Book Lists

100 Best Novels

Send to My Email      3 likes

100 Best Novels includes As I Lay Dying (1991), Handful of Dust (1979), Sister Carrie (2007), Golden Bowl (2000), Animal Farm (2007), Studs Lonigan (1979).

91 - 120 of 123 results
 << >>

As I Lay Dying

by: William Faulkner
release date: Jan 30, 1991
As I Lay Dying

“I set out deliberately to write a tour-de-force. Before I ever put pen to paper and set down the first word I knew what the last word would be and almost where the last period would fall.” —William Faulkner on As I Lay Dying
 
As I Lay Dying is Faulkner's harrowing account of the Bundren family's odyssey across the Mississippi countryside to bury Addie, their wife and mother. Narrated in turn  by each of the family members—including Addie herself—as well as others the novel ranges in mood, from dark comedy to the deepest pathos. Considered one of the most influential novels in American fiction in structure, style, and drama, As I Lay Dying is a true 20th-century classic.

This edition reproduces the corrected text of As I Lay Dying as established in 1985 by Noel Polk.

Handful of Dust

by: Evelyn Waugh
Handful of Dust
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)Evelyn Waugh's 1934 novel is a bitingly funny vision of aristocratic decadence in England between the wars. It tells the story of Tony Last, who, to the irritation of his wife, is inordinately obsessed with his Victorian Gothic country house and life. When Lady Brenda Last embarks on an affair with the worthless John Beaver out of boredom with her husband, she sets in motion a sequence of tragicomic disasters that reveal Waugh at his most scathing. The action is set in the brittle social world recognizable from Decline and Fall and Vile Bodies, darkened and deepened by Waugh's own experience of sexual betrayal. As Tony is driven by the urbane savagery of this world to seek solace in the wilds of the Brazilian jungle, A Handful of Dust demonstrates the incomparably brilliant and wicked wit of one of the twentieth century's most accomplished novelists.

Sister Carrie

by: Theodore Dreiser
release date: Jan 01, 2007
Sister Carrie

Sister Carrie

by Theodore Dreiser

Sister Carrie (1900) is a novel by Theodore Dreiser about a young country girl who moves to the big city where she starts realizing her own American Dream, first as a mistress to men that she perceives as superior, and later becoming a famous actress. It has been called the "greatest of all American urban novels.

 

Dissatisfied with life in her rural Wisconsin home, 18-year-old Caroline "Sister Carrie" Meeber takes the train to Chicago, where her older sister Minnie, and Minnie's husband, Sven Hanson, have agreed to take her in. On the train, Carrie meets Charles Drouet, a traveling salesman, who is attracted to her because of her simple beauty and unspoiled manner. They exchange contact information, but upon discovering the "steady round of toil" and somber atmosphere at her sister's flat, she writes to Drouet and discourages him from calling on her there.

 

Carrie soon embarks on a quest for work to pay rent to her sister and her husband, and takes a job running a machine in a shoe factory. Before long, however, she is shocked by the coarse manners of both the male and female factory workers, and the physical demands of the job, as well as the squalid factory conditions, begin to take their toll. She also senses Minnie and Sven's disapproval of her interest in Chicago's recreational opportunities, particularly the theatre. One day, after an illness that costs her job, she encounters Drouet on a downtown street. Once again taken by her beauty, and moved by her poverty, he encourages her to dine with him, where, over sirloin and asparagus, he persuades her to leave her sister and move in with him. To press his case, he slips Carrie two ten dollar bills, opening a vista of material possibilities to her. The next day, he rebuffs her feeble attempts to return the money, taking her shopping at a Chicago department store and securing a jacket she covets and some shoes. That night, she writes a good-bye note to Minnie and moves in with Drouet.

Golden Bowl

by: Henry James
release date: Nov 01, 2000
Golden Bowl
Written by Henry James and published in 1904, this novel has wealthy American widower Adam Verver and his daughter Maggie living in Europe, where they collect art and relish each other's company. Through the efforts of the manipulative Fanny Assingham, Maggie becomes engaged to Amerigo, an Italian prince in reduced circumstances, but remains blind to his rekindled affair with her longtime friend Charlotte Stant. Maggie and Amerigo marry, and later, after Charlotte and Adam have also wed, both spouses learn of the ongoing affair, though neither seeks a confrontation. Not until Maggie buys the gilded crystal bowl of the title as a birthday present for Adam does truth crack the veneer of propriety.

This edition contains extensive overviews of both the author and the novel.

Animal Farm

by: George Orwell
release date: Jan 01, 2007
Animal Farm
Animal Farm, by George Orwell - Akasha Classics, AkashaPublishing.Com - Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the henhouses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes. With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard, kicked off his boots at the back door, drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring. As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals. It had been agreed that they should all meet in the big barn as soon as Mr. Jones was safely out of the way. Old Major (so he was always called, though the name under which he had been exhibited was Willingdon Beauty) was so highly regarded on the farm that everyone was quite ready to lose an hour¿s sleep in order to hear what he had to say.

Tender Is the Night

by: F. Scott Fitzgerald
release date: Jan 01, 2010
Tender Is the Night
Om en læge, der svigter sine idealer og tilbringer sit liv i ørkesløs lediggang ved mondæne europæiske hoteller som sin rige kones mand

The Ambassadors

by: Henry James
release date: Jan 01, 1999
The Ambassadors

ReadHowYouWant publishes a wide variety of best selling books in Large and Super Large fonts in partnership with leading publishers. EasyRead books are available in 11pt and 13pt. type. EasyRead Large books are available in 16pt, 16pt Bold, and 18pt Bold type. EasyRead Super Large books are available in 20pt. Bold and 24pt. Bold Type. You choose the format that is right for you.

This is Volume Volume 2 of 2-Volume Set. To purchase the complete set, you will need to order the other volumes separately: to find them, search for the following ISBNs: 9781425047986

In the backdrop of Paris and New England, the story unfolds and narrates the events that help Lambert Strether in self-discovery. With the aim of learning about the activities of Chad Newsome, he travels to Paris and unravels secrets that astound him. The novel subtly compares the different moral standards and conflicting ideas and emotions of the characters.

To find more titles in your format, Search in Books using EasyRead and the size of the font that makes reading easier and more enjoyable for you.

The Wings of the Dove

by: Henry James
release date: Jan 01, 2000
The Wings of the Dove
When Milly Theale travels to London she meets Kate Croy, and is introduced to her love, Merton Densher. Kate is facing an impossible choice - either marry the man she loves, or give him up in order to take her rightful place in society.

A Passage to India

by: Ann Wood
release date: Jan 01, 2008
A Passage to India
REA's MAXnotes for E. M. Forster's A Passage to India

MAXnotes offer a fresh look at masterpieces of literature, presented in a lively and interesting fashion. Written by literary experts who currently teach the subject, MAXnotes will enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the work. MAXnotes are designed to stimulate independent thought about the literary work by raising various issues and thought-provoking ideas and questions.

MAXnotes cover the essentials of what one should know about each work, including an overall summary, character lists, an explanation and discussion of the plot, the work's historical context, illustrations to convey the mood of the work, and a biography of the author. Each chapter is individually summarized and analyzed, and has study questions and answers.

Winesburg Ohio

by: Sherwood Anderson
release date: Jan 01, 1999
Winesburg Ohio
Webster's paperbacks take advantage of the fact that classics are frequently assigned readings in English courses. By using a running English-to-Wolof thesaurus at the bottom of each page, this edition of Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson was edited for three audiences. The first includes Wolof-speaking students enrolled in an English Language Program (ELP), an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program, an English as a Second Language Program (ESL), or in a TOEFL� or TOEIC� preparation program. The second audience includes English-speaking students enrolled in bilingual education programs or Wolof speakers enrolled in English-speaking schools. The third audience consists of students who are actively building their vocabularies in Wolof in order to take foreign service, translation certification, Advanced Placement� (AP�) or similar examinations. By using the Webster's Wolof Thesaurus Edition when assigned for an English course, the reader can enrich their vocabulary in anticipation of an examination in Wolof or English.
TOEFL�, TOEIC�, AP� and Advanced Placement� are trademarks of the Educational Testing Service which has neither reviewed nor endorsed this book. All rights reserved.

U. S. a.

by: John Dos Passos
U. S. a.
The author uses "camera eye" and "newsreel" sections to create a fragmented yet naturalistic atmosphere. The testimony of the numerous characters, both fictional and historical, gradually builds up a composite picture of American society in the first quarter of the 20th century.

Henderson the Rain King

by: Saul Bellow
Henderson the Rain King
Henderson the Rain King, is seriocomic novel by Saul Bellow, first published in 1959. The novel examines the midlife crisis of Eugene Henderson, an unhappy millionaire. The story concerns Henderson's search for meaning. A larger-than-life 55-year-old who has accumulated money, position, and a large family, he nonetheless feels unfulfilled. He makes a spiritual journey to Africa, where he draws emotional sustenance from experiences with African tribes. Deciding that his true destiny is as a healer, Henderson returns home, planning to enter medical school.

“A kind of wildly delirious dream made real by the force of Bellow's rollicking prose and the offbeat inventiveness of his language.” — Chicago Tribune

“Bellow's aura of fable is constantly washed over by humor, impulsive creation, and actual, turbulent detail.” — The Nation

Native Son

by:
release date: Apr 01, 1999
Native Son
The tale of Bigger Thomas and his struggle for survival in a hostile country, America, is retold in a new edition of this Richard Wright classic. Reprint. 60,000 first printing.

Invisible Man

by: Ralph Ellison
release date: Jan 01, 1992
Invisible Man
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. A black man's search for success and the American dream leads him out of college to Harlem and a growing sense of personal rejection and social invisibility.

Slaughterhouse-Five

by: Kurt Jr. Vonnegut
release date: Jan 01, 2003
Slaughterhouse-Five
Billy Pilgrim travels through time to relive parts of his life. 2 cassettes.

Heart Is A Lonely Hunter

by: Carson McCullers
Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time

When she was only twenty-three, Carson McCullers's first novel created a literary sensation. She was very special, one of America's superlative writers who conjures up a vision of existence as terrible as it is real, who takes us on shattering voyages into the depths of the spiritual isolation that underlies the human condition. This novel is the work of a supreme artist, Carson McCullers's enduring masterpiece. The heroine is the strange young girl, Mick Kelly. The setting is a small Southern town, the cosmos universal and eternal. The characters are the damned, the voiceless, the rejected. Some fight their loneliness with violence and depravity, some with sex or drink, and some—like Mick—with a quiet, intensely personal search for beauty.

An American Tragedy

by: Theodore Dreiser
An American Tragedy
Other List with This Book:

To the Lighthouse

by: Virginia Woolf
release date: Jan 01, 2000
To the Lighthouse
This reading of Virginia Woolf's most celebrated novel is accompanied by a comprehensive introduction, a survey of the novel's critical reception, notes, bibliography and textual variants. It should be useful to students of modern literature at all levels.

I, Claudius

by: Robert Graves
release date: Jan 01, 2007
I, Claudius
Considered an idiot because of his physical infirmities, Claudius survived the intrigues and poisonings of the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, and the Mad Caligula to become emporer in 41 A.D.

1984

by: George Orwell
release date: Nov 01, 2004
1984
Orwell depicts a gray world dominated by Big Brother and its vast network of agents, including the Thought Police, quashing freedom in a totalitarian world in which news is manufactured according to the authorities' will and people live tepid lives by rote.

Winston Smith, the hero with no heroic qualities, longs only for truth and decency. But living in a social system in which privacy does not exist and where those with unorthodox ideas are brainwashed or put to death, he knows there is no hope for him.

The year 1984 has come and gone, yet George Orwell's nightmare vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is still the great modern classic of negative Utopia.

The Way of All Flesh

by: Samuel Butler
release date: Jan 01, 1998
The Way of All Flesh
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time

The Way of All Flesh is one of the time-bombs of literature," said V. S. Pritchett. "One thinks of it lying in Samuel Butler's desk for thirty years, waiting to blow up the Victorian family and with it the whole great pillared and balustraded edifice of the Victorian novel."
   Written between 1873 and 1884 but not published until 1903, a year after Butler's death, his marvelously uninhibited satire savages Victorian bourgeois values as personified by multiple generations of the Pontifex family. A thinly veiled account of his own upbringing in the bosom of a God-fearing Christian family, Butler's scathingly funny depiction of the self-righteous hypocrisy underlying nineteenth-century domestic life was hailed by George Bernard Shaw as "one of the summits of human achievement."
   "If the house caught on fire, the Victorian novel I would rescue from the flames would be The Way of All Flesh," wrote William Maxwell in The New Yorker. "It is read, I believe, mostly by the young, bent on making out a case against their elders, but Butler was fifty when he stopped working on it, and no reader much under that age is likely to appreciate the full beauty of its horrors. . . . Every contemporary novelist with a developed sense of irony is probably in some measure, directly or indirectly, indebted to Butler, who had the misfortune to be a twentieth-century man born in the year 1835."

Under the Volcano

by: Malcolm Lowry
Under the Volcano
One of the twentieth century's great undisputed masterpieces, Malcolm Lowry's "Under the Volcano" includes an introduction by Michael Schmidt in "Penguin Modern Classics". It is the fiesta 'Day of the Dead' in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac. In the shadow of the volcano, ragged children beg coins to buy skulls made of chocolate, ugly pariah dogs roam the streets and Geoffrey Firmin - ex-consul, ex-husband, an alcoholic and a ruined man - is living out the last day of his life. Drowning himself in mescal while his former wife and half-brother look on, powerless to help him, the consul has become an enduring tragic figure. As the day wears on, it becomes apparent that Geoffrey must die. It is his only escape from a world he cannot understand. His story, the image of one man's agonised journey towards Calvary, became a prophetic book for a whole generation. Malcolm Lowry (1909-1957) was born and died in England. Between school and studying English at St Catherine's College, Cambridge he spent five months at sea as a deckhand, an experience which gave him the material for his first novel, "Ultramarine" (1933). After marrying in Paris, he moved to New York where he completed "In Ballast to the White" (1936). "Under The Volcano" was begun in Hollywood, coloured by a short stay in the Mexico that it describes, and eventually finished in Dollarton, British Columbia. If you enjoyed "Under the Volcano", you might like F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Beautiful and the Damned", also available in "Penguin Classics". "A Faustian masterpiece". (Anthony Burgess).

Grapes of Wrath

by: John Steinbeck
release date: Jan 01, 1989
Grapes of Wrath
Unabridged, 17 CDs, 21 hours
Read by Dylan Baker
The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized-and sometimes outraged-millions of readers
At once naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck's, "The Grapes of Wrath" is perhaps the most American of American classics. Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the transformation of an entire nation during the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s, "The Grapes of Wrath" is also the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads, who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. From their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of this new America, Steinbeck creates a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, tragic but ultimately stirring in its insistence on human dignity.

Sons and Lovers

by: D. H. Lawrence
release date: Jan 01, 2011
Sons and Lovers
This semi-autobiographical novel explores the emotional conflicts through the protagonist, Paul Morel, and the suffocating relationships with a demanding mother and two very different lovers. It is a pre-Freudian exploration of love and possessiveness.

Darkness at Noon

by: Arthur Koestler
Darkness at Noon
Darkness At Noon stands as an unequaled fictional portrayal of the nightmare politics of our time. Its hero is an aging revolutionary, imprisoned and psychologically tortured by the Party to which he has dedicated his life. As the pressure to confess preposterous crimes increases, he re-lives a career that embodies the terrible ironies and human betrayals of a totalitarian movement masking itself as an instrument of deliverance. Almost unbearably vivid in its depiction of one man's solitary agony, Darkness At Noon asks questions about ends and means that have relevance not only for the past but for the perilous present. It is—as the Times Literary Supplement has declared—"A remarkable book, a grimly fascinating interpretation of the logic of the Russian Revolution, indeed of all revolutionary dictatorships, and at the same time a tense and subtly intellectualized drama..."

Catch-22

by: Joseph Heller
release date: Jan 01, 2007
Catch-22
During WWII, the rule is that anyone who is crazy must be grounded. But anyone sane enough to know he'd be crazy to keep flying is not crazy enough to be grounded. 2 cassettes.

The Sound and the Fury

by: William Faulkner
release date: Jan 01, 1990
The Sound and the Fury
Retells the tragic times of the Compson family, including beautiful, rebellious Caddy; manchild Benjy; haunted, neurotic Quentin; Jason, the brutal cynic; and Dilsey, their black servant.

Brave New World

by: Aldous Huxley
release date: Jan 01, 2006
Brave New World
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Huxley's classic prophetic novel describes the socialized horrors of a futuristic utopia devoid of individual freedom.

Lolita

by: Vladimir Nabokov
release date: Jan 01, 1989
Lolita
8 cassettes / 12 hours
Unabridged.
Read by Jeremy Irons


Exhilarating, both appallingly funny and hauntingly sad, Lolita is Vladimir Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, a twentieth century classic whose characters' names have become synonymous with the outrages and degradations of obsessive passion. When the aging emigre Humbert Humbert falls in love with the precocious nymphet Dolores Haze, all the rules -- of desire, decency, and literature -- are broken.  Lolita has the power to shock, challenge, and enrapture anyone who listens to this masterful performance by Academy Award-winning actor Jeremy Irons.

Even if you're not a fan of audio - I urge you to listen to this recording. Engrossing, enraging, titillating, disturbing, fascinating -- Jeremy Irons oozes with all things right in literature.  The boundaries have been pushed.
91 - 120 of 123 results
 << >>


  • Aboutread.com makes it one-click away to discover great books from local library by linking books/movies to your library catalog search.

  • Copyright © 2025 Aboutread.com