The bleakest thing about this book is that it is set several years after some catastrophic disaster (most probably a nuclear war) which has devastated the Earth (or, at least, the part our protagonists are wandering through). This means that supplies have almost completely dried up, flora and fauna have died out, and the world depicted is one of desperation, cannibalism and little hope. However,...
In 1922, F Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "something new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple, intricately patterned". That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned and, above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and...
It is perhaps appropriate that this was the first book I read after the election of America's first black President. My real reason for re-reading it, however, was for the purposes of comparison with Faulkner's "Intruder in the Dust", which deals with a similar theme. Indeed, I recently came across an allegation that Harper Lee's novel was essentially a plagiarism of Faulkner's.
Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent". Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his 16-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins:
If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll...
A lush, cautionary tale of a life of vileness and deception or a loving portrait of the aesthetic impulse run rampant? Why not both? After Basil Hallward paints a beautiful, young man's portrait, his subject's frivolous wish that the picture change and he remain the same comes true. Dorian Gray's picture grows aged and corrupt while he continues to appear fresh and innocent. After he kills a young...
1984 is one of those brilliant books that forces you to continually reassess your life and everything in it. This is the second time I have read it and I am noticing different things this time round. It seems to gain relevance at a startling speed, giving the narrative a sort of spooky prophetic feel.
Everyone should read 1984 at least one in their life. Its vital literature for anyone...
Lord of the Flies , William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island, is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's...
Brave New World and 1984 are considered to be the two great prophetic works of the 20th century. Yet whereas 1984 depicts a stereotypical dystopia, Brave New World depicts a world where everyone is happy, everyone is beautiful, everyone can have whatever they want. As a work of prophecy I think Brave New World is far wittier than people give it credit.
In Brave New World people are created in...
This is completely unreadable. I read A LOT and read very good books also. I thought I'd read the booklist for uni in my gap year and this was one of them. I am not looking forward to studying this book. My eyes would not stop glazing over. I fell asleep countless times reading this and it is only 110 pages long. Completely and utterly terrible.
