Interesting classic works of Russian literature. The best works of classical world literature that are worth reading for the soul

The best classic books of autumn 2018

Our new ranking of the top 100 best classic books has undergone significant changes. It's all because of the start of a new school, and a school program that clearly sets the tone in this category. Nevertheless, only the truly best classic books, not only Russian, but also foreign, were included in it. After all, this list of the best classics was compiled based on your queries on the Internet and perfectly reflects the interest of readers in our country.

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The story “Sunstroke” Author: Bunin I. A. Year of publication of the story: 1925 Many consider Bunin’s story “Sunstroke” to be one of the writer’s best works. It is included in the school curriculum and has also been filmed more than once. The last film adaptation was released in 2014 and was very successful. This aroused even more interest in reading the story “Sunstroke”, and also allowed Ivan Bunin to take […]

Ancient Greece

Homer "Odyssey" and "Iliad"

Did Homer really write these poems? Was he blind? And did it exist in principle? These and other questions still remain unanswered, but they fade in the face of the eternity and value of the texts themselves. The epic Iliad, which tells the story of the Trojan War, was long better known than the Odyssey and had a greater influence on European literature. But the wanderings of Odysseus, written in simple language, are almost a novel, perhaps the first one that has come down to us.

Great Britain

Charles Dickens "The Adventures of Oliver Twist"

Dickens wrote this groundbreaking novel, showing real life without embellishment, at the age of 26. He didn’t have to strain his imagination much: the main character, who lived in poverty, is the author himself, whose family went bankrupt when the future writer was just a child. And Dickens even took the surname of the main villain Feigin from life, borrowing, however, from his best friend.

The release of Oliver Twist had the effect of a bomb exploding in England: society, in particular, vied with each other to discuss - and condemn - child labor. Thanks to the novel, readers learned that literature can serve as a mirror.

Jane Austen "Pride and Prejudice"

A cornerstone text for British literature, as classic as Eugene Onegin in Russia. A quiet, homely young lady, Austen wrote Pride when she was very young, but published it only 15 years later, after the success of Sense and Sensibility. The Austen phenomenon, among other things, is that almost all of her novels are classics, but Pride and Prejudice stands out from the crowd because of the presence of one of the most amazing couples in world literature - Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Darcy is a common noun; without him, Britain is not Britain. In general, “Pride and Prejudice” is the very case when the sign “women’s novel” causes not a grin, but admiration.

Germany

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe "Faust"

The 82-year-old Goethe finished the last, second part of Faust six months before his death. He began working on the text when he was twenty-five. Goethe put all the meticulousness, efficiency and attention to detail inherited from his pedantic father into this ambitious work. Life, death, world order, good, evil - “Faust,” like “War and Peace,” in its own way is a comprehensive book in which everyone will find answers to any answers.

Erich Maria Remarque "Arc de Triomphe"

“One of the two always leaves the other. The whole question is who will get ahead of whom,” “Love does not tolerate explanations. She needs actions” - Remarque’s novel is one of those books that are divided into quotes. The love story in Paris besieged by the Germans turned the heads of more than one generation of readers, and the author’s romance with Marlene Dietrich, and persistent rumors that it was Dietrich who became the prototype of Joan Madou, only add to the charm of this wonderful book.

Russia

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”

Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote this novel forcedly, due to the need for money: gambling debts, the death of his brother Mikhail, which left his family without funds. The plot of Crime and Punishment was "inspired" by the case of Pierre François Lacière, a French intellectual murderer who believed that society was to blame for his actions. Dostoevsky composed in parts, each of which was published in the magazine “Russian Messenger”. Later, the novel was published as a separate volume, in a new edition, abridged by the author, and began an independent life. Today “Crime and Punishment” is part of the world classics, one of the symbols of Russian literature and culture in general, translated into many languages ​​and filmed many times (up to the manga comic of the same name).

Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy “War and Peace”

The epic four-volume masterpiece, written over several sessions, ultimately took Tolstoy almost six years to complete. “War and Peace” is inhabited by 559 characters, the names of the main ones - Bezukhov, Natasha Rostova, Bolkonsky - have become household names. This novel is a large-scale (many believe that it is completely exhaustive) statement about everything in the world - war, love, state, etc. The author himself quickly lost interest in War and Peace, calling the book “wordy” a few years later, and at the end of his life simply “nonsense.”

Colombia

Gabriel Garcia Marquez "One Hundred Years of Solitude"

The saga of the Buendía family is the second most popular text in Spanish throughout the world (the first is Cervantes' Don Quixote). An example of the “magical realism” genre, which has become a kind of brand that unites completely different authors, such as Borges, Coelho and Carlos Ruiz Zafon. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” was written by 38-year-old Marquez in a year and a half; To write this book, the father of two children quit his job and sold his car. The novel was published in 1967, at first it sold poorly, but eventually gained worldwide fame. The total circulation of “One Hundred Years” today is 30 million, Marquez is a classic, a laureate of everything in the world, including the Nobel Prize, a symbolic writer who has done more for his native Colombia than anyone else. It is thanks to Marquez that the world knows that in Colombia there are not only drug lords, but also

Many of us have been left with the conviction since school that for the most part Russian classics are rather boring and unimaginably drawn out works of several hundred pages about the hardships of life, mental suffering and the philosophical quests of the main characters. We have collected Russian classics that are impossible not to read to the end.

Anatoly Pristavkin “The golden cloud spent the night”

“The golden cloud spent the night” by Anatoly Pristavkin is a piercingly tragic story that happened to the orphaned twin brothers Sashka and Kolka Kuzmin, who were evacuated along with the rest of the orphanage pupils to the Caucasus during the war. Here it was decided to establish a labor colony to develop the land. Children turn out to be innocent victims of government policies towards the peoples of the Caucasus. This is one of the most powerful and honest stories about war orphans and the deportation of the Caucasian peoples. “The Golden Cloud Spent the Night” has been translated into 30 languages ​​of the world and is rightfully one of the best works of Russian classics. 10th place in our ranking.

Boris Pasternak "Doctor Zhivago"

Novel Boris Pasternak "Doctor Zhivago", which brought him world fame and the Nobel Prize - in 9th place in the list of the best works of Russian classics. For his novel, Pasternak was sharply criticized by representatives of the country's official literary world. The book's manuscript was banned from publication, and the writer himself, under pressure, was forced to refuse to receive the prestigious award. After Pasternak's death, it was transferred to his son.

Mikhail Sholokhov "Quiet Don"

In terms of the scale and scope of the period of life of the main characters described in it, it can be compared with “War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy. This is an epic story about the life and destinies of representatives of the Don Cossacks. The novel covers three of the country's most difficult eras: the First World War, the 1917 Revolution and the Civil War. What was going on in the souls of people in those days, what reasons forced relatives and friends to stand on opposite sides of the barricades? The writer tries to answer these questions in one of the best works of Russian classical literature. “Quiet Don” is in 8th place in our ranking.

Stories by Anton Chekhov

A generally recognized classic of Russian literature, they occupy 7th place on our list. One of the most famous playwrights in the world, he wrote more than 300 works of various genres and died very early, at 44 years old. Chekhov's stories, ironic, funny and eccentric, reflected the realities of life of that era. They have not lost their relevance even now. The peculiarity of his short works is not to answer questions, but to ask them to the reader.

I. Ilf and E. Petrov “Twelve Chairs”

Novels by writers with a wonderful sense of humor I. Ilf and E. Petrov “The Twelve Chairs” and “The Golden Calf” take 6th place among the best works of Russian classics. After reading them, every reader will understand that classical literature is not only interesting and exciting, but also funny. The adventures of the great schemer Ostap Bender, the main character of the books by Ilf and Petrov, will not leave anyone indifferent. Immediately after the first publication, the writers' works were received ambiguously in literary circles. But time has shown their artistic value.

In fifth place in our ranking of the best works of Russian classics - "The Gulag Archipelago" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. This is not only a great novel about one of the most difficult and terrible periods in the history of the country - repressions in the USSR, but also an autobiographical work based on the author’s personal experience, as well as letters and memoirs of more than two hundred camp prisoners. The release of the novel in the West was accompanied by a loud scandal and persecution launched against Solzhenitsyn and other dissidents. Publication of The Gulag Archipelago became possible in the USSR only in 1990. The novel is among best books of the century.

Nikolai Gogol “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol is a universally recognized classic of world significance. The crowning achievement of his work is considered to be the novel “Dead Souls,” the second volume of which was destroyed by the author himself. But our ranking of the best works of Russian classics includes the first book Gogol – “Evenings on a farm near Dikanka”. It’s hard to believe that the stories included in the book and written with sparkling humor were practically Gogol’s first experience in writing. Pushkin left a flattering review of the work, who was sincerely amazed and fascinated by Gogol’s stories, written in a living, poetic language without feigned affectation and stiffness.

The events described in the book take place in different time periods: in XVII, XVIII XIX centuries.

Fyodor Dostoevsky "Crime and Punishment"

Novel “Crime and Punishment” by F. M. Dostoevsky takes third place in the list of the best works of Russian classics. It has received the status of a cult book of world significance. This is one of the most frequently filmed books. This is not only a deeply philosophical work in which the author poses to readers the problems of moral responsibility, good and evil, but also a psychological drama and a fascinating detective story. The author shows the reader the process of turning a talented and respectable young man into a killer. He is no less interested in the possibility of Raskolnikov’s atonement for his guilt.

Great epic novel Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy "War and Peace", the volume of which has terrified schoolchildren for many decades, is actually very interesting. It covers the period of several military campaigns against the strongest France at that time, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. This is one of the brightest examples of the best works of not only Russian, but also world classics. The novel is recognized as one of the most epic works in world literature. Here every reader will find his favorite topic: love, war, courage.

Mikhail Bulgakov "The Master and Margarita"

Topping our list of examples of the best classical literature is the amazing novel. The author never lived to see the publication of his book - it was published 30 years after his death.

The Master and Margarita is such a complex work that not a single attempt to film the novel has been successful. The figures of Woland, the Master and Margarita require filigree accuracy in conveying their images. Unfortunately, no actor has yet managed to achieve this. The film adaptation of the novel by director Vladimir Bortko can be considered the most successful.

The works of the classics are like good wine - they are aged and tested by time and a huge number of readers. Many of these books are universal: they heal the soul, look for answers to the eternal questions of existence, entertain, relax, uplift, make you think and give an invaluable opportunity to gain a unique life experience.

Russian classics

"The Master and Margarita", Mikhail Bulgakov

A brilliant masterpiece of world classical literature. An extraordinary, meaningful mystical novel exposing human sins and vices. It intertwined the eternal themes of the struggle between good and evil, death and immortality, as well as an incredible line of love that began with a chance meeting of people created for each other.

"Eugene Onegin", Alexander Pushkin

A good work for those who choose a classic work for self-development. A novel in verse, in which two characters are contrasted: the jaded, bored young man Eugene Onegin and the pure, naive girl Tatyana Larina, who followed a sincere feeling. A story about the growth and development of one personality and the inner emptiness of another.

"Anna Karenina", Leo Tolstoy

Married Anna Karenina falls in love with the young officer Vronsky. He reciprocates her feelings. But the environment turns away from the “fallen woman.” The lovers' desperate attempts to reunite against the backdrop of the morals and customs of the nobility of that time were unsuccessful.

Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak

The story of the generation of the early 20th century, which entered a new era with faith in great changes. However, the trials they had to endure (the civil war, the First World War, the revolution) brought only disappointment and broken hopes. But, despite everything, people gained invaluable experience. The book is full of reflections on the fate of people and the state.

“12 chairs”, Evgeny Petrov, Ilya Ilf

The story is about two adventurers looking for diamonds hidden in the chairs of Madame Petukhova’s living room set. The novel-feuilleton is incredibly fascinating, imbued with sharp humor and inexhaustible optimism. It will provide several exciting evenings for those who have not yet read the book, and will cheer up those who have taken it up again.

"Heart of a Dog", Mikhail Bulgakov

Professor Preobrazhensky explores rejuvenation methods. One day he brings a stray dog ​​Sharik from the street and gives him a pituitary gland transplant from the deceased Klim Chugunkin, a drunkard and hooligan. Instead of a kind, flexible animal, you get a creature with an absolutely disgusting character and habits. The novel demonstrates the history of the relationship between the intelligentsia and the “new breed” of man.

“The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Soldier Ivan Chonkin”, Vladimir Voinovich

A wonderful choice of work to read on vacation, such a light anecdote novel. Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, a plane lands in a small village due to a breakdown. There is no way to tow it, so the simple-minded and ridiculous guard Ivan Chonkin is assigned to him, who eventually transfers his place of duty to the house of the postman Nyura...

“And the dawns here are quiet”, Boris Vasiliev

A tragic story about the unequal confrontation between five female anti-aircraft gunners and a detachment of German saboteurs consisting of 16 people. Dreams about the future and women's stories about their loved ones create a stunning contrast with the brutal reality of war.

"Dowry", Alexander Ostrovsky

The play is about a woman forced to throw in her lot with an inconspicuous, uninteresting and unloved man simply because she does not have a dowry. The man whom she loves and considers ideal is only having fun with her, having no intention of exchanging his rich bride for her.

“Garnet Bracelet”, Alexander Kuprin

Having once seen Princess Vera in the circus box, Georgy Zheltkov fell madly in love with her. He sent her letters, hoping for nothing, since she was married. The love lasted for several years until he decided to give her a garnet bracelet. A wonderful work that is suitable for those who are looking for something to read for the soul.

Foreign literature

The Thorn Birds, Colin McCullough

The epic story of a poor family who later became managers of a large Australian estate. The plot of the novel is based on strong, dramatic feelings between the main character Maggie and the Catholic priest Father Ralph. What will win, love or religion? The work has become one of the most popular romance novels among admirers.

Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

A novel about a strong woman, Scarlett O'Hara, who took care of her family on her shoulders during the difficult years of the American Civil War. The book tells the story of an incredible love story and demonstrates the evolution of the main character's feelings against the backdrop of the trials of war.

"Pride and Prejudice", Jane Austen

England 18th century. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, who have raised five daughters, are thinking about marrying young ladies. Mr. Bingley, who has settled next door, is perfectly suited to the role of the groom. Besides, he has many friends. The book is about how feelings arise and how love helps overcome pride and prejudice.

"The Great Gatsby", Francis Scott Fitzgerald

The book takes place in America during the Jazz Age. The author shows the other side of the notorious “American Dream”. At the center of the story is the story of a rich man and a spendthrift, Gatsby, who is trying to return the woman he loves, who left him when he was still achieving success. Unfortunately, wealth never brought him happiness.

"A Little Sun in Cold Water" by Francoise Sagan

This is a great take on a modern classic. The story is about an affair between Parisian journalist Gilles Lantier and a married woman who left her husband. The work raises the theme of fatigue from life, what is commonly called depression. It seems that the relationship helped Gilles overcome his illness. But is his chosen one happy?

Arc de Triomphe, Erich Maria Remarque

German emigrant Ravik lives illegally and works as a surgeon in pre-war Paris. Returning home late, he notices a woman trying to throw herself off a bridge. Thus begins a romance between an actress named Joan and a German refugee. An unusually beautiful, passionate and sad love story, full of philosophical reflections.

"Notre-Dame de Paris", Victor Hugo

This is a true classic of the historical novel, describing medieval Paris. At the center of the story is the incredible romantic story of the hunchback bell ringer Quasimodo and the gypsy street dancer Esmeralda. However, the author positions Notre Dame Cathedral itself as the main character of the novel, thereby attracting public attention to it.

"Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury

Moments of summer, sealed in bottles - this is dandelion wine. The book is woven from large and small stories that take place throughout the summer, everyday discoveries, the main one of which is that we live, we feel, we breathe. The narrative itself is warm and leisurely. Brothers Douglas and Tom live in a provincial town and through them we see the world through the eyes of 12-year-old children.

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg

Evelyn, a middle-aged woman, has lost interest in life and eats chocolate for her depression. Once a week she is forced to visit her mother-in-law in a nursing home. There Evelyn meets 86-year-old Ninny, who is full of love and zest for life. Each time the old woman tells stories from her past, which helps Evelyn reconsider her worldview.

"Over the Cuckoo's Nest" by Ken Kesey

The main character Randle recklessly chooses the latter between prison and a mental hospital. Here he is trying to change the established rules and teach other patients to enjoy life. An elderly, sullen nurse resists the innovations of a freedom-loving patient out of fear of losing power over the staff and patients.

The article was updated and supplemented in July 2018. We present a selection of 65 books that have become classics of world literature, and 10 online libraries where you can find a lot of fiction, scientific, historical and journalistic literature in the public domain.

1. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” – Gabriel García Márquez (“Cien años de soledad” – Gabriel José de la Concordia “Gabo” García Márquez)

“One Hundred Years of Solitude” is one of the most characteristic and popular works in the direction of magical realism.

2. “Moby-Dick, or The White Whale” – Herman Melville (“Moby-Dick, or The Whale” – Herman Melville)

The story is told on behalf of the American sailor Ishmael, who went on a voyage on the whaling ship Pequod, whose captain, Ahab, is obsessed with the idea of ​​\u200b\u200brevenge on the giant white whale, the killer of whalers, known as Moby Dick.

3. “The Great Gatsby” – Francis Scott Fitzgerald (“The Great Gatsby” – F. Scott Fitzgerald)

The novel takes place near New York, on the “gold coast” of Long Island, among the villas of the rich. In the 1920s, following the chaos of World War I, American society entered an unprecedented period of prosperity: in the “Roaring 20s,” the US economy developed rapidly.

At the same time, Prohibition made many bootleggers millionaires and gave a significant impetus to the development of organized crime. While Fitzgerald admires the rich and their charm, he also decries the unrestricted materialism and lack of morality in America at the time.

4. “The Grapes of Wrath” – John Steinbeck

The novel takes place during the Great Depression. A poor family of tenant farmers, the Joads are forced to leave their Oklahoma home due to drought, economic hardship, and changing farming practices. In an almost hopeless situation, they head to California along with thousands of other Okie families, hoping to find a means of livelihood there.

5. “Ulysses” – James Joyce (“Ulysses” – James Joyce)

The novel tells the story of one day (June 16, 1904, currently celebrated as Bloomsday, “Bloom's Day”) of a Dublin man and a Jew by nationality, Leopold Bloom.

6. “Lolita” – Vladimir Nabokov (“Lolita” – Vladimir Nabokov)

Lolita is the most famous of all Nabokov's novels. The theme of the novel was unthinkable for its time - the story of an adult man who became passionately interested in a twelve-year-old girl.

7. “The Sound and the Fury” – William Faulkner

The main storyline tells of the decline of one of the oldest and most influential families of the American South - the Compsons. Over the course of the approximately 30 years described in the novel, the family faces financial ruin, loses respect in the city, and many family members end their lives tragically.

8. “To the Lighthouse” – Virginia Woolf (“To The Lighthouse” – Virginia Woolf)

The novel centers on two visits by the Ramsay family to a rented country house on the Isle of Skye in Scotland in 1910 and 1920. To the Lighthouse follows and expands on the modernist literary tradition of Marcel Proust and James Joyce, where plot fades into the background in favor of philosophical introspection.

9. “Anna Karenina” – Leo Tolstoy

“Anna Karenina” is a novel by Leo Tolstoy about the tragic love of the married lady Anna Karenina and the brilliant officer Vronsky against the backdrop of the happy family life of the nobles Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya.

10. “War and Peace” – Leo Tolstoy

“War and Peace” is an epic novel describing Russian society during the era of the wars against Napoleon in 1805-1812.

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11. “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” – Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huckleberry Finn, who escaped from his cruel father, and the runaway black man Jim raft on the Mississippi River.

12. “1984” – George Orwell (“1984” – George Orwell)

The novel "1984", along with such works as "We" by Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin (1920), "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley (1932) and "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury (1953), is considered one of the most famous works in the dystopian genre.

13. “The Catcher in the Rye” – J.D. Salinger

The novel, on behalf of a 16-year-old boy named Holden, tells in a very frank form about his heightened perception of American reality and rejection of the general canons and morality of modern society.

14. “Invisible Man” – Ralph Ellison (“Invisible Man” – Ralph Ellison)

The Invisible Man is the only completed novel by Ralph Ellison, an African-American writer, literary critic, and literary scholar. The novel is about the search for identity and place in society.

15. “Catch-22” – Joseph Heller (“Catch-22” – Joseph Heller)

1944 On the islet of Pianosa in the Tyrrhenian Sea, a US Air Force bomber regiment (flying North American B-25 Mitchell bombers) is stationed, in which Captain Yossarian, the main character of the novel, and his colleagues serve.

The command of the air regiment over and over again increases the rate of combat sorties, thereby extending the service of pilots who have flown their quota, after which they have the right to return home. Thus, it becomes almost impossible to fly off the norm.

16. “Midnight’s Children” – Salman Rushdie (“Midnight’s Children” – Salman Rushdie)

A multi-faceted, fantastic, “magical” narrative covers the history of India (partly Pakistan) from 1910 to 1976. Political events, presented vividly and biasedly, do not exhaust the whimsical reality of the novel.

17. “On the Road” – Jack Kerouac (“On the Road” – Jack Kerouac)

The book, considered the most important example of Beat Generation literature, tells the story of the travels of Jack Kerouac and his close friend Neal Cassady across the United States of America and Mexico.

18. “In Search of Lost Time” – Marcel Proust (“À la recherche du temps perdu” – Marcel Proust)

In Search of Lost Time is the magnum opus of the French modernist writer Marcel Proust, a semi-autobiographical cycle of seven novels. Published in France between 1913 and 1927.

19. “Pale Fire” – Vladimir Nabokov (“Pale Fire” – Vladimir Nabokov)

“Pale Fire” is a novel by V. V. Nabokov, written in English in the USA and first published in 1962. The novel, conceived before moving to the United States (the passages “Ultima Thule” and “Solus Rex” were written in Russian in 1939), is structured as a 999-line poem with commentary replete with literary allusions.

20. “Madame Bovary” – Gustave Flaubert (“Madame Bovary” – Gustave Flaubert)

The main character of the novel is Emma Bovary, a doctor's wife who lives beyond her means and starts extramarital affairs in the hope of getting rid of the emptiness and ordinariness of provincial life.

21. “Middlemarch” – George Eliot (“Middlemarch” – George Eliot)

Middlemarch is the name of the provincial town in and around which the novel takes place. Many characters inhabit its pages, and their destinies are intertwined by the will of the author.

22. “Great Expectations” – Charles Dickens

The hero of the novel “Great Expectations,” the young man Philip Pirrip, strives to become a “true gentleman” and achieve a position in society, but disappointment awaits him. Money stained with blood cannot bring happiness, and the “world of gentlemen” on which Philip had placed so many hopes turned out to be hostile and cruel.

23. “Emma” – Jane Austen (“Emma” – Jane Austen)

The daughter of a wealthy landowner and a big dreamer, Emma tries to diversify her leisure time by organizing someone else's personal life. Confident that she will never get married, she acts as a matchmaker for her friends and acquaintances, but life gives her surprise after surprise.

24. “And Destruction Came” – Chinua Achebe (“Things Fall Apart” – Chinua Achebe)

"And Came Destruction" is the story of a tribal warrior who cannot adapt to a new society under the colonial regime. The book has been translated into 45 languages ​​and is today the most widely read and translated book by an African writer among his contemporaries.

25. “Pride and Prejudice” – Jane Austen

Young girls dreaming of marriage, respectable mothers who do not shine with intelligence, selfish beauties who think that they are allowed to control the destinies of other people - this is the world of the heroes of Jane Austen, an English writer who was significantly ahead of her time and ranked among the classics of world literature by subsequent generations.

26. “Wuthering Heights” – Emily Brontë (“Wuthering Heights” – Emily Brontë)

“Wuthering Heights” is a story full of love and hatred of the fatal passion of Heathcliff, the adopted son of the owner of the Wuthering Heights estate, for the owner’s daughter Catherine.

27. “Nostromo” – Joseph Conrad (“Nostromo” – Joseph Conrad)

The novel tells the story of the liberation struggle of the fictional South American state of Costaguana. The author is interested in the problem of imperialism and its corrupting effect on even the best people, such as the main character of the novel, the sailor Nostromo.

28. “The Brothers Karamazov” - F. M. Dostoevsky

“The Brothers Karamazov” is the last novel by F. M. Dostoevsky. Three brothers, Ivan, Alexey (Alyosha) and Dmitry (Mitya), “are busy resolving questions about the root causes and ultimate goals of existence,” and each of them makes his own choice, trying in his own way to answer the question about God and the immortality of the soul.

29. “To Kill a Mockingbird” – Harper Lee (“To Kill a Mockingbird” – Harper Lee)

The novel depicts the events of the 30s of the 20th century, the period of the Great Depression, which took place in the state of Alabama. The narration is told from the perspective of a child, but the severity of interracial conflicts and social problems does not lose its power.

30. “The Process” – Franz Kafka (“Der Prozess” – Franz Kafka)

“The Trial” is a unique book by Franz Kafka, which actually “created” his name for the culture of world postmodern theater and cinema of the second half of the 20th century, or rather, “wove” this name into the idea of ​​postmodern absurdism.

31. “Slaughterhouse-Five” – Kurt Vonnegut (“Slaughterhouse-Five” – Kurt Vonnegut)

Slaughterhouse-Five is an autobiographical novel by Kurt Vonnegut about the bombing of Dresden during World War II.

32. “Mrs. Dalloway” – Virginia Woolf (“Mrs Dalloway” – Virginia Woolf)

The novel tells the story of one day in the life of the fictional heroine Clarissa Dalloway, a society woman in post-war England. One of the most famous novels of the writer.

33. “Jane Eyre” – Charlotte Brontë (“Jane Eyre” – Charlotte Brontë)

The book tells about the difficult fate of an orphan with a strong, independent character, about her childhood, growing up, searching for her path and overcoming the obstacles that stand in her way.

34. “The Lord of the Rings” – J. R. R. Tolkien

“The Lord of the Rings” is an epic novel by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, the most famous work of the fantasy genre.

35. “A Passage to India” – Edward Forster (“A Passage to India” – E.M. Forster)

At the center of “A Passage to India” is the relationship between the Indian Aziz and the Englishman Fielding. The twists and turns of the plot, exciting in themselves, help to make these relationships stand out more clearly and reveal themselves to their extreme potential.

36. “All the King's Men” – Robert Penn Warren (“All the King's Men” – Robert Penn Warren)

The main character of the novel is politician Willie Stark. A born leader who rose from the bottom of society sincerely believed that he could make the world a better place. However, the truth of life revealed to him turns him into a cruel, unprincipled politician. His motto: “Good can only be made from evil, because there is simply nothing else to make from it.”

37. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

Brave New World is a dystopian satirical novel set in London in the distant future (circa the 26th century of the Christian era, specifically in the year 2541). People all over the Earth live in a single state, whose society is a consumer society, the symbol of the consumer god is Henry Ford, and instead of the sign of the cross, people “sign themselves with the sign T.”

38. “As I Lay Dying” – William Faulkner (“As I Lay Dying” – William Faulkner)

W. Faulkner's novel “As I Lay Dying” is unique. There is no author's speech at all, the book is torn into a chain of monologues, sometimes long, sometimes short, and sometimes even fitting into one or two phrases, and they are led by fourteen characters - mainly the Bundrens, and next to them are neighbors, the same poor farmers.

39. “The Big Sleep” – Raymond Chandler

The Deep Sleep is the first in a series of novels about private detective Philip Marlowe. Classic hardboiled detective.

40. “Stories” – Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

A collection of stories by a classic of world literature.

41. “Crime and Punishment” - F. M. Dostoevsky

“Crime and Punishment” is considered one of the most philosophical books in the world, which “poses the problems of good and evil, freedom and necessity, crime and moral responsibility, revolution, socialism, philosophy of history and the state.”

42. “Molloy,” “Malone Dies,” and “Nameless” – Samuel Beckett (“Molloy,” “Malone Dies,” “The Unnamable” – Samuel Beckett)

“Molla,” “Malon Dies” and “Nameless” are three works that make up a trilogy and represent a separate milestone in Beckett’s creative biography.

43. “The Stranger” – Albert Camus (“L"Étranger” – Albert Camus)

The story is narrated by a 30-year-old Frenchman. His name remains unknown, but his last name is mentioned in passing - Meursault. Three key events in his life are described - the death of his mother, the murder of a local resident and trial, as well as a brief relationship with a girl.

44. “The Tin Drum” – Günter Grass (“Die Blechtrommel” – Günter Grass)

The Tin Drum is Günter Grass's first novel. It was this work, which reflected the history of Germany in the 20th century in a grotesque form, that brought its author world fame.

45. “Sons and Lovers” – David Herbert Lawrence (“Sons and Lovers” – D. H. Lawrence)

The book describes the life of a young man named Paul Morel, born into a coal miner's family in the small town of Bestwood, Nottinghamshire. The love of children for their mother runs through the novel as a red thread. Paul is most attached to her: unlike his brothers and sister, he will never be able to leave his mother’s house until her death.

46. ​​“The Golden Notebook” – Doris Lessing

The story of Anna Wolf, a talented writer and committed feminist, who, teetering on the brink of madness, writes down all her thoughts and experiences in four multi-colored notebooks: black, red, yellow and blue. But over time, a fifth, golden notebook also appears, the entries in which become a real revelation for the heroine and help her find a way out of the impasse.

47. “The Magic Mountain” – Thomas Mann (“Der Zauberberg” – Thomas Mann)

Immediately after its release, The Magic Mountain received recognition as the key philosophical novel of German literature of the new century. It is generally accepted that, using the example of the closed microcosm of a sanatorium, Mann gave a panorama of the ideological life of European society on the eve of World War.

48. “Beloved” – Toni Morrison (“Beloved” – Toni Morrison)

Beloved, Toni Morrison's most famous novel, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize and then a Nobel Prize. The book is based on real events that took place in Ohio in the 80s of the nineteenth century: the story of a black slave who kills her daughter, saving her from slavery.

49. “Blood Meridian” – Cormac McCarthy (“Blood Meridian” – Cormac McCarthy)

Booker winner John Banville called the novel "a sort of mixture of Dante's Inferno, The Iliad and Moby Dick." The protagonist of Blood Meridian, a fourteen-year-old teenager from Tennessee known only as “the kid,” becomes the hero of a new epic based on real events and circumstances of the Texas-Mexico borderlands of the mid-19th century, where the market for Indian scalps was booming.

50. “The Man Without Qualities” – Robert Musil (“Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften” – Robert Musil)

An ironic panorama of Austria-Hungary on the eve of the First World War, a partly autobiographical “novel of ideas” written by one of the most brilliant European intellectuals of the first half of the 20th century, is a phenomenon grandiose in concept and execution.

51. “The Sun Also Rises” – Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises is a novel by Ernest Hemingway, written in 1926. Based on real events that happened in the author's life.

52. “Gone With the Wind” – Margaret Mitchell (“Gone With the Wind” – Margaret Mitchell)

A novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, the events of which take place in the southern states of the United States in the 1860s, during (and after) the Civil War. The novel was published on June 30, 1936 and became one of the most famous bestsellers in American literature.

53. “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” – Lewis Carroll (“Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” – Louis Carroll)

“Alice's Adventures in Wonderland” is a fairy tale written by the English mathematician, poet and writer Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into an imaginary world inhabited by strange, anthropomorphic creatures.

54. “Heart of Darkness” – Joseph Conrad (“Heart of Darkness” – Joseph Conrad)

“Heart of Darkness” is an adventure story by English writer Joseph Conrad, published in 1902. The story is told from the perspective of the main character, the sailor Marlow, who recalls his journey to Central Africa.

55. “For Whom the Bell Tolls” – Ernest Hemingway

The novel tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American fighter of the International Brigades, sent behind Franco guerrilla lines during the Spanish Civil War. As a demolition expert, he is tasked with blowing up a bridge to prevent Franco reinforcements from approaching Segovia.

56. “An American Tragedy” – Theodore Dreiser (“An American Tragedy” Theodore Dreiser)

In the novel “An American Tragedy,” Dreiser depicts the tragedy of Clive Griffiths - a young man who has tasted all the charm of the life of the rich, so eager to establish himself in their society that he commits a crime for this.

57. “The Adventures of Augie March” – Saul Bellow

An exciting, touching, multifaceted, full of philosophical meaning, the story of a boy who was destined to grow up, make discoveries, love and seek his place in the world during the most dramatic moments of history.

58. “The Call of the Wild” – Jack London (“The Call of the Wild” – Jack London)

The novel takes place in Yukon, Canada during the Gold Rush. The main character, the dog Beck (a cross between a Scottish Sheepdog and a St. Bernard), brought from a shepherd's ranch in California, finds himself in the harsh reality of life as a sled dog. The novel tells the story of Beck's struggles to survive despite the harsh treatment of his owners, other dogs, and the cruelty of nature.

59. “American Pastoral” – Philip Roth (“American Pastoral” – Philip Roth)

The main character, Swede Leivow, married the beautiful Miss New Jersey, inherited his father's factory and became the owner of an old mansion in Old Rimrock. It would seem that dreams have come true, but one day the leafy American happiness suddenly turns to dust...

60. “Deliverance” – James Dickey

The four embark on a journey into the wilderness and desolation of the Appalachian Mountains. They go down the river in two boats. Their intentions are simply to relax, unwind and see picturesque places... But they did not know that they would be ambushed by illiterate local mountaineers, thugs and sadists.

61. “Lucky Jim” – Kingsley Amis (“Lucky Jim” – Kingsley Amis)

A young teacher on probation at a provincial university.
The only “living soul” in a world of dull snobbery and meaningless rules of behavior.
Jim Dixon is sick of this, but he wants to get into the state! So, you have to be like everyone else. But one day love invades Jim's life, and all his conformist endeavors go to hell overnight...

62. “Tropic of Cancer” – Henry Miller (“Tropic of Cancer” – Henry Miller)

The novel takes place in the 1930s in France (mainly Paris). The novel describes the life of struggling writer Henry Miller in Paris.

63. Lord of the Flies – William Golding

A strange, scary story of boys who, by the will of fate, ended up on a desert island. Boys who played with cruelty, hunting, war. A book about the hidden corners of the human soul and the desire for power.

64. “Under the Volcano” – Malcolm Lowry

"At the Foot of the Volcano" is a novel that takes place in a small Mexican town during one day in November 1939 - All Souls' Day. This day is the last in the life of Geoffrey Fermin, a former British consul who finds refuge from life in continuous drunkenness. Fermin's ex-wife Yvonne, his half-brother Hugh and his friend, film director Laruelle, are trying to save the consul, persuade him to stop drinking and start life again...

65. Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh

The novel, published at the end of the Second World War, subtly captures the characters of the passing era of prosperity of the English aristocracy. The protagonist of the novel, the young artist Charles Ryder, meets Sebastian Flyte, a representative of a famous aristocratic family, while studying at Oxford. After his arrival in Brideshead, the Flight family estate, Charles falls into the whirlpool of bohemian life, and over the next years his fate is inextricably linked with this family.

Libraries with freely accessible literature

2.Project Gutenberg

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3. Google Books

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4. University of Pennsylvania Books Page

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5. Open Library

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6. eBooks at Adelaide

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7.Bartleby

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8. Bibliomania

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9. Internet Archive

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10.ManyBooks

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