Frankenstein

When I started this journey into books that will someday, well into retirement (which I keep hoping will happen sooner rather than later with a large lottery winning), end, there were a couple books that I'd already read. Okay, a couple more than a couple. But in the grand scheme of 1001 books, 21 or whatevermynumberis, is not all that impressive. Some of the books that I've previously read were good. Some were bad. This is a review of one particular bad one.

It's Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Now, please understand that I did not hate everythinig about this book. There are many goood parts. Well, I'm sure that there is at least one good part...I can't think of one, but I'm sure there is one in there somewhere. It's long enough that she should have been able to make part of it readable.

We all know the basic story, whether or not we know the details. A guy creates a monster. The monster runs amok. Blah, blah, blah. Now, the better story is to create some creepy mad scientist with a hump backed, one small eye, one large eyed assistant that limps and speaks with a lisp brings brains to the crazy scientist at which point the monster, who is green with bolts in his neck and named Frankenstein, comes to life and kills everyone in classic horror monster fashion. You know the way, walking slowly, arms outstretched in front, while the victim runs helplessly away tripping over their own feet. The speed at which the monster catchs the victim is directly proportionate to how many growls the monster lets out and how fast the victim is running. The faster they appear to be running, the slower the monster is walking, however, the power of the growls is often underestimated...it some how speeds the monster up while slowly the victim. This often leads to a pile of mangled bodies, which the hump backed, one small eye, one large eyed assistant that limps and speaks with a lisp brings to his crazy scientist master in order for him to make, oh, I don't know, a pale woman with hair like Marge Simpson except black with white stripes in it, and in traditional mysogistic fashion, she's simply named "The Bride of Frankenstein".

Well, this book was none of that. There was a scientist (Frankenstein) and there was a monster (Frankenstein's Monster, bolts not included). There were also desires from the Monster to create a Bride. It was a little difficult to understand this as the Monster, despite his incredible ability to learn language at an expediated rate, just seemed to complain a lot. Once the monster was created, the story flips between him and Frankenstein. So we have one chapter of the monster, who has an immense vocabulary and understanding of language, despite his hiding in a barn and learning language from some country folk in Switzerland, spends his entire vocabulary complaining. Pair this up with every other chapter about Frankenstein complaining for having ever created the monster and refusing to make the monster's bride. This goes on for, oh, I don't know, a couple of hundred pages or so, until finally they end up in some remote location (which is actually how the book starts, it's all flashback) with the monster chasing Frankenstein around the world.

While the book does hold it's place in literary history as, essentially, the first gothic novel, in my honest opinion it isn't able to keep the reader interested. At least it wasn't able to keep this reader interested. I don't particularly like hearing people complain about how horrible their lives are. I feel like the story would have been better with the Hollywood spin on it. It would at least have some action rather than Frankenstein running away and the monster trundling along behind him (not even grunting, because he could actually talk [see comment on country folk]). Maybe it was the time that it was written where we, as people, didn't regularly see people with knives attached to their hands, entering people's dreams in a red and green sweater and a scruffy brown hat.

Morale of the Story: Don't create a monster unless you want to kill yourself already, because the monster's complaining alone will only lead you to want to kill yourself.

Silas Marner

Silas Marner is a weaver. Early on in his life, he is wrongfully accused of stealing gold from a local priest and leaves his community, having lost all faith in God. He settles down in a new village and becomes a weaver. Spending days on end at his loom, his only joy is counting his gold, which is earned from weaving. At some point, his gold is stolen, and he spends several more miserable years as a miser, until out of the blue, a small child arrives at his door in the middle of the night. The child is taken in and named Eppie. She is the illegitimate daughter of Godfrey Cass, who is a local mover and shaker, and an opium addict.

Years pass, Godfrey gets married, and his wife Nancy is unable to have children. So, naturally, Godfrey comes to claim Eppie as his own, after sixteen years, and Eppie tells him that she would rather stay with Silas than be his daughter, even though being his daughter means that she can have all of the creature comforts that she wants. Silas is overjoyed, his gold is mysteriously returned to him, and the novel predictably ends with much rejoicing.

Through the whole book, I couldn't help but feel bad for Silas, because the majority of his life was joyless. He viewed the entire world as a scary place that was out to hurt him through his dull brown eyes, and took refuge in spinning, as it was something that he understood and didn't require him to interact with the world at large. Obviously, this all changes for him when Eppie arrives, because he has to learn how to care for a toddler and ensure that she is raised correctly.

The novel reads and ends somewhat like a fairy tale, starting with the words, "In the days when spinning wheels hummed busily in the farmhouses..." And like most fairy tales, this story has a very obvious set of morals.

I couldn't help but think about the whole idea of Silas leaving home and then eventually raising a child as his own, especially because this weekend, I went to Phillip's house for a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving. There was a relatively large group there of people who were all somehow connected to Phillip, whether they were friends of a friend of a friend that was in town visiting from Texas, or a former coworker or a college friend. Although many of the people there didn't know each other well, we all had a great time, and my stomach hurt from laughing so much. Even though we might be isolated either geographically or emotionally from the things that we are used to or the places and people that we grew up with, God provides us with our own makeshift family, whether it's in the form of a Pre-Thanksgiving Day gathering or the illegitimate child of an opium addict wandering up to our doorstep. And just like in Silas Marner, this makes us all rich in a way that cannot be reflected in a bank balance or pile of gold.

Overall, Silas Marner was a good story, but a tad on the predictable side. The morals of the story are fairly obvious and the characters were easy to identify with, even though this book was set in the 1800's. The one thing that made me sort of crazy was the dialogue, because the book is set in a backwater English countryside village in the 1800's, so the characters all speak with very choppy grammatically incorrect English for pages on end, which took me some time to get through because I was so caught up in trying to figure out what the words were, that I wasn't stringing them together to come up with what the characters were actually saying.

Moral of the Story: Love is more important than money. In the end, God will provide you with both....even if you lose faith.

About the author: George Eliot is actually a woman. Her real name was Mary Anne Evans

The Journey of 1001 Books

I purchased the book 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die recently. The major reason for this purchase was a) I'm a book nerd and love to read, though I don't do it enough, b) I was curious what books were on the list and c) I thought I'd be a lot farther with the list than I am.

I majored in English in college, so I did a fair share of reading. I also did a fair share of read Cliff's Notes. I flipped through the book, markig off the ones that I've read. Out of 1001 I think I've read about 21. 22 tops. Please don't say anything. I know, not good. I also realized that many of the books SHOULD have been read at some point in my literary career. But alas, I'm not stuck trying to catch up, and trying to catch up to Kimmmmm, who is some 15 books ahead of me. But I wanted to give a brief overview of the books that surprised me on the list.

They Weren't On It?

We all have favorite books. Books that we feel are in the top of the list that everyone should read. Now, I realize that many of my favorite books would by no means be considered among the 1001 best in the history of literature. But there are some, not necessarily my favorite, I want noted, that did not appear on the list.

The Diary of Anne Frank: This one is probably the most surprising to me. The major reason is that it is quite instrumental in our views of the Holocaust. It's a young girl, who was actually an incredible writer with phenomenal insight into the world, writing of her experience of being stuck in an attic for more than two years. I think the reason this wasn't included was because it's a diary, not so much a work of fiction.

Night: This is another Holocaust book that is Elie Weisel's (I'm sure I'm spelling that wrong) experience from the time he was captured and taken to a concentration camp to when he was freed. It's a short read, but is so breathtaking and sad, but hopeful at the same time. Again, I don't think this was necessarily included because it's a true story.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Probably Mark Twain's most famous book. I don't particularly like it, but it definitely has a place in literary history, so I was a little shocked it wasn't on the list. It's very much a young boy's illusions of the world. I think that Huck Finn is better, thus why that was included on the list. Of course, the bad parts of Huck Finn are when Tom Sawyer is included. So maybe that's why it wasn't included.

My Antonia: Now, I love My Antonia. I've read it multiple times. I think it's fantastic as a book about life during the time. To be honest, I wasn't surprised that My Antonia wasn't included as much as only one book by Willa Cather was included. Maybe this is my Senior year English professor talking, but Willa Cather, in my honest opinion, holds a place as one of the greatest "scene" writers in the English language. By saying that, I mean that her books focus so much on the scenary and character development, less than plot.

That Made The List?

This one is a little more fun, because I can look at the books and tell you which ones I hated. Of course, I'll go into more details about each one as the blog progresses. But here's a quick overview.

Frankenstein: Hated it. Why? All they do is complain. Frankenstein complains about the monster. The monster complains about Frankenstein and his creation. Someone kill themself. Please. I don't want to hear you complain anymore. It quickly reaches the point of "I want to kill myself just so I don't have to hear you complain about life. That being said, I think that Frankenstein definitely holds a place in literary history. It's really the first gothic novel that blazes the path for many novels to follow. It was also a very big deal because it was written by a woman.

The Virgin Suicides: Hated it. Why? B.O.R.I.N.G. Now, I liked the movie. Maybe because I was younger. Maybe because of Kirsten Dunst. Maybe...I don't know. But the book just drags, and drags, and drags. Boring. Now, there was some excellent descriptions in the book. However, the narrator doesn't really know why the girls kill themselves. It's all speculation. So really, there's no good reason. I have my own theories, though. They wanted to get out of the book.

I can't think of anymore at this particular time. Maybe more later. It's a little tricky because I don't have the book in front of me.

Moral of the Story: People are not going to have the same tastes as you so try to figure out why a book has been included as a MUST read.

A Start

1001 Book is pretty neat because it gives you a framework for what you are reading. Structure and order.... the very things that I crave in this world. I have a feeling that even if I don't like all of the books I end up reading, I'm not going to close them feeling like I lost brain cells (which did happen during "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic")

After my copy of 1001 arrived, I did a walkthrough and it turns out that I had already read 35 of the books listed, which means that I have a mere 966 books left to go and a lifetime to do it in. Of course, the list of 1001 isn't going to suit every single literary taste out there, so I am going to use this first post to throw out my two cents.

Books I would have left out:

"Blonde" by Joyce Carol Oates - this is supposed to be the inner monologue of Marilyn Monroe as she lives her tumultuous life in the spotlight. For the person who doesn't know much about the life and times of Marilyn, this book is a complete waste of time, because Oates will spend two sentences on a significant event and then devote the entire rest of the chapter to Marilyn's wandering drug induced mental ramblings. Sometimes, Marilyn's ramblings took the reader around the edges of events which I'm assuming were fairly significant, but never really disclosed. It confused and annoyed me. Then, at the end, with little to no forshadowing, Maryiln dies. I understand that this is how it happened in real life as well, and I apologize in advance if I have ruined this book for you.

"The Reader" by Bernard Schlink - I'm pretty sure that Bernard knew someone who was fairly influential to get one on the 1001 list. I've read the book - it's the story of an older woman seducing a younger man with books, knowledge, and of course, seduction. My mom gave it to me as a beach read. Granted, it didn't kill my brain or soul like Shopaholic did, but at the same time, it wasn't all that spectacular or earth shattering. Which is fine, because I"m sure that 1001 is a tall order to fill... however it could have been replaced with.....

Books I would have added:

"East of Eden" by John Steinbeck - the story of Cain and Abel set in the Salinas Valley. This is one of my all time favorite books. The characters and storyline were more compelling than Grapes of Wrath.

Books I was glad to see didn't make the list:

"The DaVinci Code" and "Demons and Angels" - while these are page turners, I'm so over Dan Brown, his alleged plagiarism, the controversy with the church, and stupid people who don't understand that fiction is just that... fiction.

Books I am excited to read:

I am really excited about reading "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S Thompson, because he was one crazy crazy drug addled dude...his funeral was a fireworks display at his house in Colorado where his ashes were launched into the sky along with the fireworks. I'm interested to see if I think that the book is good or well written or if I come away feeling like he made the list just because of the whole crazy thing. He is also known as the father of "gonzo journalism", which I'm not sure what exactly it is.

There are also several books by Don Delillo, which is sort of intriguing too. I read "White Noise" in English 101 and really liked it, but never really bothered to pick up any of his other books. Hopefully these will be some good reads as well. And of course, since this is a blog about books, I will be ending every post with a

Moral of the Story:If you are in high school, don't do cliff notes. You will be a lot farther ahead when you decide to read 1001.

The 1001 Books We Must Read

Below is a list of all the books that we've got on our list. You'll notice the color coding as you view the list. Books that kimmmmm has read and blogged about are posted in this color. philllll's books are colored this lovely green color. If both of us have read and blogged about the book, they'll be colored with this color. Enjoy!

* The 120 Days of Sodom * The 13 Clocks * 2001: A Space Odyessey * Aaron's Rod * The Abbott C * Absalom, Absalom! * The Absentee * Absolute Beginners * Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle * Adam Bede * Adjunct: An Undigest * The Adventures of Augie March * Adventures of Huckleberry Finn * The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle * The Adventures of Roderick Random * The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes * Aesop's Fables * After the Death of Don Juan * After the Quake: Stories * Afternoon of a Writer * Against the Grain * The Age of Innocence * Agnes Grey * Aithiopika * Albert Angelo * The Albigenses * Alias Grace: A Novel * Alice in Wonderland * All About H. Hatterr: A Novel * All Quiet On The Western Front * All Souls Day * Amateurs * The Ambassadors * Amelia * American Pastoral * American Psycho * Amerika * Amok: A Story * Amongst Women * Amsterdam: A Novel * Anagrams * Animal Farm * Anna Karenina * Another World: A Novel * Antic Hay * The Apes of God * Arcadia * Arcanum 17 * Around The World In Eighty Days * Arrow of God * The Artamonov Business * An Artist of the Floating World * As If I Am Not There * Asphodel * At Swim, Two Boys: A Novel * At Swim-Two-Birds * At the Mountain of Madness * Atonement: A Novel * The Atrocity Exhibition * August is a Wicked Month * Austerlitz * The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas * Auto-da-Fe * The Autumn of the Patriarch * The Awakening * Babbitt * Back * The Beautiful Room is Empty: A Novel * Bel Ami * Bell Jar * The Bell * Belle du Seigneur * Beloved * A Bend in the River * Ben-Hur * Berlin Alexanderplatz: The Story of Franz Biberkopf * La Bete Humaine * The Betrothed * Between the Acts * The Big Sleep * Billards at Half-Past Nine * Billy Bathgate * Billy Budd, Foretopman * Billy Liar * The Birds Fall Down * Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War * Bitter Glass * The Black Dahlia * Black Dogs: A Novel * The Black Prince * Black Water * Bleak House * The Blind Assassin: A Novel * Blind Man with a Pistol * Blindness * The Blithedale Romance * Blonde: A Novel * Blood and Guts in High School: A Novel * Blue of Noon * The Bluest Eye * The Body Artist: A Novel * The Bonfire of the Vanities * Bonjour Tristesse * The Book of Daniel * The Book of Evidence * The Book of Illusions: A Novel * The Book of Laughter and Forgetting * Born in Exile * Borstal Boy * Bouvard and Pecuchet * A Boy's Own Story * La Brava * Brave New World * Breakfast at Tiffany's * Breakfast of Champions * The Breast * Brideshead Revisited * The Bridge on the Drina * Brighton Rock * Broken April * The Brothers Karamoazov * Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family * The Buddha of Suburbia * Bunner Sisters * Burger's Daughter * Burmese Days: A Novel * The Bus Conductor Hines * The Butcher Boy * By The Open Sea * Cakes and Ale * Caleb Williams * Call It Sleep: A Novel * Camilla * Cancer Ward * Candide * Cane * Cannery Row * Captain Corelli's Mandolin * The Case of Comrade Tulayev * Casino Royale * The Castle of Crossed Destinies * The Castle of Otranto * Castle Rackrent * Castle Richmond * The Castle * Cat and Mouse * Catch-22 * The Catcher In the Rye * Cat's Cradle * Cat's Eye * Caught * Cause for Alarm * Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress * Celestial Harmonies: A Novel (P.S.) * The Cement Garden * Chaireas and Kallirhoe * The Charterhouse of Parma * The Charwoman's Daughter * The Child in Time * Childermass * Chocky * Choke * Christ Stopped At Eboli: The Story of a Year * A Christmas Carol * The Cider House Rules * Cider with Rosie * Cigarettes * City of God * City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit * City, Sister, Silver * Clarissa * Clay Machine-Gun * A Clockwork Orange * Cloud Atlas: A Novel * Cloudsplitter: A Novel * Cocaine Nights * Cold Comfort Farm * The Collector * The Color Purple * The Colour: A Novel * Come Back, Dr. Caligari * Come Yellow * The Comfort of Strangers * Coming Up For Air * Complicity * Concrete * A Confederacy of Dunces * Confessions * Contact * Correction * The Corrections * The Count of Monte Cristo * The Counterfeiters: A Novel * The Country Girls * Crandord * Crash: A Novel * Crime and Punishment * The Crow Road * Cry, The Beloved Country * The Crying of Lot 49 * Crytonomicon * The Cubs and Other Stories * The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time * Cutter and Bone * A Dance to the Music of Time * Dangerous Liaisons * Dangling Man * Daniel Deronda * Dark as the Grave Wherein My Friend is Laid * David Copperfield * The Day of the Triffids * A Day Off * Dead Air * Dead Babies * The Dead Father * Dead Souls * Death in Venice * The Death of Ivan Ilyich * Death Sentence * Decline and Fall * Delta of Venus * The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation * The Devil in the Flesh * The Devils * The Diaries of Jane Somers: The Diary of a Good Nieghbor and If the Old Could * Diary of a Nobody * Dictionary of the Khazars * Dining on Stones * Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency * A Disaffection * Disappearance * The Discovery of Heaven * Disgrace * Disobedience * Dispatches * Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? * Doctor Faustus * Doctor Zhivago * Don Quixote * Don't Move * The Double * Downriver * Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde * Dracula * The Driver's Seat * Drop City * The Drowned and the Saved * The Drowned World * Drunkard * Dusklands * Effi Briest * Elective Affinities * The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test * The Elementary Particles * Elizabeth Costello * Embers * The Emigrants * Emile * Emma * Empire of the Sun * The Enchanted Wanderer * The End of the Affair * The End of the Road * The End of the Story * Enduring Love * Les Enfants Terribles * England Made Me * The English Patient * The Enigma of Arrival * The Enormous Room * Erewhon * Ethan Frome * Eugenie Grandet * Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit * Eva Trout or Changing Scenes * Evelina * Everything is Illuminated * Everything that Rises Must Converge * Everything You Need to Know * Exercises in Style * Extinction * Eyeless in Gaza * Faces in the Water * The Fall of the House of Usher * Family Matters * The Fan Man * Fanny Hill * Fantomas * Far From the Madding Crowd * A Farewell to Arms * Farewell, My Lovely * Fateless * Fathers and Sons * Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas * Fear and Trembling * Fear of Flying * The Feast of the Goat * Felicia's Journey * The Female Quixote * Ficciones * A Fine Balance * Fingersmith * Finnegans Wake * The First Circle * Flaubert's Parrot * Floating Opera * Foe: A Novel * The Folding Star * Fools of Fortune * For Whom The Bell Tolls * Forever A Stranger and Other Stories * The Forsyte Saga * Fortunata y Jacinta * Foucault's Pendulum * Foundation * The Fox * Frankenstein * Franny and Zooey * The French Lieutenant's Woman * The Fruits of the Earth * Fugitive Pieces * Fury * G. * Gabriel's Gift * The Garden of Finzi-Continis * * The Garden Party * The Garden Where the Brass Band Played * Gargantua and Pantagruel * The German Lesson * Germinal * Get Shorty * A Ghost at Noon * The Ghost Road * Giles Goat Boy * Giovanni's Room * Girl With Green Eyes * The Girls of Slender Means * Glamorama * The Glass Bead Game * The Glass Key * The Glimpses of the Moon * Go Down, Moses * Go Tell It On The Mountain * Goalie's Anxiety at Penalty Kick * The Go-Between * God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater * The God of Small Things * The Godfather * The Golden Ass * The Golden Bowl * The Golden Notebook * Gone with the Wind * Good Morning, Midnight * The Good Soldier Svejk * The Good Soldier * Goodbye to Berlin * Gormenghast * Gosta Berling's Saga * The Graduate * The Grapes of Wrath * The Grass is Singing * Gravity's Rainbow * Great Apes * Great Expectations * The Great Gatsby * Green Hat * The Green Man * Grimus * The Ground Beneath Her Feet * Group Portrait with Lady * Growth of the Soil * Gulliver's Travels * Hadrian the Seventh * Hallucinating Foucault * The Hamlet * The Hand of Ethelberta * A Handful of Dust * The Handmaid's Tale * Hangover Square * Hard Times * Harriet Hume * Hawksmoor * He Knew He Was Right * Heart of Darkness * The Heart of Redness * The Heart of the MAtter * The Heart So White * The Heat of the DAy * The Heather Blazing * Hebdomeros * Henderson the Rain King * Her Privates We * Herzog * Hideous Kinky * High Rise * The History of the Siege of Lison * The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galazy * The Hobbit * A Home At the End of the World * Homo Faber * The Honorary Consul * The Hound of the Baskervilles * The Hour of the Star * The Hours * The House by the Medlar Tree * The House in Paris * House Mother Normal * The House of Doctor Dee * The House of Leaves * The House of Mirth * The House of Seven Gables * The House of the Spirits * The House on the Borderland * How It Is * How Late It Was, How Late * How the Dead LIve * Howards End * The Human Stain * Humboldt's Gift * Humphrey Click * The Hunchback of Notre Dame * Hunger * Hyperion * I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings * I, Robot * The Idiot * If Not Now, When? * If on a Winter's Night a Traveler * If This is A Man * Ignorance: A Novel * I'm Not Stiller * The Immortalist * Impressions of Africa * In a Free State: A Novel * In A Glass Darkly * In Cold Blood * In Parenthesis * In Sicily * In the Forest: A Novel * In the Heart of the Country: A Novel * In Watermelon Sugar * Independent People * Indigo * The Inferno * Infinite Jest: A Novel * The Information * Inside Mr. Enderby * The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano * Interview with the Vampire * Intimacy: A Novel * The Invention of Curried Sausage * Invisible Cities * Invisible Man * The Invisible Man * Iron Heel * The Island of Dr. Moreau * Islands * Ivanhoe * Jack Maggs: A Novel * Jacob's Room * Jacques the Fatalist * Jahrestage * Jane Eyre * Jazz * Jealousy * The Joke * Joseph Andrews * Journey to the Center of the Earth * Journey to the End of the Night * Jude the Obscure * Judge and His Hangman * Julie; or, the New Eloise * July's People * The Jungle * Junky: The Definitive Text of Junk * Justine * Justine * Kafka on the Shore * Keep the Aspidistra Flying * Kestrel for a Knave * Kidnapped * The Killer Inside Me * Kim * A King Lear of the Steppes * King Solomon's Mines * The Kingdom of This World * Kokoro * The Kreutzer Sonata * The Labyrinth of Solitude * Labyrinths * Lady Chatterley's Lover * The Lambs of London * Lanark: A Life in 4 Books * Land * The Last Chronicle of Barset * Last Days of Humanity * The Last of Mr. Norris * The Last of the Mochicans * The Last September * The Last Temptation of Christ * The Left-Handed Woman * Legend * The Leopard * Less Than Zero * Libra * The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby * Life and Death of Harriett Frean * Life and Times of Michael K: A Novel * Life Is a Caravanserai * The Life Of Insects: A Novel * Life of Pi * Life: A User's Manual * The Light of Day * Like Life * Like Water for Chocolate * The Little Prince * Little Women * The Living and the Dead * Living: A Novel * Locus Solus * Lolita * London Fields * London Orbital * The Lonely Londoners * Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul * The Long Goodbye * Look Homeward, Angel * Looking for the Possible Dance * Lord Jim * Lord of the Flies * The Lord of the Rings * Lost Honor of Katharine Blum: Or How Violence Develops and Where It Can Lead * Lost Illusions * The Lost Language of Cranes: A Novel * Love in a Cold Climate * Love in Excess * Love in the Time of Cholera * The Lover * Love's Work: A Reckoning with Life * Loving * Lucky Jim * Madame Bovary * A Maggot * The Magic Mountain * The Magus * Main Street * The Making of Americans * Maldoror * Malone Dies * The Maltese Falcon * A Man Asleep * The Man of Feeling * The Man with the Golden Arm * The Man Without Qualities * Manhattan Transfer: A Novel * Manon Des Sources * Mansfield Park * Mao II: A Novel * The Marble Faun * Marius the Epicurean * Martin Chuzzlewit * Martin Eden * Mary Barton * Marya: A Life * Mason & Dixon * The Master and the Margarita * The Master of Ballantrae: A Winter's Tale * The Master of Petersburg: A Novel * The Master: A Novel * Matigari * Max Havelaar * The Mayor of Casterbridge * The Melancholy of Resistance * Melmoth the Wanderer * Memento Mori * Memoirs of a Geisha: A Novel * Memoirs of Hadrian * Memoirs of the Extraordinary Life, Works, and Discoveries of Martinus Scriblerus * Mercier et Camier * Metamorphoses * Middlemarch * Middlesex: A Novel * The Midnight Examiner * Midnight's Children * Midwich Cuckoos * The Mill on the Floss * Les Miserables * Miss Lonelyhearts * Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day * Moby Dick * A Modest Proposal * Moll Flanders * Molly * The Monastery * Money: A suicide Note * The Monk * The Moon and the Bonfires * Moon Palace * Moonstone * The Moor's Last Sigh * Morvern Callar * Mother * Mr. Vertigo * Mrs. 'Arris goes to Paris * Mrs. Dalloway * Murder Must Advertise * The Murder of Roger Ackroyd * Murphy * The Music of Chance * Myra Breckinridge/Myron * Mysteries of Udolpho * Nadja * Naked Lunch * The Name of the Rose * The Names * Nana * Native Son * Nausea * Nervous Conditions * Neuromancer * Never Let Go * New Grub Street * The New York Trilogy * News from Nowhere * The Newton Letter * The Nice and the Good * Night and Day * Nights at the Circus * Nightwood * The Nine Tailors * Nineteen Eighty-Four * Nineteen Seventy Seven * No Laughing Matter * North and South * Northanger Abbey * The Nose * Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard * Notes from Underground * Novel with Cocaine * Nowhere Man * The Nun * An Obedient Father * Oblomov * Of Human Bondage * Of Mice and Men * The Ogre * Old Devils * The Old Man and the Sea * Old Masters * The Old Wives' Tale * Oliver Twist * On Beauty * On Love: A Novel * On the Black Hill * On The Eve * On The Road * The Once and Future King * One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch * One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest * One Hundred Years of Solitude * One, None and a Hundred Thousand * Operation Shylock: A Confession * Opposing Shore * Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit * Orlando: A Biography * Ormond * Oroonok * Oscar and Lucinda * Our Ancestors * Our Mutual Friend * Out of Africa * Outsider * Pale Fire * A Pale View of Hills * Pamela * The Parable of the Blind * Parade's End * Party Going * A Passage to India * Passing * The Passion According to G.H. * The Passion of New Eve * The Passion * Pastoralia * The Path to the Spiders' Nests * Patterns of Childhood * The People of Hemso * Le Pere Goriot * Pereira Declares: A Testimony * Perfume * Persuasion * Petals of Blood * Phineas Finn * The Piano Teacher: A Novel * The Picture of Dorian Gray * Pierre et Jean * The Pigeon * Pilgrimage * The Pilgrim's Progress * The Pit and the Pendulum * The Plague * Platform * The Player of Games * The Plot Against America * Pluck the Bud and Destroy the Offspring * The Plumed Serpent * Pnin * The Poisonwood Bible * The Poor Mouth * Portnoy's Complaint * The Portrait of a Lady * A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man * Possessing the Secret of Joy * Possession: A Romance * The Postman Always Rings Twice * The Power and the Glory * A Prayer for Owen Meany * Pricksongs & Descants: Fictions * Pride and Prejudice * The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie * The Princess of Cleves * The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner * Professor Unrat * The Professor's House * Promise at Dawn: A Memoir * The Public Burning * The Purloined Letter * The Pursuit of Love * Quartet * Queer: A Novel * The Quest for Christa T. * A Question of Power * Quicksand * The Quiet American * Quo Vadis * Rabbit is Rich * Rabbit Redux * Rabbit, Run * The Radetzky March * The Radiant Way * The Ragazzi * The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists * Ragtime * The Rainbow * Rameau's Nephew * Rashomon * Rasselas * Ratner's Star * Ravishing of Lol Stein * The Razor's Edge * The Reader * The Real Charlotte * Reasons to Live * Rebecca The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt * The Recognitions * The Red and the Black * Red Harvest * The Red Queen * The Red Room * Regeneration * La Reine Margot * The Remains of the Day * Remembrance of Things Past * The Return of the Native * The Return of the Soldier * The Revenge for Love * Reveries of a Solitary Walker * The Riddle of the Sands * The Rings of Saturn * Rites of Passage * Rituals * The River Between * Rob Roy * The Robber Bride * Robinson Crusoe * The Romantics: A Novel * A Room with a View * The Roots of Heaven * Rosshalde * Roxana the Fortunate Mistress * Sabbath's Theater * The Safety Net * Satanic Verses: A Novel * Saturday * Saturday Night and Sunday Morning * The Scarlet Letter * Schindlers Ark * Schooling * A Scots Quair * The Sea of Fertility * The Sea * The Sea, The Sea * The Secret Agent * The Secret History * Seize the Day * Self Condemned * Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord * Sense and Sensibility * A Sentimental Education * A Sentimental Journey * A Severed Head * Sexing the Cherry * The Shadow-Line: A Confession * Shame: A Novel * She * Shikasta * The Shining * The Shipping News * Shirley * Shroud * Siddhartha * The Siege of Krishnapur * Silas Marner * Silk * The Singapore Grip * Sister Carrie * Slaughterhouse-Five * Slow Man * Small Remedies * Smiley's People * Smilla's Sense of Snow * Solaris * Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. * Sometimes a Great Notion * Song of Solomon * Sons and Lovers * The Sorrow of Belgium * The Sorrows of Young Werther * The Sound and the Fury * Spring Flowers, Spring Frost: A Novel * Spring Torrents * Sputnik Sweetheart * The Spy Who Came In From the Cold * The Stechlin * Steppenwolf * The Stone Diaries * Stone Junction * The Story of Lucy Gault * Story of O * Story of the Eve * Strait is the Gate * Stranger in a Strange Land * A Suitable Boy: A Novel * Sula * Summer * The Summer Book * Summer in Baden-Baden * Summer Will Show * Sun Also Rises * Super-Cannes: A Novel * Surfacing * Swimming Pool Library * The Taebaek Mountains * A Tale of a Tub * A Tale of Two Cities * The Talented Mr. Ripley * The Talk of the Town * Tarka the Otter * Tarr * The Tartar Steppe * Tarzan of the Apes * The Temple of My Familiar * The Temptation of Saint Anthony * The Tenant of Wildfell Hall * Tender is the Night * Tent of Miracles * Tess of the D'Urbervilles * Testament of Youth * Thank You, Jeeves * That They May Face The Rising Sun * Their Eyes Were Watching God * Them * Therese Raguin * They Shoot Horses, Don't They? * The Thin Man * Things * Things Fall Apart * The Things They Carried * The Thinking Reed * The Third Man * The Third Policeman * The Thirty-Nine Steps * The Thousand and One Nights * Three Lives * The Three Musketeers * Threepenny Novel * Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There * Thursbitch * Timbuktu: A Novel * The Time Machine * The Time of Indifference: A Novel * Time's Arrow * The Tin Drum * Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy * Tipping the Velvet: A Novel * Titus Groan * To Have and Have Not * To Kill A Mockingbird * To The Lighthouse * To the North * Tom Jones * Tono-Bungay * A Town Like Alice * Trainspotting * Transit * Trawl * Treasure Island * The Trial * The Trick Is to Keep Breathing: A Novel * Tristram Shandy * Tropic of Cancer * Tropic of Capricorn * Troubles * Trusting and the Maimed * The Turn of the Screw * Typical * U.S.A. * Ulysses * The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel * Uncle Silas * Uncle Tom's Cabin * The Unconsoled * Under Fire * Under the Net * Under the Skin: A Novel * Under the Volcano: A Novel * Underworld: A Novel * The Unfortunate Traveller * Unless: A Novel * The Unnamable * The Untouchable * V. * Vanishing Point: A Novel * Vanity Fair * Vathek * Veronika Decides to Die * Vertigo * The Vicar of Wakefield * Le Vice-Consul * The Victim * Vile Bodies * Villette * Vineland * The Violent Bear It Away: A Novel * The Virgin in the Garden: A Novel * Virgin Soil * The Virgin Suicides * A Void * Voss * The Voyage Out * W, or the Memory of a Childhood * Waiting for the Barbarians * Walden * War and Peace * The War of the Worlds * The Wasp Factory: A Novel * Watchmen * The Water-Babies * Waterland * Watt * The Waves * We * The Well of Loneliness * What a Carve Up! * What I Loved: A Novel * What Maisie Knew * Whatever * Where Angels Fear to Tread * White Noise * White Teeth: A Novel * Wide Sargasso Sea * The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead * Wild Harbour * Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China * Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship * Willard & His Bowling Trophies * Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel * The Wings of the Dove * Wise Blood: A Novel * Wise Children * Wittgenstein's Mistress * Wittgenstein's Nephew: A Friendship * The Woman in White * A Woman's Life * Women in Love * Wonderful O * The Woodlanders * The World According to Garp * A World of Love * World's End * Worstward Ho * Written on the Body * Wuthering Heights * The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis * The Years * The Yellow Wallpaper * Yes * Young Torless * Youth: Scenes from Provincial Life II * Zeno's Conscience: A Novel *