134 posts found
Currently reading. The 13 stories are: Mother River Stone Village Smog City The Drummer Boy The Neighborhood The Young Man Who Loved to Think Deeply Something to Do with Poetry The Inside Story The Lion King At the Edge of the Marsh Night in Xishuangbanna The Goddess of Xishuangbanna Love in Xishuangbanna
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László Krasznahorkai’s Satantango is a bleak, labyrinthine masterpiece that captures the slow-motion collapse of a Hungarian collective farm. The novel is set in a desolate, rain-slicked landscape where the inhabitants are trapped in a state of perpetual decay, waiting for a miracle or a catastrophe. This sense of paralysis and the impending arrival of a “messiah” immediately evokes the shadow of Samuel Beckett. Much like Waiting for Godot , the villagers are suspended in an existential void, though Krasznahorkai twists...
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In the humid, over-ripened air of a post-Obama Manhattan, where the sunlight hits the brownstones of Greenwich Village with a cloying, amber insistence, we find the “Gardens”—a private enclave of old-world quietude suddenly invaded by the operatic. Nero Golden, a man of heavy, sepia-toned secrets and a girth that suggests a kingdom lost or perhaps merely packed into high-end luggage, arrives with his three sons like refugees from a myth that has lost its footing. They have shed their Indian...
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It’s all spoilers below, so get the book and read it. I found it engaging, though I have a bit of trouble with the premise some back of the book blurb makes about ‘readers worldwide’ are coming to a new appreciation of this book. William Stoner feels stuck on a family farm, performing the same chores day-in-day-out. Perhaps his parents pick up on this and decide to send him to university to pursue a course in agriculture, which he gladly...
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Pynchon’s Shadow Ticket arrives like a cipher slipped under the door of contemporary America. The milieu of the novel is Milwaukee in the 1930s: Prohibition in the states, the Depression, and a tilt toward fascism gripping the world. Later, the action will move to Europe—specifically, Budapest. Hicks McTaggart is a former strike-buster who became a private eye in the employ of Unamalgamated Investigations. His boss is Boynt Crosstown. One day, a new case arrives, and Hicks is assigned to it:...
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The Swimmer is John Cheever’s best known story, and probably as anthologized as Fitzgerald’s The Diamond as Big as the Ritz or Updike’s A & P . Ned Merrill is at a party and suddenly envisions himself as a great man about to embark on a swim across the county by way of backyard pools in a tony suburban New York State community. He thinks of all of the family pools he’d have to navigate, and without any announcement, he,...
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Leonard made extensive use of research and a researcher named Gregg Sutter for many of his novels, and Cubra Libre seems to be one of the more exhaustively researched and well-penned (he never used a computer or word processor, and rarely a typewriter) books in his oeuvre. Leonard, who began as a writer of westerns, then turned to city crime books, is back in semi-familiar territory in this book with a cowboy protagonist (Tyler) running horses to Cuba. The plan...
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A wake-up book for the study of post-colonialism in Africa and a spark point for outrage by public intellectuals like Christopher Hitchens from what was made known to the world (female genital mutilation). It will challenge anyone’s worldview and where they sit on the moral relativist scale. The choice presented in this novel between the Christian missionaries and indigenous tribal rights is impossible. A young man of the Gikuyu tribe named Waiyaki is the focal point in Thiong’o’s novel. At...
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So now, halfway through Speedboat, and past the Speedboat “chapter” (it’s a novel), I think it’s growing on me. I’m writing this review in two halves to see if I can make a guess about its structure. The main character, the narrator, is a journalist named Jen Fain, who was born sometime after WWII. Each section has a title that connects tangentially with the various smaller stories (sometimes just a sentence or two) contained in it. The writing is absorbing...
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M31 is the oddest book I’ve read in a while, and for that, I am grateful. At the outset, a family living in a transformed clapboard church in disrepair watches on eagerly as they view lights approaching from afar. Given the title of the book, we guess that this is perhaps a sighting of a UFO. However, it turns out to be a couple of like-minded people who have had the UFO experience of being ‘taken aboard a ship and...
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Leo Tolstoy’s The Kreutzer Sonata is not only a profound exploration of marriage, jealousy, and the destructive power of unchecked desire but also a deeply personal work that reflects Tolstoy’s struggles and philosophical evolution. Framed as a conversation overheard on a train, the novella centers on the confession of Pozdnyshev, a man who recounts the tragic unraveling of his life and marriage. His story serves as a critique of societal norms, particularly those surrounding relationships, sexuality, and the institution of...
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“Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk” is a poignant short story by Franz Kafka that centers on Josephine, a mouse celebrated for her singing talent. Within the community of the Mouse Folk, her performances are seen as a source of joy and unity, yet they also reveal deeper themes of identity, art, and existential struggle. The story is narrated by another mouse, who reflects on Josephine’s significance within their society. He admires her talent but also feels compelled to...
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The pretentiousness of the contemporary art world is just one of the targets in Michel Houellebecq’s The Map and the Territory. The protagonist, Jed Martin, is a talented painter and photographer who rises to fame in the art world, which he is largely indifferent to. He initially gains recognition for his artistic yet simple photographs of everyday objects. One day, he looks at a Michelin map and finds beauty in it. At an early exhibition of his works, he includes...
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Milan Kundera’s The Festival of Insignificance centers around four main characters: Alain, a laid-back and somewhat indifferent man; his friend Ramon, a lively and passionate individual; the enigmatic and beautiful Clara; and the reflective and thoughtful character, the narrator, who reflects on the nature of their lives and relationships. Set against the backdrop of Paris, the characters navigate their day-to-day experiences, grappling with the superficiality and fleeting nature of modern life. Kundera introduces the notion of insignificance as a central...
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By Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano and published posthumously, Hunter of Stories offers glimpses into hidden histories, mythologies, and the untold crimes inflicted on indigenous peoples by European explorers and later by large nation-states seeking to exploit the natural resources and workers. Galeano’s idealism comes through even as he retells hard histories in one- or two-page-long chapters. As he notes in one of the stories, “Why not write the big story of the past by telling the little one?” Two samples,...
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Hernan Diaz’s novel Trust intricately weaves multiple narratives to explore themes of wealth, power, and the nature of truth. A tale that revolves around a wealthy financier, Benjamin Rask, and his enigmatic wife, Helen. The novel is structured in four parts: two contrasting narratives about Benjamin and Helen, a fictional biography, and an account of their financial dealings. As the characters’ perspectives unfold, the reader encounters differing accounts of their lives and relationships, prompting questions about the reliability of storytelling...
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This is Elena Ferrante’s first book in the Neapolitan Novels series. It follows the intense friendship between two girls, Elena Greco and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo, growing up in a poor neighborhood in post-war Naples. The novel explores themes of identity, class, and the complexities of female friendship. As the girls navigate their lives, their paths diverge: Elena pursues education and a more conventional life, while Lila’s fierce intelligence and rebellious spirit lead her to reject societal norms. The story delves...
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Initial thoughts on just beginning to read this brief work: I’ve never read William H. Gass and somehow confused him with German writer and Nobel laureate Günter Grass. Perhaps this confusion emerged when I picked up Gass’s Tunnell at the library one day and it seemed to be about World War II. Regardless, I began reading this narrated piece by a lonely man stuck in small-town Indiana; he is filled with acerbic descriptions of a world fading away, but who...
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Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami is a brief but oddly engaging novel narrated by a grammar school student who is enchanted by a woman working at the sandwich counter at a grocery store he passes every day. He is struck dumb by Ms Ice Sandwich’s large eyes and electric blue eyeliner. Every day during the course of a summer he enters the store, waits on a short queue and orders a sandwich, which she nabs with steel tongs and...
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George Saunders published Pastoralia in 2000. The collection consists of six stories, each exploring themes of consumerism, capitalism, and the complexities of human relationships. Set in a theme park, the title story “Pastoralia” is a darkly comedic satire. Employees live and act like prehistoric cave dwellers. The protagonist, a man known as “the cave man,” struggles to maintain a sense of dignity and purpose. In the real world, we learn the cave man has a wife and they have a...
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Nella Larsen external link wrote the novella Passing in 1929. The story revolves around the friendship of Irene ('Rene) Redfield, whose point of view carries the story, and Clare Kendry. Both are married. Irene to a darker skinned Black man who is a Physician in Manhattan. Clare to a racist white businessman who doesn’t know she is actually a light skin Black woman ‘passing’ as white. Both 'Rene and Clare can pass as white. Both women use 'passing' for certain...
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The Captive Mind by Czesław Miłosz external link . Essays out of central Europe during the First Cold War by one of Poland’s leading intellectuals. The Captive Mind is divided into four parts. Each part examines a different mindset adopted by intellectuals in response to the oppressive political environment. Miłosz analyzes the impact of communist ideology on the human psyche. He delves into how intellectuals compromised their beliefs, suppressed their individuality, and conformed to the demands of the ruling regimes....
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Zamyatin’s little-known dystopian novel We influenced Ayn Rand, George Orwell external link , and Aldous Huxley, and unlike them, he had no model. Zamyatin wrote We in 1921. The Benefactor, the one ruler, assigns numbers to citizens. Society uses pure mathematics as a religion. So the novel has the influence of the Logical Positivism of the day. The novel refers to groups and individuals as “ciphers” or “unifs.” The novel is a series of journal entries by engineer I-503. He...
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Effi Briest is a novel written by Theodor Fontane and published in 1895. Set in 19th-century Germany, the story follows the life of Effi Briest, a young woman who enters into a socially advantageous but ultimately troubled marriage. Effi Briest, at the age of 17, marries Baron Geert von Innstetten, a much older and respected man who holds a high position in the Prussian government. The marriage is arranged by Effi’s parents for financial and social reasons. Initially, Effi is...
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The Nickel Boys is a chilling novel based on a true story, which begins with hope and ends in tragedy. Racial profiling and profiteering on the part of a reform school (Nickel School, based in Florida) and its administrator sets the plot in motion. Medieval corporal punishments for minor infractions sharpened the cruelty experienced by the students. An unfortunate favor one student tries to do for his friend puts the final period in his sentence. Studious, hard-working Elwood is done...
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The Bear follows a young boy named Isaac McCaslin, who goes on numerous hunting trips into the wilderness with his uncle and other men. During these excursions, they come across a bear named Old Ben who has been killing and eating livestock from local farms. The men are determined to hunt down and kill Old Ben. Over many years and hunting trips, different members of the group try and fail to kill the formidable Old Ben, who proves to be...
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Published in 1970, Fifth Business is Canadian author Robertson Davies external link ’ first part of the Deptford Trilogy. The novel begins with the childhood incident that shapes Ramsay’s life. As a young boy, Ramsay witnesses a traumatic event involving his schoolmate Percy Boyd Staunton and another boy named Mary Dempster. This incident sets off a chain of events that reverberate throughout Ramsay’s life. Ramsay becomes what he refers to as the “fifth business” in the lives of the people...
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The Box Man is one of Kobo Abe external link 's more abstruse and obscure novels. Best known as the author of The Woman in the Dunes , Abe combines wildly imaginative fantasies and naturalistic prose to create narratives reminiscent of the work of Kafka and Beckett. In this eerie and evocative masterpiece, the nameless protagonist gives up his identity and the trappings of a normal life to live in a large cardboard box he wears over his head. Wandering...
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Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not is a commentary on the time of The Great Depression told from multiple viewpoints. He wrote it sporadically between 1935 and 1937. Then revised it as he traveled back and forth from Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The novel portrays Key West and Cuba in the 1930s and provides a social commentary on that time and place. Hemingway biographer Jeffrey Meyers described the novel as heavily influenced by the Marxist ideology. Hemingway was...
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“Sula” is a novel written by Toni Morrison, published in 1973. Set in the fictional town of Medallion, Ohio, the story spans several decades and explores the complex relationship between two Black-American women, Sula Peace and Nel Wright. The novel begins with the childhood friendship of Sula and Nel, two young girls who create a strong bond despite their contrasting personalities. She is rebellious, independent, and unapologetic, while Nel is more conforming and reserved. As they grow older, their paths...
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Stories by Donald Barthelme , revered by the likes of Thomas Pynchon and George Saunders, are gems of invention. Collected Stories also includes the work that appeared for the first time in Barthelme’s two retrospective anthologies, Sixty and Forty . Jaded readers who already own those collections will find new stories here. Boy, will that irk them. After reading Stories by Donald Barthelme you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll rub your eyes in disbelief. His scrambled visions of history yield unexpected...
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Thomas Pynchon wrote Slow Learner, a collection of stories, which was published in 1984, which includes the story Entropy. The collection includes five stories written during his formative years as a writer, spanning the period from 1958 to 1964. Our book group focused on the one story in particular: Entropy. The stories in “Slow Learner” generally showcase Pynchon’s experimentation with different styles, themes, and narrative techniques. Each story offers a glimpse into Pynchon’s early literary development. We see explorations of...
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John McPhee wrote Oranges in 1967. It delves into the world of Florida’s citrus industry, providing a comprehensive exploration of the orange farming and processing business. The book offers a detailed and informative look at the history, science, and economics behind the cultivation, harvesting, and distribution of oranges. McPhee introduces fun facts for aranciophiles . Such as why harvesters treat themselves to fruit from the top of the trees and only eat the top halves. Oranges are sweetest where they...
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Andrey Kurkov’s Grey Bees has elements of both the fable and the epic and it dramatizes the conflict in Ukraine through the adventures of a beekeeper and his frenemy in what seems to be in the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine.
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A Confederate General from Big Sur is a diffuse and rambling novel that occasionally sparkles. Before going their separate ways, narrator Jesse and his pal Lee Mellon converge, drink, and then go their separate ways. They conduct an epistolary correspondence and meet up again. Elaine and Elizabeth are the women in Jesse and Lee’s lives. They have lesser though critical roles in bringing this first novel to its anticlimax. As the novel progresses, Mellon’s delusions become increasingly intertwined with the...
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Damon Galgut wrote The Promise, which was published in 2021. Set in South Africa, the story revolves around a family and their struggles with identity, secrets, and the legacy of apartheid. The novel begins with a young boy named Amor, who witnesses a violent incident involving his mother and a stranger. This event sets in motion a chain of events that spans several decades, as the narrative follows the lives of four characters: Amor, his sister Marion, their mother Rachel,...
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Primo Levi’s Periodic Table is a group of autobiographical episodes of the author’s experiences as a Jewish-Italian doctoral-level chemist under the Fascist regime and afterward. They include various themes that follow a chronological sequence. His ancestry at the start. Then his studies of chemistry and practical use of the studies in wartime Italy. A pair of imaginative tales he wrote at that time, and his subsequent experiences as an anti-Fascist partisan follow. Subsequently, a piece about his arrest and imprisonment,...
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Saul Bellow’s Ravelstein , his final novel, was published in 2000. Bellow was eighty-five years old and it received widespread critical acclaim. Ravelstein tells the tale of a friendship between a university professor and a writer, and the complications that animate their erotic and intellectual attachments in the face of impending death. The novel is a roman à clef written as a memoir. The narrator is in Paris with Abe Ravelstein, and Ravelstein, who is dying, asks the narrator to...
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The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940) is the debut novel by the American author Carson McCullers. She was 23 at the time of publication. The novel is about a deaf man, John Singer, and the people he encounters in a depression-era town in Georgia. Among the characters who gravitate towards Singer is Mick Kelly, a young girl with a passion for music and a longing for a more meaningful existence. Mick finds solace in her interactions with Singer, who...
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John W. Campbell Jr. wrote Who Goes There? was published in 1938. The story revolves around a group of scientists in Antarctica. They discover an alien life form trapped in the ice and struggle to survive as the alien threatens to infiltrate and take over their bodies. The scientists, stationed at an isolated research outpost, uncover a crashed spacecraft buried beneath the ice. Within it, they find a frozen alien creature. As they thaw it out, they realize that it...
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Alfred Kazin’s classic portrait of immigrant life in the early decades of the twentieth century, A Walker in the City is a tour of tenements, subways, and synagogues—but also a universal story of the desires and fears we experience as we try to leave our small, familiar neighborhoods for something new. With vivid imagery and sensual detail—the smell of half-sour pickles, the dry rattle of newspapers, the women in their shapeless flowered housedresses—Alfred Kazin recounts his boyhood walks through this...
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Chinese author Liu Cixin wrote The Three-Body Problem , which was published in 2008. It is the first book in the “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” trilogy. The story weaves together elements of physics, politics, and human nature, taking readers on a journey that spans both time and space. The novel begins during the Cultural Revolution in China, where a young astrophysicist named Ye Wenjie witnesses her father’s death at the hands of Red Guards. This traumatic event sets the stage...
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Jonathan Letham wrote Motherless Brooklyn , which was published in 1999. The novel tells the story of Lionel Essrog, a private detective with Tourette’s syndrome. Lionel works for a small detective agency in Brooklyn, New York, run by Frank Minna. Minna serves as a mentor and father figure to him. When Frank is fatally shot during a routine investigation, Lionel becomes determined to find his killer. As Lionel delves deeper into the investigation, he navigates the gritty streets of Brooklyn,...
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Bras Cubas is one of the weirdest books I’ve read in a while and it doesn’t feel like it was written in the 19th century. Published in 1881, the novel has a unique style of short, erratic chapters shifting in tone and style. Instead of the clear and logical construction of a normal nineteenth-century realist novel, The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas (full title) makes use of surreal devices of metaphor and playful narrative construction. It is considered the first...
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A Confederacy of Dunces is a picaresque novel by American novelist John Kennedy Toole which reached publication in 1980. It took eleven years after Toole’s suicide to find an audience. Toole’s mother brought the work to Walker Percy and then he to his publisher. The book became first a cult classic, then a mainstream success. A Confederacy of Dunces earned Toole a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1981 external link . The novel chronicles Ignatius’ misadventures as he navigates...
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A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller Jr., first published in 1959. Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, the book spans thousands of years as civilization rebuilds itself. The monks of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz preserve the surviving remnants of man’s scientific knowledge until the world is again ready for it. (wikipedia)
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19th century Russian writer Anton Chekhov wrote the drama Uncle Vanya . Set in rural Russia during the late 19th century, the story revolves around the lives of an extended family & friends. The central character is Uncle Vanya. He is a middle-aged professor who feels disillusioned with his life and bitter about his wasted potential. The play explores themes of unfulfilled dreams, unrequited love, and the human capacity for self-deception. Uncle Vanya is infatuated with Yelena, the young and...
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Kazuo Ishiguro sets Klara and the Sun in a dystopian future when some children are genetically engineered for enhanced academic ability. On-screen tutors provide educations. Society limits socialization so parents who can afford it often buy their children androids as companions. Klara, one such android companion, is the narrator of the book. A teenage girl named Josie picks out Klara and has her mother purchase her. Josie suffers from an unspecified illness, and her mother hopes that Klara will provide...
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Harlan Ellison wrote City on the Edge of Forever for Star Trek, which was never used in its original form. It took more than ten months for Gene Roddenberry to rewrite Ellison’s work. Steven W. Carabatsos and D. C. Fontana, both story editors on the show, undertook re-writes of the teleplay, and changes have also been attributed to producer Gene L. Coon. The experience led to animosity between Ellison and Roddenberry for the rest of the latter’s life, in particular...
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Eudora Welty wrote the short story “Why I Live at the PO”. It is a first-person narrative that revolves around the character known as Sister. She recounts the events leading up to her decision to leave her family home. She moves to the local post office instead (P.O.). Welty narrates “Why I Live at the PO” with Sister’s somewhat unreliable voice. Sister describes her family dynamics. They are filled with conflict and dysfunction. She feels overshadowed and mistreated by her...
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The Cyberiad are the stories of Trurl and Klapaucius, master inventors and engineers known as “constructors,” who have created marvels for kingdoms. Friends and rivals, they are constantly outdoing and challenging each other to reveal the next great evolution in cybernetics, and the exploits of these brilliant men are nothing short of incredible. From tales of love, in which a robotic prince must woo a robotic princess enchanted by pleasures of true flesh, to epics of battle, in which the...
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E.L. Doctorow authored Ragtime, a historical novel, and it was published in 1975 . Set in the early 20th century, the story weaves together the lives of fictional and historical figures, capturing the spirit of an era marked by rapid social and cultural changes.The narrative follows three primary storylines that converge throughout the novel. The first revolves around an upper-class white family living in New Rochelle, New York. The family consists of the Father, Mother, and their Younger Brother. One...
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Zadie Smith authored Intimations , which was published in 2020 amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic. The book reflects on the unprecedented times and offers Smith’s observations and reflections on various aspects of life during this period. The essays in “Intimations” touch on a range of topics, including the impact of the pandemic, racial injustice, social inequality, and the role of art in times of crisis. Smith explores the ways in which the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing societal issues,...
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Rasselas, the fourth son of the King of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia), is shut up in a beautiful valley called The Happy Valley, “till the order of succession should call him to the throne”. Rasselas enlists the help of an artist who is also known as an engineer to help with his escape from the Valley by plunging out through the air, though they are unsuccessful in this attempt. Rasselas grows weary of the factitious entertainments of the place and, after...
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Known to millions as the preeminent swashbuckler of the silver screen, Errol Flynn was a complex man who lived a life far more adventurous than any of his films. In My Wicked, Wicked Ways , Flynn reveals himself to be a self-aware and cosmopolitan devotee of excitement and pleasure. With gusto, he recalls his years as a soldier of fortune in the South Seas, his trip to war-torn Spain, his battles in Hollywood with studio honchos (Jack Warner was a...
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The novel follows Professor Jack Gladney, who teaches Hitler studies at a small liberal arts college in rural New York. He lives there with his fourth wife Babette and their blended family. Jack is obsessed with avoiding death and stockpiles iodine tablets in case of a chemical spill from a nearby plant. One day while shopping at the local mall with his family, a strange toxic cloud appears and they have to evacuate. This event sparks an existential crisis in...
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With a career that spanned more than half a century, William Trevor is regarded as one of the best anglophone writers. Now, in William Trevor’s Last Stories , the master storyteller delivers ten exquisitely rendered tales. Nine have never been published in book form before. The stories illuminate the human condition. Subtle yet powerful, Trevor gives us insights into the lives of ordinary people. We encounter a tutor and his pupil, whose lives are thrown into turmoil when they meet...
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Humboldt’s Gift , which Saul Bellow initially intended to be a short story, is a roman à clef about Bellow’s friendship with the poet Delmore Schwartz. It explores the changing relationship between art and power in a materialist America. This theme is addressed through the contrasting careers of two writers, Von Humboldt Fleisher (to some degree a version of Schwartz) and his protégé Charlie Citrine (to some degree a version of Bellow himself). Fleisher yearns to lift American society through...
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Doctor Friendly has just died, but he moves “out of blackest sleep” to find himself surrounded by doctors and on the deathbed of a man in whose body he is imprisoned. After weeks of improving in the hospital, he is sent home to his affable, melting-pot, primary-colors existence in suburban America. As Friendly breaks up with his lovers in a prelude to seducing them and mangles his patients before he sends them home, his life races backward toward the one...
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Readers as diverse as TS Eliot and Lou Reed appreciated Delmore Schwartz’s story In Dreams Begin Responsibilities . Schwartz made his parents’ disastrous marriage the subject of his most famous short story, “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities”. The Partisan Review published the story in its first issue (1937). Schwartz’s first book is titled the same and was published in 1938 when Schwartz was only 25 years old. New York intellectual circles hailed the book, making the author a well-known figure in...
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Cathedral is Raymond Carver’s third collection of stories and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. It includes the canonical titular story about blindness and learning to enter the different world of another. These twelve stories mark a turning point in Carver’s work and overflow with the danger, excitement, and mystery. His eye is so clear, that it almost breaks your heart." Carver’s editor, Gordon Lish, was a great influence on how the stories turned out.
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Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel by the South African-born writer J. M. Coetzee. First published in 1980, it was chosen by Penguin for its series Great Books of the 20th Century and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize for fiction. American composer Philip Glass has also written an opera of the same name based on the book which premiered in September 2005 at Theater Erfurt, Germany. The theme of colonial imposition...
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Gogol wrote “The Nose” in 1836. The satirical story is set in St. Petersburg, Russia. It follows the bizarre misadventures of Major Kovalyov and his missing nose. It is a surreal and humorous tale that explores themes of identity, social hierarchy, and absurdity. The story begins with Major Kovalyov waking up one morning to find that his nose has disappeared from his face. Shocked and bewildered, he searches frantically for his missing appendage but fails to find it. To his...
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Molloy is the first of three novels initially written in Paris between 1947 and 1950; this trio, which includes Malone Dies and The Unnamable, is collectively referred to as ‘The Trilogy’ or ‘the Beckett Trilogy.’ Beckett deliberately wrote all three books in French and then, aside from some collaborative work on Molloy with Patrick Bowles, served entirely as his own English-language translator; he did the same for most of his plays. As Paul Auster explains, “Beckett’s renderings of his own...
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The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas (père) completed in 1844. It is one of the author’s more popular works, along with The Three Musketeers . Like many of his novels, it was expanded from plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. Another important work by Dumas, written before his work with Maquet, was the short novel Georges . Georges is of interest to scholars because...
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The Time Machine is a classic science fiction novel by H.G. Wells and published in 1895. It tells the story of an unnamed Time Traveller who invents a machine capable of traveling through time. The novel explores themes of social class, evolution, and the possible future of humanity. The Time Traveller gathers a group of acquaintances at his home and demonstrates his invention. He then embarks on a journey into the future, specifically the year 802,701 A.D. There, he encounters...
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While A Brief History of Time deals with complex scientific concepts, Stephen Hawking ensures that readers without a scientific background can still grasp the main ideas. He uses vivid examples and analogies, such as comparing the expansion of the universe to the motion of raisins in a rising loaf of bread, to make abstract concepts more relatable. Hawking takes readers on a journey through the history of cosmology, from ancient Greek philosophers to modern scientific theories. He explores key concepts...
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Memories of My Melancholy Whores (Spanish: Memoria de mis putas tristes) is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez. The book was originally published in Spanish in 2004, with an English translation by Edith Grossman published in October 2005. The proper translation of the title would be ‘memory of my sad whores.’ ‘Melancholy’ is a word whose meaning is far more intricate than Spanish triste. And Spanish triste translates best to the English adjective sad. The protagonist, who remains unnamed throughout...
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The book provides a firsthand account of Orwell’s experiences during the Spanish Civil War, where he served as a soldier in the Republican militia fighting against the Nationalist forces led by General Francisco Franco. Homage to Catalonia begins with Orwell’s arrival in Barcelona in 1936, shortly after the outbreak of the civil war. He joins the Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification (POUM). The POUM is a revolutionary socialist group, which became actively involved in the fight against Franco’s forces. Orwell...
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Italo Calvino published Invisible Cities in 1972, but it feels as if it had always existed. “Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears, even if the thread of their discourse is secret, their rules are absurd, their perspectives deceitful, and everything conceals something else.” In a garden sit the aged Kublai Khan and the young Marco Polo—Mongol emperor and Venetian traveler. Kublai Khan sensed the end of his empire coming soon. Marco Polo diverts his host with stories...
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Cannery Row is a novel by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1945. It is set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California. The street is one lined with sardine canneries known as Cannery Row. The story revolves around the people living there, including Lee Chong, the local grocer. Doc, a marine biologist. And Mack, the leader of a group of derelicts. The actual location Steinbeck was writing about in Monterey, was later renamed “Cannery Row” in honor of the...
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Rhinoceros is a play by Eugène Ionesco, written in 1959. Throughout three acts, the inhabitants of a provincial French town turn into rhinoceroses. Ultimately the only human who does not succumb to this mass metamorphosis is the central character, Bérenger. Bérenger is a flustered everyman figure. Inhabitants initially criticize Bérenger for his drinking, tardiness, and slovenly lifestyle. Later they call him paranoid for an obsession with rhinos. Some critics read Rhinoceros as a response and criticism to the sudden upsurge...
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The Night of Wenceslas is the debut novel of British thriller and crime writer Lionel Davidson. This Bildungsroman describes the reluctant adventures of Nicolas Whistler, a dissolute young man of mixed English and Czech parentage who finds himself caught up against his will in Cold War espionage. The novel won the Crime Writers’ Association’s Gold Dagger Award in 1960 and the Author’s Club First Novel Award. It was filmed in 1964 under the title Hot Enough for June. (wikipedia)
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In Graham Greene’s The Quiet American it’s 1955 and British journalist Thomas Fowler has been in Vietnam for two years covering the insurgency against French colonial rule. But it’s not just a political tangle that’s kept him tethered to the country. There’s also his lover, Phuong, a young Vietnamese woman who clings to Fowler for protection. Then comes Alden Pyle, an idealistic American working in service of the CIA. Devotedly, disastrously patriotic, he believes neither communism nor colonialism is what’s...
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Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West is set in New York during the Great Depression, a time of economic hardship and social upheaval. Miss Lonelyheart’s real name is never revealed. He receives countless letters from individuals seeking guidance and solace in their troubled lives. However, he finds himself unable to offer genuine help or find meaning in the face of the overwhelming suffering he encounters. As Miss Lonelyhearts becomes increasingly burdened by the weight of his readers’ despair, he descends into...
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“The Dead” is a short story written by James Joyce in 1914 as the final story in his collection Dubliners. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest short stories in the English language. Set in early 20th-century Dublin during a Christmas party, the story explores themes of mortality, memory, and the complexities of human relationships. The narrative centers around Gabriel Conroy, a university professor, and his wife, Gretta. The story unfolds as they attend an annual gathering hosted...
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Set in medieval Germany Narcissus and Goldmund by Hermann Hesse revolves around the complex and transformative friendship between two contrasting characters. Narcissus, an intellectual and monk, and Goldmund, a restless and artistic wanderer. The novel begins with Goldmund. Raised in a monastery, Goldmund yearns for a passionate existence beyond the confines of religious life. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery. He leaves the monastery to explore the world and indulges in various carnal and artistic experiences. Throughout his travels,...
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The narrative of the novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh is presented through a series of interconnected short stories, each focusing on different characters within the group. The central character is Mark Renton, a young man caught in the grip of heroin addiction. The novel delves into Renton’s experiences, his attempts at quitting drugs, and the cyclical nature of addiction and relapse. Renton’s friends, including the hot-tempered and unpredictable Francis Begbie. The affable and naive Spud. The ambitious Sick Boy. And...
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Kindred by Octavia Butler begins with Dana, a young Black American, and her white husband, Kevin, moving into their new home. Suddenly, Dana is yanked back in time to a Maryland plantation in the early 19th century. She finds herself in the presence of Rufus Weylin, a white plantation owner’s son, who is in danger of drowning. Dana quickly realizes that she has been brought back in time whenever Rufus’s life is at risk. Her survival is tied to his....
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Slouching Towards Bethlehem is a collection of essays divided into two sections: “Life Styles in the Golden Land” and “Personals.” In the first section, Joan Didion provides a series of journalistic essays that offer a critical and perceptive look at different aspects of American life. She delves into topics such as the counterculture movement, the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco, and the cultural and social dynamics of California. Didion’s writing is characterized by her keen observations, sharp prose, and her...
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In Zero K , Jeffrey Lockhart’s father, Ross, is a billionaire in his sixties, with a younger wife, Artis Martineau. Her health is failing. Ross is the primary investor in a remote and secret compound where death is exquisitely controlled. Bodies are preserved until a future time when biomedical advances and new technologies can return them to life. Jeff joins Ross and Artis at the compound to say “an uncertain farewell” to her as she surrenders her body. These are...
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Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad and published in 1899. The story follows Charles Marlow, a sailor and narrator, as he recounts his journey into the heart of Africa to find the enigmatic ivory trader Kurtz. Marlow’s quest takes place during the height of European colonialism in Africa. As he travels up the Congo River, he witnesses the brutal and exploitative nature of imperialism firsthand. The novella explores themes of darkness, moral ambiguity, and the corrupting...
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The Peregrine is a nature book written by J. A. Baker and published in 1967. It is a deeply immersive account of the author’s observations of peregrine falcons in the British countryside. Baker divides the book into diary entries spanning several years. During this time, Baker meticulously documents his encounters with these birds of prey. His observations focus on a particular pair of peregrines and their hunting expeditions. Baker’s prose is rich and evocative. It captures the beauty and power...
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Thomas Pynchon wrote The Crying of Lot 49 in 1966. The story follows Oedipa Maas, a California housewife, as she becomes entangled in a complex and bewildering conspiracy. Invararity’s estate names Oedipa the executor of his estate. As she delves into her role, she discovers a series of puzzling and interconnected clues that lead her on a surreal and convoluted journey. Oedipa’s investigation takes her into a world of enigmatic underground postal systems, secret societies, and strange encounters with eccentric...
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King Lear is a tragic play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1603 and 1606. The play tells the story of an aging King Lear who decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters. But the consequences of this decision lead to a series of tragic events. Act I Act I introduces the characters and sets the stage for conflicts that drive the rest of the play. King Lear decides to divide his kingdom among his...
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The Satanic Verses is a novel written by Salman Rushdie and published in 1988. The story revolves around two main characters, Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha, whose lives become intertwined in a series of surreal and fantastical events. The novel begins with a plane explosion over the English Channel, in which Gibreel and Saladin miraculously survive. However, their bodies undergo a transformation, blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination. Gibreel starts experiencing vivid dreams and visions, while Saladin develops physical...
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William Boyd wrote and published Any Human Heart in 2002. It is a fictional autobiography that follows the eventful life of the protagonist, Logan Mountstuart, during the 20th century. Boyd presents the narrative through Logan’s journal, which Logan keeps throughout his life. The novel spans various periods and locations, offering a panoramic view of historical events. These events include World War I, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the Swinging Sixties. Boyd portrays Logan as a complex and...
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In 2007 Anthony Grayling external link (Wikipedia bio) wrote Against All Gods, a collection of polemical essays attacking religion. In To Set Prometheus Free he develops those themes more comprehensively. He unpacks the claims and arguments of religious apologists. He summarizes the views of his fellow secularist Bertrand Russell. In particular, he details the controversy over ‘Intelligent Design’ and outlines his personal, naturalistic worldview. In To Set Prometheus Free , Grayling robustly calls for humanity to choose deliverance from religion....
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Set in the early 19th century, Traveler of the Century follows the travels of Hans, a young German traveler and translator who arrives in the fictional city of Wandernburg. Hans becomes acquainted with a diverse cast of characters, including intellectuals, revolutionaries, and aristocrats, each representing different facets of society. As Hans delves deeper into the city’s social and intellectual circles, he becomes involved in discussions. He debates on a wide range of topics, such as politics, love, literature, and human...
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“Paterson” is a long poem written by American modernist poet William Carlos Williams and published in five parts between 1946 and 1951. Williams names the poem “Paterson,” as Patterson, NJ is where he lived and worked as a doctor. The poem is a sprawling and ambitious work that was published in four parts and tend in my reading to go from great (Book 1) to so-so (Book 2), and on downward in overal quality. Just a fragment from the first...
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Look Homeward, Angel is a novel written by Thomas Wolfe and published in 1929. It is a coming-of-age story that follows the protagonist, Eugene Gant, as he grows up in the fictional town of Altamont, North Carolina, during the early 20th century. The novel explores Eugene’s tumultuous upbringing in a dysfunctional family. His father, Oliver, is a restless and ambitious stonecutter, while his mother, Eliza, is a controlling and domineering woman. Eugene’s siblings and extended family members also contribute to...
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China Mountain Zhang is a science fiction novel written by Maureen McHugh and published in 1992. Set in a future where China has become the dominant global superpower. The world is one where social and technological advancements have shaped a new society. The novel follows the life of Zhang Zhong Shan, a young man living in New York City. Chinese culture now influences most aspects of life. Zhang is a construction worker with a Chinese heritage who struggles with his...
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All I Asking for Is My Body is a novel written by Milton Murayama and published in 1975. Set in early 20th-century Hawaii, the novel follows the life of Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi is a young Japanese-American boy growing up in a plantation community. Murayama’s novel explores the struggles of the Japanese immigrant community in Hawaii during a time of social and economic inequality. Kiyoshi comes from a poor family. They face discrimination and prejudice from both the white plantation owners and...
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“The Purloined Letter” begins with Dupin’s friend, the narrator, visiting him at his home. The Prefect of the Parisian police interrupts the investigation. The Prefect seeks Dupin’s assistance in locating a stolen letter. He informs Dupin that the letter contains sensitive information. And potentially has blackmail material against a prominent societal figure. The Prefect explains that the letter was stolen by Minister D—, who concealed it in plain sight. Minister D– placed it among his correspondence. Despite conducting thorough searches,...
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The Colossus of Maroussi is a travel memoir written by American author Henry Miller and published in 1941. The book chronicles Miller’s experiences traveling through Greece in the late 1930s and his encounters with various people. At its core, The Colossus of Maroussi is a personal exploration of Miller’s deep appreciation for Greece and its people. The narrative is a blend of vivid descriptions, philosophical reflections, and poetic musings. Miller immerses himself in the Greek way of life and the...
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A Contest for Supremacy examines the socioeconomic forces at play in US-China relations. I do not share the author’s conclusion, but it’s an engaging book. According to Friedberg, despite its impressive size and population, economic vitality, and drive to upgrade its military, China remains a vulnerable nation surrounded by powerful rivals and potential foes. Understanding China’s foreign policy means fully appreciating these geostrategic challenges, which persist even as the country gains increasing influence over its neighbors. Andrew J. Nathan and...
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“The Great Wall of China” is a short story written by Franz Kafka. It is a fictional account that explores the construction and purpose of the Great Wall, employing allegory and philosophical themes. The story presents a first-person narrative of an unnamed narrator who joins the labor force building the Great Wall. The narrator describes the immense scale of the project, highlighting the effort and resources required to build such a colossus. As the story progresses, the narrator delves into...
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“The Royal Game,” also known as “Chess Story,” is a novella written by Stefan Zweig. It tells the story of Mirko Czentovic, an uneducated but exceptionally talented chess player. Czentovic becomes the focus of a psychological battle during a transatlantic voyage. The narrative begins with the introduction of Dr. B., a wealthy Austrian who is traveling on a cruise ship. Dr. B. is a chess enthusiast and becomes intrigued when he learns that Czentovic is also on board. Czentovic is...
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Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell is a biography written by Janet Wallach that explores the remarkable life of Gertrude Bell. She was an influential British traveler, writer, archaeologist, and political figure of the early 20th century. The book provides a comprehensive account of Bell’s life, beginning with her privileged upbringing in a wealthy British family. It follows her journey as she defied societal expectations for women at the time. Bell went on extensive travels and explored the...
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Hunter S Thompson wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in 1971. It is a semi-autobiographical account of a drug-fueled journey through Las Vegas by the narrator, Raoul Duke. His attorney, Dr. Gonzo, joins him for the ride. The story follows Duke and Dr. Gonzo as they travel to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race. However, their trip quickly descends into a chaotic and hallucinatory adventure fueled by drugs, alcohol, and reckless behavior. Throughout the novel, Thompson explores the...
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Leo Tolstoy wrote and published the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich in 1886. It tells the story of Ivan Ilyich, a high-ranking Russian bureaucrat, and his gradual realization of his own mortality as he faces a terminal illness. The novella begins with the news of Ivan Ilyich’s death, which prompts his colleagues to reflect on their own mortality briefly before resuming their daily lives. The narrative then shifts back in time to explore Ivan Ilyich’s life and the events...
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Report from the Interior is Paul Auster’s memoir and it’s divided into four distinct sections. The first section focuses on Auster’s childhood and early adolescence, recounting his experiences growing up in post-World War II America. He reflects on his move at the age of four into his first house. He recounts his fascination with comic books, movies, and literature, discussing how these cultural artifacts shaped his understanding of the world and influenced his development as a writer. Grass and trees,...
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Man Walks Into a Room is a novel written by Nicole Krauss and published in 2002. The story centers around Samson Greene. Greene is a professor of cognitive science who discovers that he has lost all memory. All memories of the first 24 years of his life–due to a brain tumor. The novel follows Samson’s struggle to come to terms with his memory loss and to reconstruct his identity. As he grapples with the gaps in his past, he embarks...
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Kobo Abe wrote and published The Ruined Map in 1967. Set in Tokyo, the story follows a private detective named Mr. Nemuro. Takahashi seeks Nemuro’s help in finding his missing brother-in-law, Katsumi, who disappeared after his wife’s murder. Takahashi is desperate to uncover the truth behind the events and wants Nemuro to unravel the mystery surrounding Katsumi’s disappearance. As Nemuro delves into the investigation, he becomes increasingly entangled in a web of mystery and confusion. The novel explores themes of...
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Lise begins her final journey not with a whimper, but with the jarring visual discord of a dress—a lemon-yellow skirt paired with a bodice of violent, unnatural pink. In the sterile, fluorescent-lit boutiques of her unnamed northern city (could be in Scotland, where Spark is from?), she rejects the tasteful and the subdued, opting instead for a costume that ensures she cannot be missed. There is a brittle, porcelain quality to her composure, an existential restlessness that Muriel Spark renders...
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Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out is a novel by Mo Yan published in 2006. The story spans several decades of Chinese history, following the protagonist, Ximen Nao, through his various lives and reincarnations. The novel begins during the land reforms of the 1950s, where Ximen Nao, a wealthy landowner, is executed. However, instead of moving on to the afterlife, Ximen Nao is reincarnated as different animals over several decades. Each reincarnation takes place during a significant period in...
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Set in apartheid-era South Africa, the story revolves around a wealthy white businessman named Mehring who acquires a farm in the countryside. Mehring acquires a farm called Trekkersburg. Through Mehring’s perspective, Nadine Gordimer explores the dichotomy between the black majority who work the land and the white minority who hold power. Mehring’s attempts to assert control over the land and its people reflect the broader dynamics of white privilege. The exploitation of black labor during the apartheid era is naturally...
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Le Grand Meaulnes revolves around Augustin Meaulnes, a young man from a rural background who arrives at a boarding school in the village of Sainte-Agathe. Meaulnes befriends a fellow student named François Seurel, who also serves as the narrator of the story. One day, Meaulnes goes on an adventurous journey and stumbles upon an estate known as the Domaine de la Sablière. A grand wedding celebration is taking place. He becomes captivated by the festivities and falls in love with...
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What would any of our high school educations be without Mr. Vonnegut, a ubiquitous favorite among our English teachers. Breakfast of Champions is set in the fictional town of Midland City. It’s where Dwayne Hoover’s life begins to unravel as he becomes increasingly unstable and delusional. Kilgore Trout, unaware of his importance to Dwayne’s situation, arrives in the same city. He’s there for an arts festival. Vonnegut explores a wide range of themes, including free will, mental illness, capitalism, and...
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Walter Mosley wrote and published Devil in a Blue Dress in 1990. It is the first book in the Easy Rawlins noir detective series. Set in Los Angeles in the 1940s, the story revolves around the protagonist, Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, as he becomes entangled in a web of crime and corruption. The novel begins with Easy Rawlins, a Black American World War II veteran, who is recently laid off from work. Desperate for money to pay his mortgage, he accepts...
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The Rider is a memoir written by Dutch author Tim Krabbé and originally published in 1978. It recounts the author’s personal experience of participating in a cycling race called the Tour de Mont Aigoual. The book takes readers on a journey through the mind of a cyclist as Krabbé narrates his own race experience. He provides a detailed and introspective account of the physical and mental challenges faced during the grueling competition. Krabbé’s writing captures the essence of endurance sports....
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The Lemon Table is a collection of short stories written by Julian Barnes and published in 2004. The book explores themes of aging, mortality, and the complexities of human relationships through a series of interconnected narratives. The stories in The Lemon Table revolve around characters who are either facing the challenges of old age or grappling with the loss of loved ones. Barnes delves into the emotional and psychological aspects of aging, examining the fears, regrets, and reflections that come...
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Persepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel written by Marjane Satrapi and published in 2000. It’s about the author’s childhood and adolescence in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and the subsequent Iran-Iraq War. The book begins with Marjane as a young girl growing up in Tehran. She witnesses the cultural and political changes brought about by the Iranian Revolution. Through her eyes, readers witness the imposition of strict Islamic rules and the effects of war on everyday life. As Marjane navigates...
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Cormac McCarthy published Blood Meridian in 1985. Set in the mid-19th century, the story follows a runaway known as “the Kid” who joins a band of ruthless scalp hunters. The narrative centers around the Kid’s experiences with the gang, led by the enigmatic and brutal Judge Holden. As they venture into the lawless violent frontier they take part in relentless acts of violence. They engage in massacres, scalping, and other atrocities committed against Native Americans and Mexican settlers. Blood Meridian...
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Hunger is a novel written by Norwegian author Knut Hamsun and published in 1890. It follows the story of an unnamed protagonist, a struggling writer living in the city of Kristiania (now Oslo). He is the epitome of the starving artist. The novel is a psychological exploration of the protagonist’s descent into physical and mental deprivation. He wanders the streets, desperately searching for food and work. He becomes consumed by his hunger and the constant struggle to survive. The narrative...
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The Martian Chronicles is a collection of interrelated science fiction short stories written by Ray Bradbury and published in 1950. The book presents a series of loosely connected narratives that depict humanity’s colonization and exploration of Mars, as well as the complex interactions between humans and the native Martians. The stories in The Martian Chronicles span a wide range of themes and periods, creating a tapestry of Martian history. Bradbury explores topics such as the allure of space exploration, the...
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The Poems of Philip Larkin show him to be one known for his introspective and often pessimistic view of the world. Here is a summary of some of his notable poems: “Be the Verse” Larkin’s most famous and controversial poem. It reflects on the negative impact of family and inheritance on individuals. The poem emphasizes the perpetuation of unhappiness and disappointment across generations. They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They...
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Vladimir Nabokov wrote and published Laughter in the Dark in 1932. The story follows the life of Albinus, a middle-aged art critic who becomes infatuated with a young aspiring actress, Margot. Albinus, a respected and affluent man, leaves his wife and enters into a passionate affair with Margot. However, as their relationship unfolds, Albinus becomes increasingly blind to Margot’s true character. Margot manipulates and deceives him. She uses him for her gain and to pursue her ambitions in the world...
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The narrative of The Sense of an Ending unfolds in two parts. The first part focuses on Tony’s youth and his friendships with a group of intellectual classmates. His close friend Adrian Finn is of particular interest in the plot. The second part takes place in Tony’s later life as he receives an unexpected bequest. It forces him to reevaluate his understanding of the past. As Tony delves into his memories, he confronts the fallibility of memory itself and the...
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Death in Venice is a novella written by Thomas Mann. Set in the early 20th century, it tells the story of Gustav von Aschenbach. Aschenbach is a renowned and disciplined writer who travels to Venice in search of inspiration and a change of scenery. However, his visit becomes an introspective journey into his desires and the exploration of beauty, decay, and mortality. Aschenbach becomes captivated by the beauty of a young Polish boy named Tadzio, who embodies the ideal of...
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Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor wrote Man’s Search for Meaning in 1946. Frankl divides the book into two parts and explores his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. It also goes into his development of logotherapy, a form of psychotherapy focused on finding meaning in life. In the first part, Frankl vividly recounts his time in Auschwitz and other concentration camps during World War II. He reflects on the extreme suffering and dehumanization he and his fellow prisoners...
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Philip K. Dick wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? in 1968. Set in a post-apocalyptic future where most of Earth’s animal species have become extinct, the novel . Humans have emigrated to other planets. The remaining inhabitants on Earth strive to own and care for live animals as a status symbol. The central protagonist is Rick Deckard. Deckard is a bounty hunter who retires rogue androids, known as replicants. The replicants have escaped from off-world colonies and returned to...
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Haruki Murakami, a renowned Japanese author, wrote 1Q84 in bunko editions from 2009 to 2010. Set in Tokyo during the year 1984, the story follows two main protagonists, Aomame and Tengo, whose paths become intertwined as they navigate a peculiar and mysterious alternate reality. A secret organization known as “Sakigake” draws Aomame into it. Aomame is a skilled assassin. Tengo rewrites a mysterious novel conspiratorially. Teenage girl Fuki-Eri titles the novel “Air Chrysalis”. If this sounds hard to follow, it...
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Virginia Woolf wrote Mrs. Dalloway in 1925. Set in London in the early 20th century, the story takes place over a single day. It follows the thoughts and experiences of various characters. The novel centers around Clarissa Dalloway, an upper-class woman preparing for a party she is hosting in the evening. As Clarissa goes about her day, her thoughts and memories intertwine with events and encounters with other characters. Through her perspective, Woolf delves into themes of identity, social conventions,...
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The Horse’s Mouth is a novel written by Joyce Cary and published in 1944, centering on the compelling character of Gulley Jimson. An unconventional artist, Gulley is larger-than-life and tirelessly pursues his passion for art, reflecting the complexities and chaos of the art world. Gulley’s fervent dedication to his craft drives his eccentricity and talent. He relentlessly seeks inspiration, often pushing boundaries to create his masterpieces. Despite his artistic prowess, Gulley grapples with societal expectations and frequently clashes with the...
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Kafka on the Shore (海辺のカフカ, Umibe no Kafuka) is a 2002 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Its 2005 English translation was among “The 10 Best Books of 2005” from The New York Times and received the World Fantasy Award for 2006. The book tells the stories of the young Kafka Tamura, a bookish 15-year-old boy who runs away from his Oedipal curse, and Satoru Nakata, an old, disabled man with the uncanny ability to talk to cats. The book...
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Chilean author Roberto Bolaño wrote and published 2666 posthumously in 2004. It is a sprawling and complex work that weaves together multiple storylines and characters. It explores themes of violence, the search for meaning, and the human condition. The novel is divided into five parts, each with its own distinct narrative focus. I. The part about the critics The first part introduces four European literary critics obsessed with the elusive and reclusive German author Benno von Archimboldi. II. The part...
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At the risk of invoking a Monty Pythonesque guffaw, here is a summary of Proust and specifically Swann’s Way . Published in 1913, Swann’s Way is the first volume of Marcel Proust’s seven-part novel, In Search of Lost Time . The volume serves as an introduction to Proust’s intricate exploration of memory, time, and the complexities of human experience. Swann’s Way begins with the narrator’s reminiscences of his childhood in the fictional town of Combray. Proust structures the narrative around...
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The Moviegoer is a novel written by Walker Percy and published in 1961. It tells the story of Binx Bolling, a young man living in New Orleans who is grappling with a sense of alienation and a search for meaning in his life. Binx Bolling, the protagonist and narrator, comes from a privileged Southern family but feels disconnected from the world around him. He finds solace in going to the movies, seeking refuge in the fantasy world of the silver...
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T.C. Boyle published The Road to Wellville in 1993. Set in the early 20th century, it explores the eccentric and often controversial practices of health enthusiasts in the pursuit of well-being. The story revolves around two main characters. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, a real-life figure and the inventor of corn flakes and Will Lightbody, a fictional character seeking a cure for his chronic digestive issues. Dr. Kellogg runs the Battle Creek Sanitarium, a health resort promoting holistic healing and physical...
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Carlos Ruiz Zafón published The Angel’s Game in 2008. It is set in 1920s Barcelona. It is a prequel to Zafón’s earlier work, The Shadow of the Wind , but can be read as a standalone story. The novel delves into themes of love, obsession, and the blurred lines between reality and fiction. The story follows David Martín, a young writer struggling to make ends meet as a journalist. He receives an offer from a mysterious publisher named Andreas Corelli...
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Philip Roth wrote American Pastoral in 1997. Set against the backdrop of post-World War II America, the story explores the disintegration of the American Dream through the lens of one family. American Pastoral centers around Seymour “Swede” Levov, a successful Jewish-American businessman and former star athlete. Swede seemingly embodies the American Dream, with a beautiful wife named Dawn and a daughter named Merry. However, the tranquil façade of Swede’s life is shattered when Merry becomes involved in radical political activities...
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José Saramago wrote and published Blindness in 1995. It is a thought-provoking and allegorical story that explores the fragility of humanity and the breakdown of society in the face of an epidemic of sudden blindness. The novel begins when a “white blindness” strikes people in an unnamed city. People lose their sight overnight, leaving the city’s inhabitants in a state of panic and confusion. Among the blind, a doctor, his wife, a girl, her mother, a thief, and others play...
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J.G. Farrell wrote and published The Siege of Krishnapur in 1973. Set during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, aka the Sepoy Mutiny, the story depicts the harrowing experiences of British residents. They find themselves trapped in the fictional town of Krishnapur, located in British India. The novel begins with British residents of Krishnapur living an idyllic life, protected from the realities of the Indian rebellion. However, as the rebellion gains momentum, the town becomes besieged by rebel forces, cutting off...
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