Hello there everybody, glad to be back here again after a eight months hiatus. This time I bring you ten books you have to read as soon as you can.
“Books are the best friends you can have; they inform you, and entertain you, and they don't talk back”. – John Steinbeck
According to something I read once, they say a person should read a minimum of 12 books every year. Well, my friends, I read 14 books last year. Reading develops your brain, helps you learn your own language and improves your vocabulary.
By the way, do you read with a dictionary at hand? I recommend you to do so.
This list is about 10 of the best of those books. I hope you like it.
Here we go.
10.The Rachel Papers (1973)
By Martin Amis
First book cover (via: Wikipedia)
"Since Henry Miller's Tropic books, of course, it has become difficult to talk sensibly about girls' cnts." –The Rachel Papers*
Charles Highway, a neurotic student of twenty years old, goes to live in London with his sister and her husband. There, he will have an on and off relationship with a girl named Gloria… but one day, at a party, he we’ll meet a strange and fascinating woman, that is Rachel. He begins courting her and things don’t go the way he wants; Rachel is so beautiful she is pursued by other guys, including a fat American living in London named DeForrest who happens to have a lot of money. But between his life as a student and his family he manages to win Rachel. The pair become boyfriend and girlfriend. DeForrest is left devastated and even starts crying one day in front of them. Lots of parties, booze, smoke and sex will follow. But Charles has to continue with his life and his ambitions of entering a prestigious college. Then, he will have to decide what part Rachel is going to play in his life.
London’s Carnaby Street in 1966 (Via: Wikimedia Commons)
A nice book, not great but still worth the reading. Too bad it goes to the lefty side of politics a couple of times; the character of Charles Highway is not a likeable one. Charles’ brother-in-law is made look like a brutish goon just for his right-wing views. In another part, Charles speaks badly about his own father just because the man has taken a healthy lifestyle, staying away from smoking and alcohol, and keeping himself in shape. The Rachel Papers was Martin Amis’ first book and it has the style of a writer that is here to stay; it won the Somerset Maugham award in 1974. Amis, born in 1949, has written 15 novels; his most famous work is Money released in 1984. In The Rachel Papers the nightlife of London, the family meetings, parties and sex scenes are described in an ironic but nice way. There are some funny parts too. There is movie adaptation made in 1989, I haven’t seen it. So give this one a try, your mind won’t be blown away but you’ll have a nice time.
9.Tender is the Night (1934)
By F. Scott Fitzgerald
A book cover (Via: lemuriabooks.com)
“Actually that’s my secret — I can’t even talk about you to anybody because I don’t want any more people to know how wonderful you are.” –Tender is the Night
Set in the 1920s, a well-off American psychiatrist living in Switzerland will see his life crumble after his addictions take the best of him. Dick Diver will marry the rich, beautiful but troublesome Nicole, after that marriage he embark in a life only as extraordinary you have to read it to believe it. Dick and Nicole, along with their rich friends, will start a flamboyant way of life traveling across Europe. The French Riviera, Paris and Italy will be their mayor living places. A lot of booze, parties and even the covering of a murder will take their toll on Dick Diver. One day he will meet a gorgeous Hollywood actress named Rosemary, they will start a secret romance that will have Dick getting in all kinds of trouble, including a fight and prison in Italy. Nicole will start an affair with an impetuous French soldier. After his father dies, Dick Diver will see his rich friends turning their backs on him.
A view of Nice, France (Via: pixabay)
Published is 1934, Tender is the Night was Fitzgerald’s fourth and final novel. Very well written, it has a force very few novels of these times have; on the down side, it has been accused of being a little feminist and kind of long and vague at times. I wish the genius of Fitzgerald would have given us more stories like this one. It has booze, drama, laughter, lavish parties, dances, beautiful beaches, fabulous cars, magnificent landscapes, gorgeous women, the movie industry, deception, romance, betrayal, fights, cruelty, murder, happiness, the excess of the Jazz Age. A magnificent classic of the 20th century, do not miss it.
8.The Song of the Nibelungs (circa 1200)
By: Anonymous
Siegfried's Departure from Kriemhild, by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, ca. 1843 (Via: Wikimedia Commons)
“We have been told in ancient tales many marvels of famous heroes, of mighty toil, joys, and high festivities, of weeping and wailing, and the fighting of bold warriors – of such things you can now hear wonders unending!” –The Song of the Nibelungs
The hero Siegfried, the son of of Siegmund and Sieglinde, is famous for his battles and his feats. One day he will go to Worms and meets the beautiful Kriemhild, he marries her on the condition he helps Kriemhild’s brother, Gunther, win the heart of another woman. Siegfried agrees. But now Kriemhild has problems with her brother’s new wife which will lead to the betrayal of Siegfried and his eventual murder by the hands of the evil Hagen. Also, Siegfried’s treasure is hidden by this Hagen. Kriemhild will remarry again and her new husband will help her revenge the death of her beloved Siegfried. A story of knights, princesses, kings, kingdoms, battles, love, jealousy, betrayal and vengeance will follow along with the search for Siegfried’s treasure: The Nibelung itself.
Peter von Cornelius. Hagen orders servants to sink the hoard in the Rhine (1859) (Via: Wikimedia Commons)
Written in High German, in the beginnings of the 13th century in Austria, this great tale of heroism and tragedy has been attributed to different writers of its time but the true identity of its author remains a mystery to this day. The manuscript was discovered in Hohenems, Austria, in 1755 and it’s composed by 39 songs and each one of them has the title of the adventure that follows. The first part tells the story of the hero Sigfrid when he goes to Worms, has a number of adventures, meets the beautiful Kriemhild and is finally betrayed and murdered. Later comes Kriemhild’s vengeance and the extermination of the Burgundians. According to Britannica: “Probably no literary work has given more to Germanic arts than the Nibelungenlied”. It’s a fascinating, tragic and enduring tale will continue inspiring people forever. There have been adaptations in cinema but the most significant is the opera by Richard Wagner of the 19th century. One of the best tales of medieval literature you cannot miss.
7.The God of Small Things (1997)
By Arundhati Roy
(Via: https://www.bookishsanta.com/blogs/booklings-world/the-god-of-small-things-by-arundhati-roy)
'They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much.' – The God of Small Things
Rahel and her twin brother Estha enjoy a rather peaceful childhood in the India of the 1960s. One day, during an innocent family outing to go and see The Sound of Music, a despicable fat man does something terrible to Estha and this will leave him traumatized for the rest of his life. He keeps quiet about it; only Rahel, due to the special connection she has with her brother knows his secret. Life goes on until one a cousin from Britain, a girl the same age as the twins, comes to visit. And a tragedy will occur and this will lead to the horrible murder of an innocent man. The family concludes that bad things happen when the twins are together, so they are separated from each other. After 23 years apart, Rahel will return to India to look for her brother.
An Indian river at sunset. (Via: pixabay)
One of the best books of the 1990s and one of the most captivating books I have read in my entire life. A book that will touch your soul and break your heart. Its characters, story and flavors are amazing. It’s a book that can’t be left out of your personal library. It’s the perfect travel book. It’s brilliantly written melancholy, something like a love letter to life, love, family and India. It is estimated that the earnings of this book have given Roy 15 million dollars, so that must say something about it. I really hope you have the chance to read this one, it will stay in your memory forever.
6.The Double Bass (1981)
By Patrick Süskind
(Via: google.com)
“God gives good times and bad times, but He does not wish us to bemoan and bewail the bad times, but to prove ourselves men.” ― Patrick Süskind
A musician talking to himself is he only character in this short but nice little book. He drinks, puts music and talks about the music environment, the orchestra he plays in; he complains about his boss, the guy he hates, and the sorrows of being a musician. He mentions Mozart, Berlioz, Strauss, Saint-Saëns, Wagner, someone named Von Dittersdorf and a bunch of other musicians no one knows about. He thinks (and he’s very right so) that the whole human society should be very well organized and hierarchies must be observed, just like in a music orchestra. And later, finally, he speaks about other of his sorrows, Sarah, a small woman with black eyes, a soprano, the woman he secretly loves, but she doesn’t even know he exists. Music is eternal, no other art can’t come near it.
A panoramic view of Munich (Via: Wikimedia Commons)
Süskind is somewhat a one hit wonder of literature. After taking the world by a storm with the magnificent The Perfume, in 1985, he wrote a couple of books that didn’t make it. He retired to live as recluse in Munich and in a little town in France. I have read three books by him, all three are very good. I recommend you to start with this one, that is play that hasn’t gone anywhere since its premiere. Then, you can read The Pigeon. And if you haven’t read The Perfume yet well, my friend, you don’t know what you are doing with your life.
5.For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940)
By Ernest Hemingway
(Via: https://www.dustjackets.com/pages/books/4551/ernest-hemingway/for-whom-the-bell-tolls)
“The world is a fine place and worth fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.” ― For Whom the Bell Tolls
In the 1930s and after living in Paris for a while Robert Jordan, an American volunteer living in Spain, finds himself fighting for the wrong side of the war: the side of the supposedly good guys who are in fact just a bunch of savage communists living in poor conditions inside caves hidden in the mountains. The group pass their days inside the cave smoking, getting drunk, talking gibberish, arguing about food and bragging about how many innocent people, including business men, catholic priests and other civilians, they have killed. Jordan falls for María, a beautiful shy Spanish girl who was raped by Spanish soldiers. After a couple of battles with the Spanish army, led by a lieutenant named Berrendo, Jordan has to set a bunch of explosives to blow a strategic bridge. But by doing his duty he is almost sure of the consequences his actions will bring.
Robert Capa, The Falling Soldier, 1936 (Via: http://www.librediariodigital.net)
A book that has been acclaimed for its writing mastery. It is often included in the best novels lists of the 20th century and one of the best war novels of all times. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize From and has been acclaimed from the likes of Juan Villoro and Gabriel García Márquez. It is one of Hemingway's best works, along with A Moveable Feast and The Old Man and the Sea. It is a pop culture reference with multiple movie adaptations and music and video games mentions; a classic song by Metallica has the same title. A triumph of literature even if I don’t agree with its message.
4.The Little Prince (1943)
By Antoine de Saint-Exupery
First book cover (via: Wikipedia)
“When he has finished getting himself ready in the morning, he must go get the planet ready”. – The Little Prince
One day a pilot crashes his plane in the vast Sahara desert. There, a curious blonde boy, dressed as a prince, asks him to draw him a little lamb. The pilot decides to call this boy The Little Prince. The boy comes from a very small distant planet named B612; there, he lives alone with three small volcanoes, the roots of baobab trees and a bright red rose. One day he decides to leave his planet and travel through space. He will visit seven planets and will meet other curious characters, a king, a vain man, a drunkard, a business man, a lamplighter and a geographer; all of these guys will leave an impression on him. Then, he arrives on Earth where he will meet a snake, a fox and finally the pilot. It will be the fox who will tell him a secret that makes The Little Prince realize something. He decides to go back to his planet, but to get there he will have to do something terrible.
The 2015 movie adaptation. (Via: The New York Times)
A book I have read like four times and still fascinates me. It only gets better every time I read it. Since its publication, this little book hasn’t stopped generating debates, controversies and discussions about its meaning. It has sold 200 million copies worldwide. It is the most sold book in the world, after the Bible. Although the 2015 movie adaptation is quite good, it deviates from the main story to show us The Little Prince as a grown up beta male and The Business Man as a big fat greedy bad guy; so, just stick to the book that is so much better. Full with imagination, magic and symbolisms, The Little Prince has been confusing and marveling readers around the world for decades. Will continue to do so in the future.
3.The Great Gatsby (1925)
By F. Scott Fitzgerald
First book cover by Francis Cugat, next, a picture of Fitzgerald (Via: https://bookstr.com/article/the-bizarre-story-behind-the-great-gatsbys-cover-art/)
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since: "Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had." – The Great Gatsby
Nick Carraway, a young man from Chicago, moves to New York City to start a career in stock trading. He rents a house in upstate New York next to big swanky mansion where there are always wild parties. He reconnects with his rich cousin Daisy and meets her husband, Tom Buchanan, and the alluring golf player Jordan Baker. One day he receives an invitation to one of those parties, there he will meet the man himself, Mr. Jay Gatsby. Everybody has a tale about Gatsby and their own explanation on how the man suddenly became so rich. It will be later in the story when Gatsby will tell Nick Carraway his whole story. Turns out Gatsby build his lavish empire just to impress and win the heart of an old love, a woman he had a romance with but had to leave behind when he was recruited for World War I, and that woman is Daisy, Nick’s cousin. Gatsby and Daisy will reconnect their love and in one particular and memorable scene she will start crying when she sees all the beautiful and expensive shirts Gatsby has in his closet. Meanwhile Nick will start a romantic relationship with Miss Jordan Baker, and Tom Buchanan will continue his secret affair with the wife of a gas station owner. Lots of parties, jazz and booze will come along. But after a terrible accident things won’t go well for Jay Gatsby.
Leo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in a 2013 movie adaptation (Via: Collider.com)
A book that every man here must read in his life. I have lost count the number of times I have read this one, must have been like four or five, and every time I finish reading it I want to read it again. It is Fitzgerald’s masterpiece. T.S. Elliot once said after its publication in 1925 that this novel was the first major step in American literature since the days of Henry James. Too bad Fitzgerald only wrote four novels before his premature death in 1940 at age 44, it would have been great to have more of his works; his short novels are also classics of literature. He had a tumultuous relationship with his wife, Zelda, never own a house, lived a great life in Europe and is credited to have coined the term “T-Shirt”. The character of Jay Gatsby is a reference in American culture and in 2002 was named the best character of literature since the year 1900. The Great Gatsby may represent how alluring but and the same time confusing and misleading can be the American Dream.
2.The Brothers Karamazov (1880)
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
(Via: thelondonmagazine.com)
“A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest form of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal in satisfying his vices. And it all comes from lying — to others and to yourself.” – The Brothers Karamazov
The story of a rich and despicable man and his three sons. Alyosha, the younger one, will be the main protagonist of this novel of love, hate, money, faith, morality, secrets, tears and murder. One day the father is murdered and Dmitri, his first son, will be accused of the crime. Then, we will find out that the old man had a bastard son with a servant woman. Alyosha will have to do everything he can to help his brother prove his innocence.
Ilya Repin – They did not Expect Him (1888) (Via: Wikimedia Commons)
I have to admit that, although is a great book, I’m not crazy about this one. I spend like four months reading it from beginning to end. It’s very well written but at the same time is too detailed. Great characters and a great family story. A book every man here should read at least once in his life (if he has the time, the patience and the nerve). It is Dostoevsky must praised book after Crime and Punishment. An enduring classic that very few books ever since have been able to match. If The Godfather (1972) is the best family movie of all times, The Brothers Karamazov is probably the best family book ever written. So read it when you can and don’t rush to finish it!
1.The Estate (1969)
By Isaac Bashevis Singer
(Via: goodreads.com)
"Life is God's novel. Let him write it.” – Isaac Bashevis Singer
It’s the end on the 19th century and the same characters of The Manor are back in this sequel, twenty years later. The old Calman Jacoby, once a rich man, is now a poor man devoted to his Jewish religion. His ex-wife, Clara, will go to New York City in the hopes of getting her ex-lover back. The despicable Sasha, the only son of Calman and Clara, will grow up to become a corrupt business man. Ezriel, Calman’s son-in-law, an atheist medicine doctor, will take a major role in this story. Also, we will meet the fates of Calman’s four daughters from his first marriage: Jochebed, Shaindel, Zipele and Miriam Lieba. The good-to-nothing, criminal and murderer Lucian, Miriam Lieba’s husband, will also have his share of sorrows here. In New York City, Clara will have an encounter by chance with a man she used to hate and who is now a very wealthy man. An incident with a secret letter will leave Clara doubting of the people she thought she knew so well. The old Jewish religion is also one of the forces that revolts around all of these terrific characters. From Warsaw, to Paris, to New York and Palestine and ending in Poland again, they will suffer, laugh, love, travel, pray, get sick, live and die in this extraordinary story, only conceived by a master like Singer.
Childe Hassam – Rainy Day, Boston (1885) (Via: Wikimedia Commons)
The second part of the excellent The Manor of 1967. It follows the ups and downs of the Jacob family in a captivating way that won’t let put the book down. Of course you have to read The Manor first to understand what’s happening, and a lot of fans say that although The Manor is a better book, The Estate is as strong, if not more, than its predecessor. Isaac Bashevis singer is the most perfect writer I have ever encountered. He was virtually unknown until he won the Nobel Literature Prize in 1978. I discovered him a long time ago when I was reading a Henry Miller biography and Miller said that when he started writing he took Knut Hamsun as his model, and if he would have started later he would have taken Singer: “Everything he writes is perfect”. I have read The Manor like six times, I even gave a copy to a friend as a gift. I read The Estate in December of 2019 and it left me so amazed I had to start reading it again, something like that has never happened to me before with a book, any book, and I read it again last year; it is the best sequel I have ever read. If you haven’t read anything by Isaac Bashevis Singer, I recommend you to start right now, what are you waiting for? His books will reach your heart.
I hope this post will make you read this books, at least once in your life. Remember: Life is short, so don’t waste it. Start reading more fiction books and stay away from TV.
So, what do you think? Have you read any of this books? Do you have another book recommendations you want to share with us? If so, leave them in the comments below.
(Image at the beginning: via pixabay)
Thank you for stopping by, don’t forget to upvote and please… Make literature great again!
Until next time.
Take care.
Orlando, The reading man.