. (Ulysses)

Food falls from sky, hilarity ensues. — The Gods Must Be Crazy

“Got your towel? DON’T PANIC! 42.” — Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

@sinscriven Love the Hamlet one.

Stranded boys go insane on island. (Lord of the Flies)
Dad gone. Women cope – one dies. (Little Women)

Talking animals run a town? AAAAAUUUGGGH! – Richard Scarry’s Best Book Ever

Talking pigs get rich from “revolution” – Animal Farm

Girl learns that people are mean – To Kill a Mockingbird

Man traces family back to Angola – Roots

Encyclopedia Brown will find you out! – Encyclopedia Brown series

Little girl struggles with undiagnosed ADD – Ramona The Pest

Lawyers with posh accents always win. (Bleak House)

Dude bangs his mom, kills himself – Oedipus Rex

Everybody kills everybody, some are eaten – Titus Adronicus

Woman discovers her sexuality, kills herself – The Awakening

(Wow, mine are rather depressing)

Jews first, then Christian stuff. Revelations. – The Bible
Laws of motion, mechanics and gravity – Principia
Sets, cardinal, ordinal and real numbers. – Principia Mathematica
Lowly gardener bangs upper class woman. – Lady Chatterley’s Lover
Crazy man seeks revenge on whale. – Moby Dick
Poor me! Jews did it, grrrr!!! – Mein Kampf
Capitalism is crap, socialism will prevail. – The Communist Manifesto
Socialism is crap, capitalism will prevail. – Atlas Shrugged

Child follows rabbit into psychedelic surroundings.—Alice In Wonderland

Child walks through mirror for lulz.—Through the Looking Glass

Maniacs drive around America and Mexico.—On The Road

Woman finally develops an actual personality.—The Edible Woman

Bokonon is the greatest troll ever.—Cat’s Cradle

Do these kinda sound like Onion headlines to anyone else?

@markferg Not socialism, communism

@papayalily – Have you read any of it? Socialism prevails over capitalism, then communism replaces socialism, but that doesn’t fit in 6 words. Socialism will prevail (over capitalism), it would not be in the spirit of the manifesto to claim that communism directly prevails over capitalism. Communism is too ‘good’ to sully itself with the ‘evil’ that is capitalism, something else (socialism) has to act as a catalytic intermediary. Anyway, for want of 6 words, who gives a shit?

@markferg No, The Communist Manifesto – pretty sure he was advocating communism. Otherwise it’s a really horribly named book. And normally, I wouldn’t care, but there are a lot of people who think communism and socialism are the same thing…

Science created plants take over Earth. Day of the Triffids

Now, John, you’re just showing off! – In His Own Write by John Lennon

Prep school, Vienna and, yes, wrestling. – Most of John Irving’s pre-1990 oeuvre.

Girl imagines she’s white, is not. – The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Tree gives until there’s nothing left – The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Kick some ass with your mind! – The Art of War

Now calm down, everything is everything. – Tao Te Ching

Preppy, rich boy has nervous breakdown. (Catcher in the Rye)

Preppy, rich girl has nervous breakdown. (Franny)

Preppy smart kid has nervous breakdown. (Zooey)

Celebrity and mentor plot orphan’s death. —Harry Potter

Professor boffs Last Scion of Christ. —The Da Vinci Code

It’s all done by one guy. —Fight Club