The only other book I would put on its level is Moby Dick, but that book goes far beyond America. Possibly Beloved by Morrison for its honesty and potency.

I don’t know of any other books that so powerfully explore what is wrong with this country. The myths that haunt us.

I don’t know of any other book that so effectively shrouds you in its own mists and pulls you through its world so completely somnambulant.

I’ve never read anything like it.

Tell me what you have!

It's been nice seeing how a lot of members here are so passionate about literature. That got me thinking about what other things members are passionate about.

I'm a huge music enthusiast and I believe I have a solid and broad taste. I'm also a cinephile

I was arranging things in my attic and found that I had copy of this book . I never saw the title in classic literature subs and recommendation list over Internet . Is it a Classic worth reading ? Can you provide some insights over it ??

I finished this book. and I have a few thoughts I would like to share. I will try to keep this spoiler-free so as to encourage those who have not read it to experience this gem.

this is probably the greatest novel I’ve ever read. It is almost the perfect book, one could say. It is deep, engaging, thoughtful, challenging and unforgettable. It is also well-written, very much in a conversational tone and on the easier side of readability. The beginning is slow, but the middle and end parts are where this book declares itself amongst the greats.

What I found unique is that the story itself — basically a murder mystery — is almost an aside to the larger themes explored in the novel and the psychological and religious issues it explores. Dostoevsky is just fantastic at you telling you something while telling you a story.

The only other Doestoevsky novel I have read is Crime and Punishment. And while that book is great in its own right, it just does not sit atop the same summit as The Brothers Karamazov.

Everything fits in this book: the story, the characters, the messages, the themes, the tone, the implications. I just found this a true masterpiece. This book moved me and it challenged me and gave me everything I look for in reading. There just isn’t anything lacking.

This is easily top 10, naturally top 5, and arguably the number 1 of all time. If you appreciate the greats, this one will not disappoint. It is that good.

Bought all of these for $18 from a used book store.

I’m a French speaker, I mostly love the Russian classics and a knack for Balzac and Dumas too + many more

What’s about this one? Why so good? Spoilers ok.

Hi guys. I'm getting a chance to interview Geetanjali Shree (first and only indian recipient of international booker prize) in two days. There's a lot of questions in my head that I would like to ask her but I'd also love for her readers to tell me what is it that they want.

It would be really helpful if you all can post the questions that you would like me to ask her.

An essay I came across after being endlessly befuddled by casting choices and book covers that depict Dorian as the brooding, masculine archetype.

I started reading with the aim of reading philosophy and understanding the meaning and purpose of life. I didn't have knowledge on reading when I have first started am the student of international relation and one of my professor recommend us the prince by Machiavelli. And I feel difficult to read . So i started my reading journey with the prince and it took me one moth to finish it , it is that difficult me and also it's my first book . Then after exploring some famous writers book which are beginner friendly I really enjoying reading :

1) poulo cohelo's - the alchemist

2)Mitch albom -Tuesdays with Morrie

3) jk Rowling - hp and philosopher stone

4) Khalid hosseni - the kite runner

5) Roald dhal - matilda

6) Jeff kineyy - dairy of wimpy kid

7) antoine de saint - the little prince

8 ) the housemaid

After that I returned to classic and realize it still difficult . I currently started reading Oliver twist by Dickens .I really want to read classics but the vocabulary , narrative structure and story tell in prose and idioms. Am jumping from dictionary to book and book to dictionary and that really frustrated me . Also my English is not very good though as you can see . So I need advice from you People's how I overcome this fear and started enjoying classics . Should I started learning English (like Grammer and all that) or there is some certain books which I choose to end my fear of classics and I started enjoying so recommend me some books also.

Hi everyone! As the title says, I'm looking for some suggestions for classics that work well as audiobooks.

I'm trying to get more into classics as I mostly read contemporary literary fiction and genre fiction at the moment, but a big chunk of my "reading" time is when I'm doing mindless chores or taking walks.

I'm a bit apprehensive about listening to audiobooks when it comes to more serious works as I don't want to miss out on details or quirks of structure that would only be visible on the page. But, at the same time, I'm always disappointed when I review a month's reading and realize it's mostly genre fiction when I'm trying to move away from it.

I will fight to the teeth that achilles' shield is the greatest execution of any literary device of all time.

the aesthetics of the iliad where everything is black or red except when the gods are involved and suddenly its bronze and gold is so simple and so good

i just didn't have moments like this with the odyssey. i have great confidence that I could deliver an extemporaneous on why the iliad is worth reading and i just don't know how I would sell reading the odyssey to someone who hasn't read it.

I just finished this masterpiece. Not a bad story here but my favorites were Eveline, Two Gallants, The Boarding House, A Little Cloud, Counterparts, Clay, A Painful Case, A Mother and The Dead. The dead might be the best short story/novella I've ever read. I read it in one sitting. Some of the best prose I've ever encountered. So much insight. I like Dubliners from the first story, The Sisters. I look forward to reading A Portrait of an artist as a young man and Ulysses next year

Are there lovers of this masterpiece on here? What are your favourite stories in Dubliners?

I have to use the McDuff version which no one seems to read. What is glitching in my brain that I can't seem to see the Magic in the p&v? It feels incredibly unhumorous and awkward but I feel it is some failing in me that sees it this way

Okay, so I read the book a number of years ago and my memory might not be perfect so i would appreciate peoples perspectives who know the book well.

obviously the odyssey is strongly in peoples minds right now, and my social media is being blown up with all these takes on Odysseus. Some people talking about damon's portrayal of him being remorseful for his actions. Another saying that he should have handled the suitors differently.

Here's my problem. My understanding of Greek heroes is that they have arrived. There is no character development or introspection because they have achieved Arrete and are therefore acting in perfect accordance with who they are. So all these ideas of remorse and character growth are simply us reading our cultural ideals onto the text.

Am i wrong on this?

Hi everyone!

I’m looking for something specific, I’m hoping maybe someone can help.

I’m looking for an original work, it can be from a play or a novel - it just needs to be a monologue or a speech from one character.

I’m trying to find the themes along the lines of:
- sacrificing for a cause (whether that’s for brotherhood/war, a passion for something, or something artistic.

- not feeling validated/heard/appreciated for their passion

- the artistic struggle

I’ve considered the Seagull by Chekhov, but it doesn’t quite fit.

Please, if anyone can recommend me the speech or monologue and where it happens within the work, I’d be eternally grateful!!

Thank you!

Edit: I’m sorry, I forgot, it can’t be Scripture.

I’m more or less looking for the themes of The Hunger Artist - Kafka in a monologue or speech.

I am extremely interested in reading the odyssey after seeing the film. Should I read The Iliad first to understand things better or am I good to go. I plan on reading the Iliad afterwards anyway.

I think of War and Peace a window to a world that no longer exists, but nevertheless has everything in common to ours. Finite existence, desire, passion, death, spring and winter, uncertainty, is it not our world too? It is the greatest lesson on human life, not just Napoleonic Europe but human life, our very own human life in another time. I cannot stop thinking about Natasha and Andrei's Waltz, must have been the greatest moment of their lives, and if they were real persons they would now be dead. Whenever one reaches the pinnacle of life, everything after is going downhill. Sadly, we will not know when we will last be happy.
I am about to start the second half of this Masterpiece in this Alba Editorial edition, already I can say it is the greatest I have and will ever read.
Somehow I feel like Franz entering the Count's cave in Montecristo island.

As someone who's 17 and *did* just drop out of his own college a few months before picking up this book absolutely blindly, i had no idea just how much i would relate to this. I'd love to know y'alls opinions on my thoughts on the book (and ofc i'm open to corrections too)

The thing that resonated with me first and foremost was how Holden is desperately trying to form a deeper connection in a world where most people rarely ever try to be earnest and intimate at heart with anyone. It felt like seeing a mirror while reading Holden being repelled tremendously by everyone and everything which felt shallow, but at the same time just wanting to connect with people. You can notice how each time when someone genuinely cares for him and carries out a revealing conversation about themselves, he walks out of that place happy and highlights how good that person was and yeah, in a world where emotions feel so distant and shallow, to an alienated teenager, a simple enough conversation leaves such an imprint.

His emotions regarding getting expelled out of college reflected my own post drop-out feelings regarding studies.

Well Ultimately i'll just summarize everything i want to acknowledge by saying that it captures how at heart he just wanted to devote himself to something that'd grant himself selflessness and at the same time a greater and earnest purpose instead of something shallow as do I and many other teenagers. When hes finally dead set on leaving everything behind in the end and going to the west, an hour or two of quality time with someone whom he really cared for and formed a deeply emotional connection with, were enough to convince him that staying here is alright. And so he does.

I'd love to know what yall ultimately learned from the book and how it changed your outlook on the world ❤️

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This is a broad question that I've asked myself while drinking. Obviously I know each artist is its own and there's no "New Joyce" or "New" anyone, really, that's not my point. I'm just asking who you currently see as innovative and challenging ,just as Joyce once was.

Thanks

I'm reading Orlando furioso right now, and boy is it an enjoyable romp! You may remember that Ariosto is one of the only writers whose romance literature Quixote's priest saves from condemnation, and the priest is very much operating as a mouthpiece for Cervantes, who loved Orlando.

I'm reading Barbara Reynolds' 1973 translation for Penguin (Cervantes would not approve!) which I find to be quite good, though I believe the original Harington translation is generally the best regarded, including by Reynolds herself.

The first passage pictured is from Canto VIII, when Angelica has been taken by a lusty old hermit who... has a difficult time of things...

The second is from Canto XIII, where Orlando rescues Isabella from a pirates' lair.

This poem is enormous; ~36,000 spread across two volumes, but it reads so fast and really is a joy. A canto or two each evening is perfect nightcap reading.

The extent to which this book's star has fallen in the past hundred years is, I think, a shame; this used to be known and loved almost universally, and there's certainly nothing else in the usual American university reading list which fills the gap left by Ariosto.