Astanic verses discussion
all-time favorites
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Не понимаю, зачем L'Ecume des Jours надо переводить на английский, хотя ты читал её по-русски, а написана она по-французски? А вообще, ряд нестройный и довольно безвкусно подобранный :)
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Ряд не «подобран» — это то, что понравилось!
However, I would like to enrich this simple list with my personal thoughts and subjective one-two line reviews of each book.
The Little Prince. I read it first when I was a child. Probably in elementary school, all I remember from my first reading is nice soft cover and pictures, and that particular story of a drinking man. I read it, and re-read, and re-re-read a few times when I was already in college. The book still fascinates me with its light style and wonderful ideas.
Pride and Prejudice. No, it’s not a “girls” book. Whatever the subject be, the plot is structured perfectly and Jane Austen’s style is simply flawless. I am ashamed for having read it only this year. Really a masterpiece.
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is one of rather underrated Lovecraft’s works. It is not a typical lovecraftian horror story and predates fantasy genre. It creates a bizarrely beautiful dream world and has a wonderful ending. This is the book that, along with Love in the Time of Cholera and Foam of Daze, deserves to be read at least for its last line.
Foam of Daze is brilliant in many ways. It’s a love story, it’s a story about devotion and death adorned by humor, wordplay, jazz, and many many flowers. Read it till the very last line.
Six Characters in Search of an Author is a meta-play by Nobel prize winner Luigi Pirandello. This innovative play has an important place in the cultural history of XX and my bookshelf. Oh, and I saw the actual play in Italian when I was in Bologna in 2009.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being. When I first read Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera, I didn’t like the author. However, Chiara, my Italian teacher, strongly advised to read this book. I don’t know, maybe it just came “at the right time”, but it affected my life at a certain period. So far, it’s not my most favorite book, but probably the most influential. And yes, I like Kundera.
The Silmarillion is a classic: a complete mythology created by one man. I remember first reading it in Russian years ago and then going to webforums and message boards created by Tolkien fans. One of them sent me a used copy of this book in English. I would read it aloud and even recite some lines. It was my bed-side book for many years.
Caligula by Albert Camus is one of my favorite existential texts, despite being a play (I don’t really like reading plays). I read it back in 2009, my last year in college. I guess it reflects many of my wannabe-existential thoughts of that period.
Picture of Dorian Gray is a perfectly written book. I think, this is why it became one of my all-time favorites: the structure of the book is impeccable and Wilde’s wits made this book a collection of aphorisms. I rate this book as high as I would rate Pride and Prejudice
Wind, Sand and Stars by Saint-Exupéry is not as popular as The Little Prince, but is equally beautiful. Read at least Chapter V.
Fruits of Earth is a piece of prose written by a poet. Or verses written by a writer. Sad, lyrical, and full of romance. It’s my first text by André Gide who immediately became one of my favorite writers.
Strait is the Gate must be the book that influenced Camus and Sartre the most. It deals with religion and love, it made me want to read Pascal, but first of all, read all other Gide’s works.
The Castle of Crossed Destinies—may not be the best of Calvino’s works. But this one I enjoyed the most, maybe because it is the only Calvino’s novel I read in Italian, but mostly because of its structure. Combinatorics and literature–how many other books blend them together so powerfully?
But when it comes to choose the best of Calvino… If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler is only one of the many novels within the frame novel. Well, it’s not actually a frame story, it’s… I don’t know. But what I know is that this is a hyper-novel. Read it!
I don’t want to spoil Love in the Time of Cholera, I just suggest to read it. It’s a typical Marquez’s magic realism novel. Only it is about lifetime love.
The Metamorphosis was the first Kafka’s story I read. Again, it was love from the first line. When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, I fell in love with Franz Kafka.
The Master and Margarita is my favorite book ever. Behemoth is the wittiest and funniest character ever. In my opinion, it is the best Russian novel written in XX century. Enough said.
Last three books in my list were written by the same author. XX century literature wouldn’t be the same without Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov. The Gift, Pale Fire, and Lolita (in this order) should be included in any best-novels list. Lolita is reputedly his most widely known novel, however, in my opinion, its fame overshadows his other not less brilliant works. Oh, and I still need to read Ada or Ardor, maybe I can find a room for another Nabokov’s novel in my list.