Books about Melancholy

  1. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway

    by Ernest Hemingway
    Collection of short stories depicting the human experience in all its complexities.

    THE ONLY COMPLETE COLLECTION BY THE NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR In this definitive collection of Ernest Hemingway's short stories, readers will delight in the author's most beloved classics such as ... (Goodreads)

  2. In Our Time

    by Ernest Hemingway
    A collection of short stories exploring themes of war, nature, and human relationships.

    First published in 1925, earning Hemingway praise as a promising American writer. Contains several early Hemingway classics, including the famous Nick Adams stories. This volume introduces readers to ... (Goodreads)

  3. Speak, Memory

    by Vladimir Nabokov
    Autobiographical journey exploring the intimate memories of author's past.

    This is an older alternate cover edition for ISBN 0141183225/ 9780141183220. A newer edition may be found here . From one of the 20th century's great writers comes one of the finest autobiographies ... (Goodreads)

  4. Nine Stories

    by J.D. Salinger
    Nine short stories of insight into the human condition and its mysteries.

    Nine Stories (1953) is a collection of short stories by American fiction writer J. D. Salinger published in April 1953. It includes two of his most famous short stories, "A Perfect Day for ... (Goodreads)

  5. War and Peace

    by Leo Tolstoy
    Epic tale of war, peace, and love, focusing on the lives of five aristocratic families.

    The novel begins in July 1805 in Saint Petersburg , at a soirée given by Anna Pavlovna Scherer—the maid of honour and confidante to the dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna . Many of the main characters ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Canterville Ghost

    by Oscar Wilde
    An American family living in a haunted English castle confront the ghost who haunts it.

    The story begins when the American Minister to the Court of St. James's , Hiram B. Otis, and his family move into Canterville Chase, an English country house, despite warnings from Lord Canterville ... (Wikipedia)

  7. The Remains of the Day

    by Kazuo Ishiguro
    A butler reflects on his past, grappling with the lost opportunities of a life devoted to service.

    The novel tells, in first-person narration , the story of Stevens, an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington (who is recently deceased, and whom Stevens ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Olive Kitteridge

    by Elizabeth Strout
    An exploration of the life of a small-town woman, revealing her struggles and emotional complexities.

    Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition – its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires. At times stern, at other times ... (Goodreads)

  9. The Blind Assassin

    by Margaret Atwood
    A complex, interwoven story of family secrets, love, tragedy, and mystery.

    The novel's protagonist , Iris Chase, and her sister Laura, grow up well-off but motherless in a small town in southern Ontario. As an old woman, Iris recalls the events and relationships of her ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Seagull

    by Anton Chekhov
    A tale of unrequited love and personal frustrations set in a rural Russian town.

    The play takes place on a country estate owned by Pyotr Sorin, a retired senior civil servant in failing health. He is the brother of the actress Irina Arkadin, who has just arrived at the estate for ... (Wikipedia)

  11. La Dame aux Camélias

    by Alexandre Dumas (Fils)
    A young woman's descent into a life of debauchery and its consequences.

    One of the greatest love stories of all time, this novel has fascinated generations of readers. Dumas's subtle and moving portrait of a woman in love is based on his own love affair with one of the ... (Goodreads)

  12. The Raven and Other Poems

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    A collection of dark, gothic poems, exploring the depths of the human psyche.

    A chilling, thrilling collection of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry, introduced by best-selling author Philip Pullman The Raven . . . Annabel Lee . . . Ulalume . . . these are some of the spookiest, most ... (Goodreads)

  13. Selected Poems

    by Emily Dickinson
    Collection of poems exploring various themes of life, death, and the nature of reality.

    Although Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 2,000 poems, only a handful were ever published in her lifetime, and those anonymously. Today, she is recognized as one of the most important American poets of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  14. The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories

    by Ernest Hemingway
    Collection of short stories exploring the human condition and the consequences of life choices.

    The ideal introduction to the genius of Ernest Hemingway,, The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories, contains ten of Hemingway's most acclaimed and popular works of short fiction. Selected from, ... (Goodreads)

  15. Tales of Ordinary Madness

    by Charles Bukowski
    Poignant, darkly humorous exploration of life as a struggling artist in Los Angeles.

    Inspired by D.H. Lawrence, Chekhov and Hemingway, Bukowski's writing is passionate, extreme and has attracted a cult following, while his life was as weird and wild as the tales he wrote. This ... (Goodreads)

  16. The Tempest

    by William Shakespeare
    A story of magical revenge, redemption, and forgiveness set on a remote island.

    A ship is caught in a powerful storm, there is terror and confusion on board, and the vessel is shipwrecked. But the storm is a magical creation carried out by the spirit Ariel , and caused by the ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Woman from Tantoura

    by رضوى عاشور
    A vivid exploration of the Egyptian city of Alexandria, its inhabitants and their struggles.

    الطنطورية (نسبة الى قرية الطنطورة الواقعة على الساحل الفلسطيني جنوب حيفا) ، تعرضت هذه القرية عام 1948 لمذبحة على يد العصابات الصهيونية ، تتناول الرواية هذه المذبحة كمنطلق و حدث من الاحداث الرئيسية ، ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

    by Milan Kundera
    An exploration of the power of memory and the meaning of life through a series of interconnected stories.

    The first section occurs in 1971 and is the story of Mirek, as he explores his memories of Zdena. Knowing that he loved this ugly woman has left a blemish, and he hopes to rectify this by destroying ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Death in Venice

    by Thomas Mann
    A writer's journey of self-discovery in an Italian city, through a tangled web of art, beauty, and passion.

    The main character is Gustav von Aschenbach , a famous author in his early fifties who has recently been ennobled in honor of his artistic achievement (thus acquiring the aristocratic " von " in his ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Beautiful and Damned

    by F. Scott Fitzgerald
    A young couple's struggle to maintain their marriage while searching for financial stability.

    The Beautiful and Damned tells the story of Anthony Patch in 1910s New York, a socialite and presumptive heir to a tycoon's fortune; his complicated marriage to Gloria Gilbert; the couple's troubling ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Les Fleurs du Mal

    by Charles Baudelaire
    Collection of poems exploring the beauty and depravity of human nature.

    Charles Baudelaire's 1857 masterwork was scandalous in its day for its portrayals of sex, same-sex love, death, the corrupting and oppressive power of the modern city and lost innocence, Les Fleurs ... (Goodreads)

  22. On Heroes and Tombs

    by Ernesto Sabato
    A philosophical meditation on life, death, and the various forms of heroism.

    Nineteen-year-old Martín Castillo is a boy from Buenos Aires trying to find his path in life. He meets and falls in love with Alejandra Vidal Olmos who with her father Fernando represents the "old", ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Too Loud a Solitude

    by Bohumil Hrabal
    A man's reflections on life and literature, as he crushes books for a living.

    The entire story is narrated in the first person by the main character Hanta. Hanta is portrayed as a sort of recluse and hermit, albeit one with encyclopedic literary knowledge. Hanta uses ... (Wikipedia)

  24. The Moviegoer

    by Walker Percy
    A young man's journey of self-discovery, as he confronts the meaninglessness of life.

    The Moviegoer tells the story of Jack "Binx" Bolling, a young stock-broker in postwar New Orleans . The decline of tradition in the Southern United States , the problems of his family and his ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Winesburg, Ohio

    by Sherwood Anderson
    Portrayal of small town life, exploring its inhabitants' inner struggles and struggles with conformity.

    Winesburg, Ohio depicts the strange, secret lives of the inhabitants of a small town. In "Hands," Wing Biddlebaum tries to hide the tale of his banishment from a Pennsylvania town, a tale represented ... (Goodreads)

  26. Homer & Langley

    by E.L. Doctorow
    Eccentric brothers live in a decaying mansion in New York City, hidden away from the rest of the world.

    From Ragtime and Billy Bathgate to The Book of Daniel, World’s Fair, and The March, the novels of E. L. Doctorow comprise one of the most substantive achievements of modern American fiction. Now, ... (Goodreads)

  27. Scott Pilgrim, Volume 3: Scott Pilgrim & The Infinite Sadness

    by Bryan Lee O'Malley
    A comedic exploration of love, relationships, and modern life through the lens of a young man.

    Scott Pilgrim, a 23-year-old slacker, lives in Toronto with his roommate Wallace Wells. He is the bass player for Sex Bob-omb, an unsuccessful band consisting of himself, guitarist Stephen Stills, ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog

    by John Grogan
    A heartfelt journey of a family and their beloved, but mischievous, dog.

    John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of ... (Goodreads)

  29. The Tartar Steppe

    by Dino Buzzati
    A young Italian soldier stationed at a remote fort in a desolate landscape, waiting for a mythical enemy.

    The plot of the novel is Drogo's lifelong wait for a great war in which his life and the existence of the fort can prove its usefulness. The human need for giving life meaning and the soldier's ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Interview with the Vampire

    by Anne Rice
    A vampire's musings on his existence, struggles with morality and his own immortality.

    A vampire named Louis de Pointe du Lac tells his 200-year-long life story to a reporter referred to simply as " the boy ". In 1791, Louis is a young indigo plantation owner living in Louisiana . ... (Wikipedia)

  31. The Magic Mountain

    by Thomas Mann
    A young man's journey of self-exploration and personal growth during a long stay at a Swiss sanatorium.

    The narrative opens in the decade before World War I . It introduces the protagonist, Hans Castorp, the only child of a Hamburg merchant family. Following the early death of his parents, Castorp has ... (Wikipedia)

  32. Four Quartets

    by T.S. Eliot
    A poetic meditation on the journey of life and its cyclical nature.

    The Four Quartets is a series of four poems by T.S. Eliot, published individually from 1936 to 1942, and in book form in 1943; it was considered by Eliot himself to be his finest work. Each of the ... (Goodreads)

  33. The Waste Land and Other Poems

    by T.S. Eliot
    A collection of poems exploring themes of identity, mortality, and spiritual and psychological desolation.

    The Waste Land and Other Poems , by T. S. Eliot , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including ... (Barnes & Noble)

  34. Whatever

    by Michel Houellebecq
    A man's search for purpose in a world of nihilism and alienation.

    "Houellebecq captures precisely the cynical disillusionment of disaffected youth."— Booklist "This boy needs serious therapy. He may be beyond help."—,The Washington Post, Just thirty, with a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  35. Thousand Cranes

    by Yasunari Kawabata
    A tale of love, loss, and longing set in traditional Japan.

    The novel is set in Japan after World War II . The protagonist, Kikuji, who has been orphaned, becomes involved with Mrs. Ota, a former mistress of his father's. She commits suicide, seemingly ... (Wikipedia)

  36. Tinkers

    by Paul Harding
    A dying man reflects on his life and family, grappling with his mortality.

    The Los Angeles Times, praised "a writer [who] describes something so well—snow, oranges, dirt—that you can smell it or feel it or sense it in the room." ,, The New Yorker, enjoyed Harding's ... (Wikipedia)

  37. Moonglow

    by Michael Chabon
    A multigenerational family saga reflecting on the past to unlock secrets of the present.

    The novel is about the story of the author's (Chabon) grandfather. Throughout the book, the grandfather's name is not referred to. The story is sort of a memoir, jumping around in time. It starts ... (Wikipedia)

  38. The Raven

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    A man is visited by a mysterious raven, leading him on a journey of grief and reflection.

    In Gustave Doré, one of the most prolific and successful book illustrators of the late 19h century, Edgar Allan Poe's renowned poem The Raven found perhaps its most perfect artistic interpreter. ... (Goodreads)

  39. Right Ho, Jeeves

    by P.G. Wodehouse
    A humorous adventure of a young man and his loyal valet, as they attempt to outwit a nefarious scheme.

    Bertie returns to London from several weeks in Cannes spent in the company of his Aunt Dahlia Travers and her daughter Angela. In Bertie's absence, Jeeves has been advising Bertie's old school ... (Wikipedia)

  40. The Time Regulation Institute

    by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar
    A story of change, struggle and nostalgia in a rapidly modernizing Istanbul.

    The main character is Hayri İrdal, who narrates the novel and presents it like a memoir. , The novel discusses his and other people's formation of the Time Regulation Institute, which changes the ... (Wikipedia)

  41. The Imperfectionists

    by Tom Rachman
    A story of interconnected lives, exploring the fragility of human relationships.

    Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Rome, Tom Rachman’s wry, vibrant debut follows the topsy-turvy private lives of the reporters, editors, and executives of an international English language ... (Goodreads)

  42. And Quiet Flows the Don

    by Mikhail Sholokhov
    A sweeping epic of the Cossack people during the tumultuous Russian Revolution.

    The novel deals with the life of the Cossacks living in the Don River valley during the early 20th century, probably around 1912, just prior to World War I . The plot revolves around the Melekhov ... (Wikipedia)

  43. Selected Stories of Anton Chekhov

    by Anton Chekhov
    A collection of short stories depicting the lives of ordinary people in Russia.

    Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the highly acclaimed translators of War and Peace, Doctor Zhivago, and Anna Karenina, which was an Oprah Book Club pick and million-copy bestseller, bring ... (Goodreads)

  44. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

    by T.S. Eliot
    A collection of poetry exploring themes of melancholy and despair.

    Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherized upon a table; Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats Of restless ... (Goodreads)

  45. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

    by Tom Stoppard
    A humorous exploration of fate and free will, seen through the eyes of two minor characters in Shakespeare's "Hamlet".

    Hamlet told from the worm's-eye view of two minor characters, bewildered Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Echoes of Waiting for Godot resound, reality and illusion mix, and where fate leads heroes to a ... (Goodreads)

  46. Foam of the Days

    by Boris Vian
    Unexpected romance between a wealthy man and a singer, set in a surreal, dreamlike world.

    In a surreal world where animals and inanimate objects reflect the emotions of humans, Colin is a wealthy young man with a resourceful and stylish valet , Nicholas, and a loyal best friend, Chick. ... (Wikipedia)

  47. Chicken with Plums

    by Marjane Satrapi
    A whimsical story of a man's quest for fulfillment amidst the chaos of life.

    In November 1955, Nasser Ali Khan, one of Iran's most celebrated tar players, is in search of a new instrument. His beloved tar has been broken. But no matter what tar he tries, none of them sound ... (Goodreads)

  48. The Last Picture Show

    by Larry McMurtry
    A story of a small town in Texas and the inhabitants, capturing a bygone era.

    In 1951 Sonny Crawford and Duane Jackson are high-school seniors and friends in Anarene, Texas , a small declining northern Texas town. Duane is dating Jacy Farrow, who Sonny considers the prettiest ... (Wikipedia)

  49. ثلاثية غرناطة

    by رضوى عاشور
    A story of three friends, navigating love and loss within the city of Granada.

    ثلاثية غرناطة هي ثلاثية روائية تتكون من ثلاث روايات للكاتبة المصرية رضوى عاشور و هم على التوالي: غرناطة - مريمة - الرحيل. وتدور الأحداث في مملكة غرناطة بعد سقوط جميع الممالك الإسلامية في الأندلس، و ... (Goodreads)

  50. Goodbye to Berlin

    by Christopher Isherwood
    A portrait of the vibrant Weimar-era Berlin, with its array of characters and cultural clashes.

    Here, meine Damen und Herren, is Christopher Isherwood's brilliant farewell to a city which was not only buildings, streets, and people, but was also a state of mind which will never come around ... (Goodreads)

  51. Selected Poems

    by Rainer Maria Rilke
    An exploration of love, life, and the beauty of the natural world through the lens of a lyrical poet.

    Parallel German text and English translation. The influence and popularity of Rilke’s poetry in America have never been greater than they are today, more than fifty years after his death. Rilke is ... (Goodreads)

  52. Brideshead Revisited

    by Evelyn Waugh
    A nostalgic reflection on a wealthy family and the enduring power of love.

    The novel is divided into three parts, framed by a prologue and epilogue. The prologue takes place during the final years of the Second World War . Charles Ryder and his battalion are sent to a ... (Wikipedia)

  53. Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family

    by Thomas Mann
    A story of a family's decline, tracing four generations of a wealthy German family.

    In 1835, the wealthy and respected Buddenbrooks, a family of grain merchants, invite their friends and relatives to dinner in their new home in Lübeck , Germany . The family consists of patriarch ... (Wikipedia)

  54. Death in Venice and Other Tales

    by Thomas Mann
    A collection of stories exploring the interplay of beauty, mortality and morality.

    Featuring his world-famous masterpiece, "Death in Venice," this new collection of Nobel laureate Thomas Mann's stories and novellas reveals his artistic evolution. In this new, widely acclaimed ... (Goodreads)

  55. Barney's Version

    by Mordecai Richler
    A man's life story told with humour and heart, reflecting on his relationships, successes and regrets.

    The story is written as if it is an autobiography by Barney Panofsky recounting his life in varying detail. Barney's version of events may be viewed as that of two unreliable narrators , in that his ... (Wikipedia)

  56. Wedding Night

    by Sophie Kinsella
    A romantic comedy about a newly married couple struggling to master the dynamics of a relationship.

    Lottie just knows that her boyfriend is going to propose, but then his big question involves a trip abroad — not a trip down the aisle. Completely crushed, Lottie reconnects with an old flame, and ... (Goodreads)

  57. Collected Poems, 1909-1962

    by T.S. Eliot
    Exploration of the complexities of life and the human condition, through innovative and experimental verse.

    There is no more authoritative collection of the poetry that Eliot himself wished to preserve than this volume, published two years before his death in 1965., Poet, dramatist, critic, and editor, T. ... (Barnes & Noble)

  58. Tears of the Giraffe

    by Alexander McCall Smith
    A humorous and heartwarming story of the lives of the inhabitants of a Botswana village.

    Newly engaged Mma Ramotswe is not impressed with Mr JLB Matekoni's maid, Florence Pena. Unknown to him, she has been sleeping in his bed with her men friends. Obvious to Mma Ramotswe is that she does ... (Wikipedia)

  59. The Stories of John Cheever

    by John Cheever
    A collection of short stories that explore the human condition in the modern era.

    Here are sixty-one stories that chronicle the lives of what has been called "the greatest generation." From the early wonder and disillusionment of city life in "The Enormous Radio" to the surprising ... (Goodreads)

  60. The Sorrows of Young Werther

    by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    A young man's struggle to reconcile his intense emotions with the realities of society.

    This is Goethe's first novel, published in 1774. Written in diary form, it tells the tale of an unhappy, passionate young man hopelessly in love with Charlotte, the wife of a friend - a man who he ... (Goodreads)

  61. The Phantom of the Opera

    by Gaston Leroux
    A tragic love story between a mysterious masked figure and the woman he loves.

    In the 1880s, in Paris , the Palais Garnier Opera House is believed to be haunted by an entity known as the Phantom of the Opera, or simply the Opera Ghost. A stagehand named Joseph Buquet is found ... (Wikipedia)

  62. The Luzhin Defense

    by Vladimir Nabokov
    A chess grandmaster battles his inner demons as he struggles to understand the game of life.

    The plot concerns the title character, Aleksandr Ivanovich Luzhin. As a boy, he is considered unattractive, withdrawn, and an object of ridicule by his classmates. One day, when a guest comes to his ... (Wikipedia)

  63. Rabbit at Rest

    by John Updike
    A story of family and mortality, exploring the struggle of growing old and facing death.

    This novel is part of the series that follows the life of Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom from 1960 to 1990. Rabbit at Rest focuses on the years 1988–89. Harry, nearly 40 years after his glory days as a high ... (Wikipedia)

  64. The Complete Poetry

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    Collection of dark, romantic, and macabre poems exploring the depths of the human experience.

    The eerie tales of Edgar Allan Poe remain among the most brilliant, enduring, and influencial works in American literature. But Poe is also the author of some of the most haunting poetry ever ... (Goodreads)

  65. Jazz

    by Toni Morrison
    A story of forbidden love, set against the backdrop of the jazz age in 1920s America.

    In the winter of 1926, when everybody everywhere sees nothing but good things ahead, Joe Trace, middle-aged door-to-door salesman of Cleopatra beauty products, shoots his teenage lover to death. At ... (Goodreads)

  66. I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend

    by Martin Short
    Autobiographical account of comedic actor Martin Short's journey through show business.

    In this engagingly witty, wise, and heartfelt memoir, Martin Short tells the tale of how a showbiz-obsessed kid from Canada transformed himself into one of Hollywood's favorite funnymen, known to his ... (Barnes & Noble)

  67. Novecento. Un monologo

    by Alessandro Baricco
    A man recounts his extraordinary life story, of his unique bond with an immense musical instrument.

    Il, Virginian, era un piroscafo. Negli anni tra le due guerre faceva la spola tra Europa e America, con il suo carico di miliardari, di emigranti e di gente qualsiasi. Dicono che sul, Virginian, si ... (Goodreads)

  68. Home

    by Marilynne Robinson
    A family's saga of tragedy and redemption, narrated in a lyrical and thought-provoking manner.

    Home parallels the story told in Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead. It is a moving and healing book about families, family secrets, and the passing of the generations, about love and death and ... (Goodreads)

  69. Nightwood

    by Djuna Barnes
    A lyrical exploration of the human condition, examining the innermost depths of the soul.

    Nightwood, Djuna Barnes' strange and sinuous tour de force, "belongs to that small class of books that somehow reflect a time or an epoch" (TLS). That time is the period between the two World Wars, ... (Goodreads)

  70. The Plain in Flames

    by Juan Rulfo
    A series of stories depicting the struggles and hardships of rural Mexican life.

    Desde su aparición en 1953, este libro de relatos del mexicano Juan Rulfo se ha traducido a más de veinticinco lenguas y ha dado lugar a múltiples y permanentes reediciones en los países de lengua ... (Goodreads)

  71. The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis

    by José Saramago
    A poet's journey of self-discovery in Portugal during the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar.

    The world's threats are universal like the sun but Ricardo Reis takes shelter under his own shadow. Back in Lisbon after sixteen years practicing medicine in Brazil, Ricardo Reis wanders the ... (Goodreads)

  72. Beauty and Sadness

    by Yasunari Kawabata
    An exploration of love and loss in a tragic romance between an aging artist and a young woman.

    Beauty and Sadness (Japanese: 美しさと哀しみと Utsukushisa to kanashimi to) is a 1964 novel by Japanese Nobel Prize winning author Yasunari Kawabata. Opening on the train to Kyoto, the narrative, in ... (Goodreads)

  73. Nicholas and Alexandra

    by Robert K. Massie
    An epic saga about the last Tsar of Russia and the fall of the Romanov dynasty.

    The story of the love that ended an empire. In this commanding book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Robert K. Massie sweeps readers back to the extraordinary world of Imperial Russia to tell the story ... (Goodreads)

  74. Bonjour Tristesse

    by Françoise Sagan
    Coming of age tale of a young girl learning to navigate the complexities of love and relationships.

    17-year-old Cécile spends her summer in a villa on the French Riviera with her father Raymond and his current mistress, the young, superficial, fashionable Elsa, who gets on well with Cécile. Raymond ... (Wikipedia)

  75. Where I'm Calling From: New and Selected Stories

    by Raymond Carver
    An exploration of human relationships and the complexity of emotions.

    By the time of his early death in 1988, Raymond Carver had established himself as one of the greatest practitioners of the American short story, a writer who had not only found his own voice but ... (Goodreads)

  76. The General in His Labyrinth

    by Gabriel García Márquez
    An aging general embarks on a journey to the end of his life, reflecting on his past and the legacy he will leave behind.

    The novel is written in the third-person with flashbacks to specific events in the life of Simón Bolívar, "the General". It begins on May 8, 1830 in Santa Fe de Bogotá . The General is preparing for ... (Wikipedia)

  77. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

    by Mitch Albom
    A sweeping musical journey through the life of a Spanish guitar prodigy.

    “Talent is a piece of God’s shadow, and under that shadow, human stories intersect.,”, A Spanish war orphan born in a burning church and raised by a blind guitar teacher, Frankie Presto was gifted ... (Barnes & Noble)

  78. The Disconnected

    by Oğuz Atay
    Explorations of the inner self and the everyday life of a group of university students.

    Türk edebiyatının en önemli eserlerinden biri olan Tutunamayanlar'ı Berna Moran, "hem söyledikleri hem de söyleyiş biçimiyle bir başkaldırı" olarak niteler. Moran'a göre "Oğuz Atay'ın mizah gücü, ... (Goodreads)

  79. The Cask of Amontillado - an Edgar Allan Poe Short Story

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    A tale of revenge and retribution, forcibly trapping a foe in a ghoulish crypt.

    The story's narrator, Montresor, tells an unspecified person, who knows him very well, of the day he took his revenge on Fortunato (Italian for "the fortunate one"), a fellow nobleman. Angry over ... (Wikipedia)

  80. The Tale of Genji

    by Murasaki Shikibu
    A classic Japanese novel about the romantic life of a nobleman and his various loves.

    The work recounts the life of, Hikaru Genji, , or "Shining Genji", the son of an ancient Japanese emperor , known to readers as Emperor Kiritsubo, and a low-ranking, but beloved concubine called ... (Wikipedia)

  81. Death and the Penguin

    by Andrey Kurkov
    A Ukrainian journalist's surreal journey of self-discovery and moral soul-searching.

    Viktor is an aspiring writer with only Misha, his pet penguin, for company. Although he would prefer to write short stories, he earns a living composing obituaries for a newspaper. He longs to see ... (Goodreads)

  82. If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

    by Sappho
    Poetic exploration of love and desire, reflecting on the beauty of life and nature.

    By combining the ancient mysteries of Sappho with the contemporary wizardry of one of our most fearless and original poets, If Not, Winter provides a tantalizing window onto the genius of a woman ... (Barnes & Noble)

  83. Autobiography of Red

    by Anne Carson
    A modern retelling of Greek myth, exploring the intersections of love, art, and identity.

    The award-winning poet Anne Carson reinvents a genre in Autobiography of Red , a stunning work that is both a novel and a poem, both an unconventional re-creation of an ancient Greek myth and a ... (Goodreads)

  84. The Book of Disquiet

    by Fernando Pessoa
    A collection of philosophical reflections on life, love and fate.

    Fernando Pessoa was many writers in one. He attributed his prolific writings to a wide range of alternate selves, each of which had a distinct biography, ideology, and horoscope. When he died in ... (Goodreads)

  85. The Wasteland, Prufrock and Other Poems

    by T.S. Eliot
    A poetic exploration of loneliness and despair in the modern world.

    This volume brings together three of T. S. Eliot's powerful collections into one. It includes such classic poems as "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "Portrait of a Lady," "Preludes," ... (Goodreads)

  86. Phantom

    by Susan Kay
    The story of the legendary Phantom of the Opera, a tale of love, tragedy, and redemption.

    The Phantom is born as Erik in Boscherville , a small town not far from Rouen , in the summer of 1831. His mother is the beautiful and talented daughter of an English woman and a French architect, a ... (Wikipedia)

  87. Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems

    by Billy Collins
    Collection of poems exploring the beauty of everyday life.

    Sailing Alone Around the Room , by America’s Poet Laureate, Billy Collins, contains both new poems and a generous gathering from his earlier collections The Apple That Astonished Paris , Questions ... (Goodreads)

  88. The Alexandria Quartet

    by Lawrence Durrell
    Four novels exploring the intricacies of human relationships in the exotic city of Alexandria.

    Lawrence Durrell's series of four novels set in Alexandria, Egypt during the 1940s. The lush and sensuous series consists of Justine (1957) Balthazar (1958) Mountolive (1958) Clea (1960). Justine , ... (Goodreads)

  89. Letter from an Unknown Woman: The Fowler Snared

    by Stefan Zweig
    A woman's mysterious letter reveals a tragic story of unrequited love and longing.

    A rich and well-known writer (R.), returning home to Vienna from one of many holidays, finds a long letter from an unknown woman (Fräulein). As a teenager the woman had lived with her poor widowed ... (Wikipedia)

  90. Falling Angels

    by Tracy Chevalier
    Family drama spanning three generations of two Victorian families in London.

    In her New York Times bestselling follow-up, Tracy Chevalier once again paints a distant age with a rich and provocative palette of characters. Told through a variety of shifting perspectives- wives ... (Goodreads)

  91. Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

    by Chuck Klosterman
    An exploration of life and death, featuring road trips to music-related death sites.

    Building on the national bestselling success of, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, preeminent pop culture writer Chuck Klosterman unleashes his best book yet—the story of his cross-country tour of sites ... (Goodreads)

  92. Time Enough for Love

    by Robert A. Heinlein
    A journey through time and space, exploring the boundaries of love, death and existence.

    The book covers several periods from the life of Lazarus Long (born Woodrow Wilson Smith), an early beneficiary of a breeding experiment designed to increase mankind's natural lifespan. The ... (Wikipedia)

  93. Other Voices, Other Rooms

    by Truman Capote
    A young man's search for identity, love and acceptance in a mysterious southern mansion.

    After his mother's death, 13-year-old Joel Harrison Knox, a lonely, effeminate boy, is sent from New Orleans, Louisiana , to live with his father, who abandoned him at the time of his birth. Arriving ... (Wikipedia)

  94. The Complete Short Novels

    by Anton Chekhov
    A collection of short stories and novellas exploring the complexity of human nature.

    Anton Chekhov, widely hailed as the supreme master of the short story, also wrote five works long enough to be called short novels. Here, brought together in one volume for the first time, in a ... (Goodreads)

  95. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall

    by Kazuo Ishiguro
    A collection of tales exploring the connections between music, memory, and the night.

    One of the most celebrated writers of our time gives us his first cycle of short fiction: five brilliantly etched, interconnected stories in which music is a vivid and essential character. A ... (Goodreads)

  96. The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories

    by Carson McCullers
    Collection of stories exploring the complexities of the human condition.

    A classic work that has charmed generations of readers, this collection assembles Carson McCullers’s best stories, including her beloved novella “The Ballad of the Sad Café.” A haunting tale of a ... (Goodreads)

  97. Self-Help

    by Lorrie Moore
    Collection of humorous short stories exploring the lives of characters facing disappointments and heartbreaks.

    In these tales of loss and pleasure, lovers and family, a woman learns to conduct an affair, a child of divorce dances with her mother, and a woman with a terminal illness contemplates her exit. ... (Goodreads)

  98. The Pursuit of Love

    by Nancy Mitford
    A family saga of love, loss, and desire in early 20th-century England.

    The narrator is Fanny, whose mother (called "The Bolter" for her habit of serial monogamy) and father have left her to be brought up by her Aunt Emily and the valetudinarian Davey, whom Emily marries ... (Wikipedia)

  99. The Colossus and Other Poems

    by Sylvia Plath
    A collection of poems exploring the topics of death, despair, and identity.

    With this startling, exhilarating book of poems, which was first published in 1960, Sylvia Plath burst into literature with spectacular force. In such classics as "The Beekeeper's Daughter," "The ... (Goodreads)

  100. The Maias

    by Eça de Queirós
    A romantic family drama set in 19th century Portugal, exploring the decline of traditional values.

    The book begins with the characters Carlos Eduardo da Maia, João da Ega, Afonso da Maia and Vilaça in the family's old house with plans to reconstruct it. The house, nicknamed "Ramalhete" (bouquet), ... (Wikipedia)

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