🔥 For readers of our website, a promo code for Litres books. 👉.
The most recognized classic literature - a list of the best books. World foreign and Russian classics. Highly recommended. 😉
Sylvia Plath. Under a glass cover
Esther Greenwood is invited to New York for an internship at a women's fashion magazine. She goes there, determined to conquer the city and become a writer. But behind the magnificent scenes hides an indifferent society and the difficulties of adulthood. Esther loses control of herself and is overcome by depression and loneliness. Further
Ken Kesey. Over the cuckoo's nest
The work, which describes harsh and extremely honest images of the points of contact between common sense and madness, brought Ken Kesey the title of the most talented writer. At the time of its appearance, the novel was popular among representatives of the beat movement and hippies, but even today it has not lost its relevance. Further
William Somerset Maugham. Theater
What does the book hide in itself? An elegant and sarcastic narrative by an incomparable, witty actress who is going through a midlife crisis while dating a young thief of women's hearts? Vanity stories of the roaring twenties? Or is this an exciting romance for all times? One thing is for sure, “Theatre” will appeal to even the most fastidious reader. Further
This book will be an assistant for schoolchildren of all ages. With it, neither children nor parents will have to spend a lot of their time searching for a specific work: the collection already contains a large amount of necessary literature, which teachers advise reading. Further
The main character, who is a bank employee, is suddenly arrested on the day he turns 30. But he is not taken into custody, and he takes advantage of this to try to figure out what he did wrong. In this process, he becomes more and more immersed in the judicial world. Will the hero be able to figure out what the accusation is? Further
Kerouac became famous all over the world thanks to his work “On the Road,” although the attitude of different people towards him was very contradictory. The novel, in a very unusual, non-linear way, tells the story of the plight and suffering of one generation of people, and in the center of attention is Dean, a witty man who loves drink and women. Further
Famous novel in Polish classics, written in historical genre. Events take place in the mid-16th century. Then the Swedes were eager to conquer Poland. But the Poles also caused confusion among their people: some went over to the side of their enemies, others tried with all their might to defend their land. And in the center of events are the adventures of a couple in love. Further
A novel that will be relevant at all times. The book touches on themes of religion and philosophy, which are beautifully revealed in an ideally constructed plot: the actions of each character carry makes a lot of sense. In this work, the author showed how one can avoid immorality in society. Further
The original opposite of the well-known dystopia “Wonderful World”. What's worse for people? A consumerist society driven to the point of meaninglessness? Or a society with a predominance of ideas, which led to ideal perfection? Orwell believes that the worst thing is the massive loss of freedom. Further
The book tells the story of generations of the Buendia family. Events during the war, forbidden love between family members, the appearance of new people, magic - all this can be found in the work of Marquez. The novel involves the reader in the feelings of each character: his experiences and loneliness are acutely felt. Further
The tragedies of people in wartime, the problems of the lost generation. This book will reveal the range of all feelings from love to betrayal. The heroes of the novel are three friends who are united by the front; their feelings, thoughts about the past, desires and dreams are described. This work is for those who want to immerse themselves in the life of the last century. Further
The book that laid the foundation for the culture of European postmodernism. It can be perceived in different ways: a masterpiece novel of avant-gardeism, written in the style of surrealist philosophy, or, conversely, a masterpiece philosophical story, written in the style of a novel with surrealism. Further
The busy life of the 20s of the last century, when it was popular to throw luxurious parties, when people were confident that they would find happiness only after achieving great heights of power and wealth. And Gatsby, who fruitlessly chased the dream of love, had all of this. Further
The boys, who had only recently graduated from school and had not yet had time to experience adult life, found themselves in a war that spares no one, together with their teacher. Young men try to find joy in the most ordinary things, in things that they never paid attention to before, because every day could be their last. Further
Events take place in a sanatorium where there are people suffering from tuberculosis. I feel acutely cut off from the rest of the world, with which I can occasionally communicate via mail. Here no one is afraid of death anymore, everyone desperately clings to the slightest manifestations of relationships between people, this helps not to go crazy. Further
A masterpiece of literary art that will never lose its relevance: people of all times will read this book with great pleasure. Jane Austen was the first to show that the novel could be a serious genre without the superficiality of its plot. With this she won everyone's love. Further
A book that draws you into the story of difficult fates two brothers and a sister who begin to live separate lives after their father dies. Everyone along the way encounters many obstacles that prevent them from finally achieving their dreams. The work teaches you to find happiness in what you already have, but have not yet learned to appreciate. Further
Hugo writes about how people who are not accepted by society live. For example, a man who was sentenced to 20 years because he was caught stealing bread because his poor family was starving; or the boy who lived on the street. The novel touches on themes of crime, police, politics and the church. Further
At the time of the first delivery of the novel, books were subject to strict censorship; the publication of forbidden topics could not be allowed, so this work was cut by almost a third. This version of the book is compiled from all materials that were found in the archive; it is the first complete edition that you can read. Further
An excellently written work, which was awarded a film adaptation. But if you want to feel the whole gamut of emotions and be completely immersed in a deep story about the crazy, unrequited love of a beautiful paralyzed girl for a soldier, then you should read this novel by Zweig. Further
It was the world's most popular classic literature - a list of the best books. Not everyone here is Russian and foreign classics, but if you have favorite works, write about them in the comments and we will add them to the list. 😉
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 for a long time better known than the Odyssey, and in to a greater extent influenced 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.
United Kingdom
Charles Dickens "The Adventures of Oliver Twist"
A groundbreaking novel featuring real life without embellishment, Dickens composed it 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 invested 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 novel came out as a separate volume, in a new edition, abridged by the author, and began 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 Buendia family saga is the second most popular text on Spanish all over the world (the first is “Don Quixote” by Cervantes). Sample of the genre " magical realism”, 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
In "NG - ExLibris" in the issue dated January 31, 2008, under the heading "From the Divine Bottle of Master Francois Rabelais to the scandalous "Blue Lard" by Vladimir Sorokin," a very interesting and controversial list of "100 novels, which, in the opinion of the editorial team of "NG-Ex" libris" shocked the literary world and influenced the entire culture."
“The millennium has just begun, we can take stock. Including literary ones. The year is also at the very beginning, we bring to your attention a list of the 100 best, in the opinion of the editors of NG-EL, novels of all times and peoples.
In the end, why are we worse? The British/Americans compile their lists of great novels, including either boring modern English-language fiction, or even more boring, but long-forgotten English-language fiction. Having added “for objectivity” several Russian novels, several things from world literature. We are also biased, we also include only what we know, what we are confident in, because this is precisely our choice. We really want to be objective, but absolute objectivity is impossible in such lists. Although we, of course, have much more English-language novels than the English-Russians. We are not touchy. And if we like something, we say we like it.
Of course, the novels of living (or recently deceased) authors are closer and more understandable to us, which is why there are more of them than there should be. If we had written our list 100 years ago, we would probably have included Artsybashev, Veltman, Chernyshevsky, Pisemsky, Krestovsky, Leskov and Merezhkovsky (they would still be worth including now, but their stories and tales, like many others not included, are perhaps all -that’s better) etc. Of course, many did not enter. Those without whom literature is unthinkable. Ivan Bunin, for example. Or Edgar Allan Poe. Or Anton Chekhov. Or Knut Hamsun, author of many great novels. But his best work is “Hunger” - a story! A similar story, by the way, is with Yuz Aleshkovsky. He has novels, but " business cards" - "Masking" and "Nikolai Nikolaevich" - stories, damn them three times wrong!
Others, on the contrary, entered “through connections.” For example, Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” is a poem, but the author called his work “a novel in verse.” So it's a novel. On the other hand, and " Dead souls"Gogol, and "Moscow-Petushki" by Erofeev, according to the authors, are poems. Yes, poems. But if these are not novels, then what are novels? What do Sergei Minaev and Oksana Robski write? So our position is not a contradiction, it is a dialectic, our editorial arbitrariness.
Despite the exceptional prevalence of the novel genre, its boundaries are still not clearly defined. Most literary scholars believe that the genre of large narrative works called the novel arose in Western European literature of the 12th–13th centuries, when the literary creativity of the third estate began to take shape, led by the trading bourgeoisie. As a result, the genre of the novel replaced the heroic epic and legend that dominated ancient and feudal knightly literature. It is not for nothing that Hegel called the novel a “bourgeois epic.” Therefore, you will not find in our list either “The Golden Ass” by Apuleius or “Parsifal” by Wolfram von Eschenbach. An exception is made only for the works of Rabelais and Cervantes, which can be considered embryonic novels, or proto-novels.
Let us repeat: this is solely our choice, subjective and biased. As is customary, we included some in vain, while others, on the contrary, were unfairly ignored. Make up your own version. The one who does nothing makes no mistakes.
You can see the list itself in today's issue of NG-EL. With brief comments. We have arranged the novels in chronological order (either by time of writing or by date of first publication).
“100 novels that, according to the editorial team of NG - Ex libris, shocked the literary world and influenced the entire culture”
1. Francois Rabelais. "Gargantua and Pantagruel" (1532–1553).
An extravaganza of mental health, rough and good jokes, a parody of parodies, a catalog of everything. How many centuries have passed and nothing has changed.
2. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. " Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" (1605–1615).
A parody that has survived the parodied works for many centuries. A comic character who became tragic and a household name.
3. Daniel Defoe. "The life and amazing adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a sailor from York, who lived twenty-eight years in all alone on desert island off the coast of America near the mouth of the Orinoco River, where he was thrown into a shipwreck, during which the entire crew of the ship except him died; with an account of his unexpected liberation by pirates, written by himself" (1719).
Extremely accurate implementation in artistic form ideas of Renaissance humanism. Fictionalized proof that an individual person has independent value.
4. Jonathan Swift. "The Travels of Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships" (1726).
A biography of a man who encountered incredible forms of intelligent life - Lilliputians, giants, intelligent horses - and who found not only a common language with them, but also many common traits with his fellow tribesmen.
5. Abbot Prevost. "The History of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut" (1731).
In fact, “Manon...” is a story, an inserted chapter in the multi-volume novel “Notes of a Noble Man Who Retired from the Light.” But it was this inserted chapter that became a masterpiece love story, which amazed not so much his contemporaries as his descendants, a masterpiece that eclipsed everything else written by Prevost.
6. Johann Wolfgang Goethe. “The Sorrows of Young Werther” (1774).
They say that in the 18th century, young people committed suicide after reading this novel. And today the story of a vulnerable person, unable to defend his “I” in the face of hostile reality, leaves no one indifferent.
7. Laurence Stern. "The Life and Beliefs of Tristram Shandy" (1759-1767).
A charming game of nothing and never. Subtle postmodernism, a cheerful and light struggle between the witty and the risky. The entire text is on the edge, from here, from the opinions of the gentleman Shandy, arose not only Sasha Sokolov, not only Bitov, but even Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky, alas, a storyteller, not a novelist.
8. Choderlos de Laclos. "Dangerous Liaisons" (1782).
A moralizing novel in letters from the life of a courtly 18th century. Vice weaves cunning intrigues, causing one to exclaim: “Oh times! Oh morals! However, virtue still triumphs.
9. Marquis de Sade. "120 days of Sodom" (1785).
The first in the history of world literature computer game with cut off parts of the bodies and souls of puppet characters, a multi-level cutter-strangler-burner. Plus black, black humor in a black, black room on a black, black night. It's scary, it's creepy.
10. Jan Potocki. "Manuscript Found in Zaragoza" (1804).
A labyrinth-like novel-box in short stories. The reader gets from one story to another without having time to catch his breath, and there are only 66 of them. Amazing adventures, dramatic events and mysticism of the highest standard.
11. Mary Shelley. "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus" (1818).
A Gothic story that unleashed a whole “brood” of themes and characters, subsequently picked up by many and still exploited to this day. Among them are an artificial person, a creator who is responsible for his work, and a tragically lonely monster.
12. Charles Maturin. "Melmoth the Wanderer" (1820).
A true gothic novel full of mystery and horror. Paraphrase on the theme of the Eternal Jew Agasfer and the Seville Seducer Don Juan. And also a novel of temptations, varied and irresistible.
13. Honore de Balzac. "Shagreen Skin" (1831).
The most terrible novel by Balzac, the first and best author of serials to date. “Shagreen Skin” is also part of his large series, it’s just a smaller and smaller piece; I really don’t want to finish reading it, but it’s already uncontrollably drawing me into the abyss.
14. Victor Hugo. "Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris"(1831).
An apology for romance and social justice based on the French Middle Ages, which still has a lot of fans - at least in the form of a musical of the same name.
15. Stendhal. "Red and Black" (1830–1831).
Dostoevsky made from this - from a newspaper crime chronicle - a tendentious accusatory pamphlet with philosophy. Stendhal wrote a love story where everyone is to blame, everyone is pitied, and most importantly - passion!
16. Alexander Pushkin. "Eugene Onegin" (1823–1833).
A novel in verse. The story of love and life of an “extra person” and an encyclopedia of Russian life, which, thanks to the critic Belinsky, we have known about since school.
17. Alfred de Musset. “Confession of the Son of the Century” (1836).
“Hero of Our Time,” written by Eduard Limonov, but without the swearing and loving African-Americans. There is plenty of love here, however, there is plenty of melancholy, despair and self-pity, but there is also sober calculation. I'm the last bastard, he says lyrical hero. And he is certainly right.
18. Charles Dickens. "Posthumous Notes" Pickwick Club"(1837).
A surprisingly funny and positive work by an English classic. All of old England, all the best that was in it, was embodied in the image of a noble, good-natured and optimistic old man - Mr. Pickwick.
19. Mikhail Lermontov. "Hero of Our Time" (1840).
The story of the “superfluous man”, who nevertheless became, or rather, precisely because of this, an example to follow for many generations of pale young men.
20. Nikolai Gogol. "Dead Souls" (1842).
It is difficult to find a larger picture of Russian life at its deepest, mystical level. Moreover, written with such a combination of humor and tragedy. In her heroes they see both accurate portraits painted from life and images of evil spirits weighing down the nation.
21. Alexandre Dumas. "The Three Musketeers" (1844).
One of the most famous historical adventure novels is an encyclopedia of French life in the era of Louis XIII. Musketeer heroes - romantics, revelers and duelists - still remain the idols of young people of primary school age.
22. William Thackeray. "Vanity Fair" (1846).
Satire, only satire, no humor. Everyone is against everyone, snobs sit on snobs and accuse each other of snobbery. Some contemporaries laughed because they did not know that they were laughing at themselves. Now they also laugh, and also because they don’t know that time has changed, not people.
23. Herman Melville. "Moby Dick" (1851).
A novel-parable about American whalers and the consequences of obsession with one single unrealistic desire that completely enslaves a person.
24. Gustave Flaubert. "Madame Bovary" (1856).
A novel that ended up in the dock as a magazine publication - for insulting morality. The heroine, who sacrificed family ties and reputation for love, is tempting to be called a French Karenina, but “Madame” was more than twenty years ahead of “Anna.”
25. Ivan Goncharov. "Oblomov" (1859).
The most Russian hero of the most Russian novel about Russian life. There is nothing more beautiful and destructive than Oblomovism.
26. Ivan Turgenev. "Fathers and Sons" (1862).
Anti-nihilistic satire, which became a revolutionary guide to action, then satire again, will soon be a guide again. And so on endlessly. Because Enyusha Bazarov is eternal.
27. Mine Reid. "The Headless Horseman" (1865).
The most tender, the most American, the most romantic of all American novels. Probably because it was written by a Briton who was truly in love with Texas. He scares us, but we are not afraid, for this we love him even more.
28. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "Crime and Punishment" (1866).
A novel of contrasts. Napoleonic plans of Rodya Raskolnikov lead him to the most vulgar crime. No scope, no greatness - just filth, dirt and an unpleasant taste in the mouth. He can't even use stolen goods..
29. Leo Tolstoy. "War and Peace" (1867–1869).
War, peace and the inhabited universe of the human spirit. An epic about any war, about any love, about any society, about any time, about any people.
30. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "The Idiot" (1868–1869).
Trying to create a positive image wonderful person, which can be considered the only successful one. And that Prince Myshkin is an idiot is just normal. As well as the fact that everything ends in failure.
31. Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. "Venus in Furs" (1870).
The work on the eroticization of suffering, begun by Turgenev, was continued by his Austrian admirer. In Russia, where suffering is one of the “most important, most fundamental spiritual needs” (according to Fyodor Dostoevsky), the novel is of undiminished interest.
32. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "Demons" (1871–1872).
About Russian revolutionaries - atheists and nihilists - second half of the 19th century century. A prophecy and a warning that, alas, was not heeded. And besides, murders, suicides, quirks of love and passion.
33. Mark Twain. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) / "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884).
A novel of two books. A forerunner of postmodernism: the same events are shown through the eyes of two boys - younger (Tom) and older (Huck).
34. Leo Tolstoy. "Anna Karenina" (1878).
A furious love story, a riot married woman, her struggle and defeat. Under the wheels of a train. Even militant feminists are crying.
35. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "The Brothers Karamazov" (1879–1880).
A parricide in which - one way or another - all the sons of Fyodor Karamazov are involved. Freud read and came up with the Oedipus complex. For Russians, the main thing is: is there God and the immortality of the soul? If there is, then not everything is allowed, and if not, then I’m sorry.
36. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. “Gentlemen Golovlevs” (1880–1883).
The pinnacle of literary activity of the harshest Russian satirist of the 19th century, the final verdict serfdom. An unusually vivid image of an ugly family - people distorted by a combination of physiological and social conditions.
37. Oscar Wilde. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1891).
A magical, fabulous, wonderful, touching and airy story of the rapid transformation of a young scoundrel into an old bastard.
38. H.G. Wells. "The Time Machine" (1895).
One of the pillars of modern social fiction. He was the first to demonstrate that you can move back and forth in time, and also that the light genre is capable of raising very serious problems.
39. Bram Stoker. "Dracula" (1897).
A bridge between the measured Victorian literature and the energetic adventure prose of the twentieth century. A work that first turned a petty Orthodox prince, balancing between Islamic Turkey and Catholic Germany, into the embodiment of absolute Evil, and then made him a movie star.
40. Jack London. " Sea wolf"(1904).
Sea romance is only the background for the portrait of Captain Larson, amazing personality, combining brute force and philosophical thought. Later, such people became the heroes of Vladimir Vysotsky’s songs.
41. Fedor Sologub. "Little Demon" (1905).
The most realistic thing in all decadent literature. The story is about what envy, anger and extreme selfishness can lead to.
42. Andrey Bely. "Petersburg" (1913–1914).
A novel in verse, written in prose. Moreover, about terrorists and Russian statehood.
43. Gustav Meyrink. "Golem" (1914).
A fascinating occult novel, the action of which takes place on the verge of reality and sleep, the dark streets of the Prague ghetto and the intricate labyrinths of the author's consciousness.
44. Evgeny Zamyatin. "We" (1921).
An ideal totalitarian state seen through the eyes of a mathematician. Literary proof that social harmony cannot be verified by algebra.
45. James Joyce. "Ulysses" (1922).
The novel is a labyrinth from which no one has yet managed to escape alive. Not a single literary Theseus, not a single literary Minotaur, not a single literary Daedalus.
46. Ilya Ehrenburg. "The Extraordinary Adventures of Julio Jurenito" (1922).
A satire in which the 20th century is depicted as the main character, Julio Jurenito. A book, some pages of which turned out to be prophetic.
47. Jaroslav Hasek. “The adventures of the good soldier Schweik during the World War” (1921–1923).
Common sense in times of plague. A hero who is declared an idiot for being the only normal one. The funniest book about war.
48. Mikhail Bulgakov. " White Guard"(1924).
Nothing and no one can save the sinking ship of the past. All the more tempting is a toy house where real soldiers who lost the war against their people will be truly killed.
49. Thomas Mann. "The Magic Mountain" (1924).
Tomorrow there was a war. Only the First World War. And indeed – the Magic Mountain. Up there, where the mountains are, you want to sit out and escape from the plague (any kind, it is approximately the same at all times and in all countries), but you just can’t. The magic doesn’t work, they’re already waiting downstairs, and they have very good arguments.
50. Franz Kafka. "The Trial" (1925).
One of the most complex and multifaceted novels of the 20th century, giving rise to hundreds of mutually exclusive interpretations ranging from an entertainingly told dream to an allegory of the metaphysical search for God.
51. Francis Scott Fitzgerald. "The Great Gatsby" (1925).
A novel from the American Jazz Age. Literary scholars are still arguing: either the author buried the great American dream in it, or simply regrets being eternally late today, caught between the memory of the past and the romantic promise of the future.
52. Alexander Green. "Running on the Waves" (1928).
A beautifully romantic extravaganza that has helped many generations of young people and girls survive puberty and gain faith in Good and Light and in their own higher destiny.
53. Ilya Ilf, Evgeny Petrov. "Twelve Chairs" (1928).
A picaresque novel from the era of building socialism with the main character-adventurer Ostap Bender. A satire on Soviet society of the 1920s – on the verge of anti-Sovietism, fortunately, almost unnoticed by the censors of those years.
54. Andrey Platonov. "Chevengur" (1927–1929).
The history of the construction of communism in a single village. Perhaps the most disturbing novel is about the explosion of messianic and eschatological sentiments in the first post-revolutionary years.
55. William Faulkner. "The Sound and the Fury" (1929).
The humble charm of the magical American South. Legends, fairy tales, myths. They don’t let go, they still haunt the Americans, because they have to be afraid of the past. Faulkner comes up with the American Zurbagan, the only way to escape there.
56. Ernest Hemingway. "Farewell to arms!" (1929).
Military prose, overseas military prose. War without war, peace without peace, people without faces and eyes, but with glasses. The glasses are full, but they drink from them slowly, because the dead do not get drunk.
57. Louis Ferdinand Celine. "Journey to the End of Night" (1932).
Stylish and sophisticated chernukha. Without hope. Slums, poverty, war, dirt, and no light, no ray, just a dark kingdom. You can't even see the corpses. But they are, the journey must continue as long as Charon is having fun. Especially for tolerant optimists.
58. Aldous Huxley. "Oh, wonderful new world"(1932).
Interpreters argue: is it a utopia or a dystopia? Be that as it may, Huxley managed to anticipate the benefits and ills of the modern “consumer society.”
59. Lao She. “Notes about Cat City” (1933).
Cats have nothing to do with it. Even foxes, traditional for the Chinese, have nothing to do with it either. This is the government, these are the readers in civilian clothes who have come and knocked on the door. It starts out fun and allegorical and ends with a Chinese torture chamber. Very beautiful, very exotic, you just want to howl and growl, and not meow.
60. Henry Miller. "Tropic of Cancer" (1934).
The moan and howl of the male, longing for cities and years. The most physiologically crude poem in prose.
61. Maxim Gorky. "The Life of Klim Samgin" (1925–1936).
Almost an epic, a political leaflet written almost in verse, the agony of the intelligentsia at the beginning of the century - relevant both at the end and in the middle.
62. Margaret Mitchell. " Gone with the Wind"(1936).
Harmonious combination women's prose with an epic picture of American life during the Civil War, North and South; deservedly became a bestseller.
63. Erich Maria Remarque. "Three Comrades" (1936–1937).
One of the most famous novels on the theme of the “lost generation”. People who have gone through the crucible of war cannot escape the ghosts of the past, but it was the military brotherhood that united the three comrades.
64. Vladimir Nabokov. "The Gift" (1938–1939).
A poignant theme of exile: a Russian emigrant lives in Berlin, writes poetry and loves Zina, and Zina loves him. The famous Chapter IV is the biography of Chernyshevsky, the best of all existing ones. The author himself said: “The Gift” is not about Zina, but about Russian literature.
65. Mikhail Bulgakov. "The Master and Margarita" (1929–1940).
A unique synthesis of satire, mystery and love story, created from a dualistic perspective. A hymn to free creativity, for which it will certainly be rewarded - even after death.
66. Mikhail Sholokhov. " Quiet Don"(1927–1940).
Cossack "War and Peace". War during the Civil War and a world that we will destroy to the ground, so that later we will never build anything again. The novel dies towards the end of the novel, an amazing incident in literature.
67. Robert Musil. "The Man Without Qualities" (1930–1943).
For many years, Musil matched extremely polished lines to one another. It is not surprising that the filigree novel remained unfinished.
68. Hermann Hesse. "The Glass Bead Game" (1943).
A philosophical utopia, written in the midst of the most terrible war of the 20th century. Anticipated all the main features and theoretical constructs of the postmodern era.
69. Veniamin Kaverin. "Two Captains" (1938–1944).
A book that called on Soviet youth to “fight and search, find and not give up.” However, the romance of distant travels and scientific research captivates and attracts to this day.
70. Boris Vian. "Foam of Days" (1946).
The elegant French Kharms, an ironist and postmodernist, covered the entire contemporary culture with feathers and diamonds. Culture still cannot be washed away.
71. Thomas Mann. "Doctor Faustus" (1947).
Composer Adrian Leverkühn sold his soul to the devil. And he began to compose magnificent, but terrifying music, where hellish laughter and a pure children's choir sound. His fate reflects the fate of the German nation, which succumbed to the temptation of Nazism.
72. Albert Camus. "The Plague" (1947).
A metaphorical novel about the “plague of the 20th century” and the role that the invasion of evil plays in the existential awakening of man.
73. George Orwell. "1984" (1949).
A dystopia imbued with Western society's deep-seated fear of the Soviet state and pessimism about human ability to resist social evil.
74. Jerome D. Salinger. "The Catcher in the Rye" (1951).
Touching teenager Holden Caulfield, who does not want (and cannot) be like everyone else. This is why everyone immediately fell in love with him. Both in America and in Russia.
75. Ray Bradbury. "Fahrenheit 451" (1953).
A dystopia that has long come true. Books are not burned now, they are simply not read. We switched to other storage media. Bradbury, who always wrote about a village (well, maybe a Martian one or something else, but still a village), is especially furious here. And he is absolutely right in his rage.
76. John R. R. Tolkien. "The Lord of the Rings" (1954–1955).
A three-volume saga-fairy tale about the struggle between Good and Evil in a fictional world, which accurately reflected the aspirations of people of the twentieth century. Made millions of readers worry about the fate of gnomes, elves and hairy-footed hobbits, as if they were their fellow tribesmen. It shaped the fantasy genre and spawned many imitators.
77. Vladimir Nabokov. "Lolita" (1955; 1967, Russian version).
A shocking, but literary sophisticated story about the criminal passion of an adult man for a young girl. However, lust here strangely turns into love and tenderness. Lots of touching and funny stuff.
78. Boris Pasternak. Doctor Zhivago (1945–1955).
A novel by a brilliant poet, a novel that won the Nobel Prize in Literature, a novel that killed the poet - killed him physically.
79. Jack Kerouac. "On the Road" (1957).
One of the cult works of the beatnik culture. The poetry of the American highway in all its rugged charm. Chasing a hipster that ends in nothing. But it's fun to chase.
80. William Burroughs. "Naked Lunch" (1959).
Another cult work of the beatnik culture. Homosexuality, perversion, glitches and other horrors. An interzone populated by secret agents, mad doctors and all kinds of mutants. But overall, it’s a hysterical rhapsode, repulsive and fascinating.
81. Witold Gombrowicz. "Pornography" (1960).
Despite the fact that the provocative title does not correspond to the content, none of those who mastered this sensual-metaphysical novel were left disappointed.
82. Kobo Abe. "Woman in the Sands" (1962).
Russian melancholy without Russian open spaces. Vertical escape. From skyscrapers to sand pit. Escape without the right to return, without the right to stop, without the right to rest, without any rights whatsoever. A woman can only cover it with sand, only fall asleep. Which is what she does. The escape is considered successful: the fugitive was not found.
83. Julio Cortazar. "Hopscotch" (1963).
A novel woven from novels. Interactive games, call, Mr. Reader, live, I will do as you say. Latin Americans love to gamble, they are very gambling. This novel is a game of chance literary games on a big scale. Some win.
84. Nikolay Nosov. "Dunno on the Moon" (1964–1965).
Fairy tale novel. Only there is very little fairy tale here, but a lot of funny and scary things. The most accurate, most realized dystopia of the twentieth century. And now this book is still coming true and coming true.
85. John Fowles. "The Magus" (1965).
The life and terrifying adventures of the soul and meaning of modern Robinson Crusons on, alas, an inhabited island of pure nightmares. No one will ever forgive anyone for anything.
86. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (1967).
Full of drama is the story of the fictional city of Macondo, founded by a passionate tyrant leader interested in the mystical secrets of the Universe. The mirror that reflected true story Colombia.
87. Philip K. Dick. “Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep” (1968).
A work that asks the question “Are we who we think we are, and is reality as our eyes see it?” It forced serious philosophers and cultural experts to turn to science fiction and at the same time infected several generations of writers and filmmakers with a specific paranoia.
88. Yuri Mamleev. "Connecting Rods" (1968).
A metaphysical novel about a mysterious esoteric circle, whose members in different ways trying to escape from everyday world into the beyond.
89. Alexander Solzhenitsyn. “In the First Circle” (1968).
A novel about a “good” camp, a novel about something that, it would seem, is not so scary, which, apparently, has such a powerful effect. In a complete nightmare you no longer feel anything, but here - when “you can live” - here you understand that there is no life and cannot be. The novel is not even devoid of humorous scenes and this also makes it even more effective. Let's not forget that the circle may be the first, but this is not a life preserver, but one of the circles of the Kolyma hell.
90. Kurt Vonnegut. "Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade" (1969).
A funny and crazy novel in a schizophrenic-telegraphic style. The bombing of Dresden by the Americans and British in 1945, aliens dragging Billy Pilgrim to the planet Tralfamadore. And “such things” are said whenever someone dies.
91. Venedikt Erofeev. “Moscow–Petushki” (1970).
Underground encyclopedia of Russian spiritual life of the second half of the twentieth century. The funny and tragic Bible of a dervish, an alcoholic and a passion-bearer - whoever is closer to what.
92. Sasha Sokolov. "School for Fools" (1976).
One of those rare novels in which what matters is not what, but how. The main character is by no means a schizophrenic boy, but the language is complex, metaphorical, musical.
93. Andrey Bitov. "Pushkin House" (1971).
About a charming conformist, philologist Lev Odoevtsev, who leaves the vile “Soviet” 1960s for the golden 19th century, so as not to get dirty. Truly an encyclopedia Soviet life, an organic part of which is great Russian literature.
94. Eduard Limonov. “It’s me – Eddie” (1979).
A confessional novel that became one of the most shocking books of its time thanks to the author's extreme frankness.
95. Vasily Aksenov. "Island of Crimea" (1979).
Taiwanese version of Russian history: Crimea did not fall to the Bolsheviks during the Civil War. The plot is fantastic, but the feelings and actions of the characters are real. And noble. For which they have to pay very dearly.
96. Milan Kundera. “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” (1984).
Intimate life against the backdrop of political cataclysms. And the conclusion is that any choice is unimportant, “what happened once could not have happened at all.”
97. Vladimir Voinovich. "Moscow 2042" (1987).
The writer's most sophisticated work. Four utopias inserted into each other like nesting dolls. Chronotope tricks and other fun. And also – the most eccentric manifestations of the Russian mentality in all its glory.
98. Vladimir Sorokin. "Roman" (1994).
The book is primarily for writers. Roman, the hero of "Roman", arrives in a typical Russian village, where he lives in a typical village life- everything is like in the realistic novels of the 19th century. But the ending - special, Sorokinsky - symbolizes the end of traditional novelistic thinking.
99. Victor Pelevin. "Chapaev and Emptiness" (1996).
Buddhist thriller, mystical action film about two eras (1918 and 1990s). Which era is real is unknown, and it doesn’t matter. Sharp feeling life in different dimensions, flavored with signature irony. Sometimes it even takes your breath away. Scary and fun.
100. Vladimir Sorokin. "Blue Lard" (1999).
This author's most scandalous novel. A stormy plot, a whirlpool of events. A fascinating play with language - like a symphony. Sinicized Russia of the future, Stalin and Hitler in the past and much more. But overall, when you finish reading it, it brings you to tears.
Anna Karenina. Leo Tolstoy
The greatest love story of all time. A story that has not left the stage, has been filmed countless times - and has still not lost the boundless charm of passion - destructive, destructive, blind passion - but all the more bewitching with its greatness.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
The Master and Margarita. Mikhail Bulgakov
This is the most mysterious novel in history Russian literature XX century This is a novel that is almost officially called “The Gospel of Satan.” This is “The Master and Margarita”. A book that can be read and reread dozens, hundreds of times, but most importantly, it is still impossible to understand. So, which pages of “The Master and Margarita” were dictated by the Forces of Light?
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Wuthering Heights. Emily Brontë
A mystery novel included in the top ten best novels of all time! The story of a stormy, truly demonic passion that has been exciting the imagination of readers for more than one hundred and fifty years. Katie gave her heart to her cousin, but ambition and a thirst for wealth push her into the arms of a rich man. Forbidden attraction turns into a curse for secret lovers, and one day.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Evgeny Onegin. Alexander Pushkin
“Have you read “Onegin”? What can you say about “Onegin”? These are the questions that are constantly repeated among writers and Russian readers,” noted the writer, enterprising publisher and, by the way, the hero of Pushkin’s epigrams, Thaddeus Bulgarin, after the publication of the second chapter of the novel. For a long time now it has not been customary to evaluate ONEGIN. In the words of the same Bulgarin, it is “written in Pushkin’s poems. That's enough."
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Notre Dame Cathedral. Victor Hugo
A story that has survived centuries, become canon and given glory to its heroes common noun images. A story of love and tragedy. The love of those to whom love was not given and not allowed - by religious dignity, physical weakness or someone else's evil will. The gypsy Esmeralda and the deaf hunchback bell-ringer Quasimodo, the priest Frollo and the captain of the royal riflemen Phoebe de Chateaupert, the beautiful Fleur-de-Lys and the poet Gringoire.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Gone with the wind. Margaret Mitchell
The great saga of the American Civil War and the fate of the headstrong Scarlett O'Hara was first published more than 70 years ago and does not become outdated to this day. This is Margaret Mitchell's only novel for which she received a Pulitzer Prize. A story about a woman whom neither an unconditional feminist nor a staunch supporter of house-building is ashamed to emulate.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare
This is the highest tragedy about love that human genius can create. A tragedy that has been filmed and is being filmed. A tragedy that does not leave the theater stage to this day - and to this day it sounds as if it was written yesterday. Years and centuries go by. But one thing remains and will forever remain unchanged: “There is no sadder story in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet...”
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
The Great Gatsby. Francis Fitzgerald
“The Great Gatsby” is the pinnacle not only in Fitzgerald’s work, but also one of the highest achievements in world prose of the 20th century. Although the novel takes place in the “roaring” twenties of the last century, when fortunes were made literally from nothing and yesterday’s criminals became millionaires overnight, this book lives outside of time, because, telling the story of the broken destinies of the generation of the “Jazz Age”.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Three Musketeers. Alexandre Dumas
The most famous historical and adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas tells about the adventures of the Gascon d'Artagnan and his musketeer friends at the court of King Louis XIII.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandre Dumas
The book presents one of the most exciting adventure novels by the classic of French literature of the 19th century, Alexandre Dumas.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Arc de Triomphe. Erich Remarque
One of the most beautiful and tragic novels about love in history European literature. The story of Dr. Ravic, a refugee from Nazi Germany, and the beautiful Joan Madu, who is entangled in the “unbearable lightness of being,” takes place in pre-war Paris. And the alarming time in which these two happened to meet and fall in love with each other becomes one of the main characters of the Arc de Triomphe.
Buy a paper book fromLabirint.ru >>
The man who laughs. Victor Hugo
Gwynplaine, a lord by birth, was sold as a child to comprachico bandits, who made a fair jester out of the child, carving a mask of “eternal laughter” on his face (at the courts of the European nobility of that time there was a fashion for cripples and freaks who amused the owners). Despite all the trials, Gwynplaine retained the best human qualities and his love.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Martin Eden. Jack London
A simple sailor, in whom it is easy to recognize the author himself, goes through a long, hardship-filled path to literary immortality... By chance, he finds himself in secular society, Martin Eden is doubly happy and surprised... both by the creative gift that has awakened in him, and by the divine image of young Ruth Morse, so unlike all the people he knew before... From now on, two goals are relentlessly facing him.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Sister Kerry. Theodore Dreiser
The publication of Theodore Dreiser's first novel was fraught with such difficulties that it led its creator to severe depression. But the further fate of the novel “Sister Carrie” turned out to be happy: it was translated into many foreign languages, reprinted in millions of copies. New and new generations of readers enjoy immersing themselves in the vicissitudes of the fate of Caroline Mieber.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
American tragedy. Theodore Dreiser
The novel “American Tragedy” is the pinnacle of creativity of the outstanding American writer Theodore Dreiser. He said: “No one creates tragedies - life creates them. Writers only portray them.” Dreiser managed to portray the tragedy of Clive Griffiths so talentedly that his story does not leave the modern reader indifferent.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Les Misérables. Victor Hugo
Jean Valjean, Cosette, Gavroche - the names of the heroes of the novel have long become household names, the number of its readers in the century and a half since the publication of the book has not become smaller, the novel has not lost popularity. A kaleidoscope of faces from all layers of French society in the first half of the 19th century, bright, memorable characters, sentimentality and realism, a tense, exciting plot.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
The adventures of the good soldier Schweik. Jaroslav Hasek
A great, original and outrageous novel. A book that can be perceived both as a “soldier’s tale” and as a classic work directly related to the traditions of the Renaissance. This is a sparkling text that makes you laugh until you cry, and a powerful call to “put down your arms,” and one of the most objective historical evidence in satirical literature.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Iliad. Homer
The attractiveness of Homer’s poems is not only that their author introduces us to a world separated from modernity by tens of centuries and yet unusually real thanks to the genius of the poet, who preserved in his poems the beat of contemporary life. Homer's immortality lies in the fact that in his brilliant creations contains inexhaustible reserves of universal human enduring values - reason, goodness and beauty.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
St. John's wort. James Cooper
Cooper managed to find and describe in his books the originality and unexpected brightness of the newly discovered continent, which managed to captivate the whole of modern Europe. Each new novel by the writer was eagerly awaited. The exciting adventures of the fearless and noble hunter and tracker Natty Bumppo captivated both young and adult readers..
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Doctor Zhivago. Boris Pasternak
The novel “Doctor Zhivago” is one of the outstanding works of Russian literature, throughout many years which remained closed to a wide circle of readers in our country, who knew about it only through scandalous and unscrupulous party criticism.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Don Quixote. Miguel Cervantes
What do the names of Amadis of Gaul, Palmer of England, Don Belianis of Greece, Tirant the White tell us today? But it was precisely as a parody of the novels about these knights that “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was created. And this parody has survived the genre being parodied for centuries. "Don Quixote" was recognized best novel throughout the history of world literature.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Ivanhoe. Walter Scott
"Ivanhoe" - key work in the series of novels by W. Scott, which take us to medieval England. The young knight Ivanhoe, who secretly returned from the Crusade to his homeland and was deprived of his inheritance by the will of his father, will have to defend his honor and the love of the beautiful lady Rowena... King Richard the Lionheart and the legendary robber Robin Hood will come to his aid.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Headless Horseman. Reed Main
The plot of the novel is so skillfully constructed that it keeps you in suspense until the very last page. It is no coincidence that the exciting story of the noble mustanger Maurice Gerald and his lover, the beautiful Louise Poindexter, investigating the sinister mystery of the headless horseman, whose figure terrifies the inhabitants of the savannah when he appears, is extremely beloved by readers in Europe and Russia.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Dear friend. Guy de Maupassant
The novel “Dear Friend” became one of the symbols of the era. This is Maupassant's most powerful novel. Through the story of Georges Duroy, who is making his way to the top, the true morals of high French society are revealed; the spirit of corruption that reigns in all its spheres contributes to the fact that an ordinary and immoral person, such as Maupassant’s hero, easily achieves success and wealth.
Buy a paper book atLabirint.ru >>
Dead souls. Nikolai Gogol
The publication of the first volume of N. Gogol’s “Dead Souls” in 1842 caused heated controversy among contemporaries, splitting society into fans and opponents of the poem. “...Speaking of “ Dead souls“-you can talk a lot about Russia...” - this judgment of P. Vyazemsky explained main reason disputes. The author’s question is still relevant: “Rus, where are you rushing, give me the answer?”
Culture
This list contains the names of the greatest writers of all time from different nations, who wrote on different languages. Those who are at least somewhat interested in literature are undoubtedly familiar with them through their wonderful creations.
Today I would like to remember those who remained on the pages of history as outstanding authors of great works that have been in demand for many years, decades, centuries and even millennia.
1) Latin: Publius Virgil Maro
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: Marcus Tullius Cicero, Gaius Julius Caesar, Publius Ovid Naso, Quintus Horace Flaccus
You should know Virgil from his famous epic work "Aeneid", which is dedicated to the fall of Troy. Virgil is probably the most severe perfectionist in the history of literature. He wrote his poem at an amazingly slow speed - only 3 lines a day. He did not want to do it any faster, so as to be sure that it was impossible to write these three lines better.
In Latin, a subordinate clause, dependent or independent, can be written in any order with a few exceptions. Thus, the poet has great freedom to define what his poetry sounds like without changing the meaning in any way. Virgil considered every option at every stage.
Virgil also wrote two more works in Latin - "Bucolics"(38 BC) and "Georgics"(29 BC). "Georgics"- 4 partly didactic poems about agriculture, including various kinds of advice, for example, that you should not plant grapes next to olive trees: olive leaves are very flammable, and at the end of a dry summer they can catch fire, like everything around them, due to a lightning strike.
He also praised Aristaeus, the god of beekeeping, because honey was the only source of sugar for the European world until sugar cane was brought to Europe from the Caribbean. Bees were deified, and Virgil explained how to get a beehive if the farmer does not have one: kill a deer, wild boar or bear, rip open their belly and leave it in the forest, praying to the god Aristaeus. After a week, he will send a beehive to the animal's carcass.
Virgil wrote that he wanted his poem "Aeneid" burned after his death as it remained unfinished. However, the Emperor of Rome Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus refused to do this, thanks to which the poem has survived to this day.
2) Ancient Greek: Homer
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, Apostle Paul, Euripides, Aristophanes
Homer, perhaps, can be called greatest writer of all times and peoples, but not much is known about him himself. He was probably a blind man who told stories that were recorded 400 years later. Or, in fact, a whole group of writers worked on the poems, who added something about the Trojan War and the Odyssey.
Anyway, "Iliad" And "Odyssey" were written in ancient Greek, a dialect that came to be called Homeric in contrast to the Attic that followed later and which replaced it. "Iliad" describes the last 10 years of the Greeks' struggle with the Trojans outside the walls of Troy. The main character is Achilles. He is furious that King Agamemnon treats him and his spoils as his property. Achilles refused to participate in the war, which had lasted for 10 years and in which the Greeks lost thousands of their soldiers in the fight for Troy.
But after some persuasion, Achilles allowed his friend (and possibly lover) Patroclus, who did not want to wait any longer, to join the war. However, Patroclus was defeated and killed by Hector, the leader of the Trojan army. Achilles rushed into battle and forced the Trojan battalions to flee. Without outside help, he killed many enemies and fought with the river god Scamander. Achilles ultimately kills Hector, and the poem ends with funeral ceremonies.
"Odyssey"- an unsurpassed adventure masterpiece about the 10-year wanderings of Odysseus, who tried to return home after graduation Trojan War together with his people. Details of the fall of Troy are mentioned very briefly. When Odysseus ventures to the Land of the Dead, where he finds Achilles among others.
These are just two of Homer’s works that have survived and come down to us, however, whether there were others is not known for sure. However, these works form the basis of all European literature. The poems are written in dactylic hexameter. According to Western tradition, many poems were written in memory of Homer.
3) French: Victor Hugo
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: Rene Descartes, Voltaire, Alexandre Dumas, Moliere, Francois Rabelais, Marcel Proust, Charles Baudelaire
The French have always been fans of long novels, the longest of which is the cycle "In Search of Lost Time" Marcel Proust. However, Victor Hugo is perhaps the most famous author French prose and one of the greatest poets of the 19th century.
His most famous works are "Notre Dame Cathedral"(1831) and "Les Miserables"(1862). The first work even formed the basis of a famous cartoon "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" studios Walt Disney Pictures, however, in Hugo’s real novel, everything ended far from being so fabulous.
The hunchback Quasimodo was hopelessly in love with the gypsy Esmeralda, who treated him well. However, Frollo, an evil priest, has his eye on the beauty. Frollo followed her and saw how she almost ended up as the mistress of Captain Phoebus. As revenge, Frollo turned the gypsy over to justice, accusing him of murdering the captain, whom he actually killed himself.
After being tortured, Esmeralda confessed to having allegedly committed a crime and was supposed to be hanged, but at the last moment she was saved by Quasimodo. Ultimately, Esmeralda was executed anyway, Frollo was thrown from the cathedral, and Quasimodo died of starvation while hugging his lover's corpse.
"Les Miserables" also not a particularly cheerful novel, at least one of the main characters - Cosette - survives, despite the fact that she had to suffer almost all her life, like all the heroes of the novel. This is a classic story of fanatical adherence to the law, but almost no one can help those who really need help most.
4) Spanish: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: Jorge Luis Borges
Cervantes's main work, of course, is the famous novel "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha". He also wrote collections of short stories, a romantic novel "Galatea", novel "Persiles and Sikhismunda" and some other works.
Don Quixote is a fairly funny character, even today, whose real name is Alonso Quejana. He read so much about warrior knights and their honest ladies that he began to consider himself a knight, traveling through the countryside and getting into all sorts of adventures, causing everyone who met him to remember him for his recklessness. He befriends an ordinary farmer, Sancho Panza, who tries to bring Don Quixote back to reality.
Don Quixote is known to have tried to fight windmills, saved people who didn't usually need his help, and been beaten many times. The second part of the book was published 10 years after the first and is the first work of modern literature. The characters know everything about the story of Don Quixote, which is told in the first part.
Now everyone he meets tries to ridicule him and Panso, testing their faith in the spirit of chivalry. He is eventually brought back to reality when he loses a fight with the Knight of the White Moon, is poisoned home, falls ill and dies, leaving all the money to his niece on the condition that she does not marry a man who reads foolish tales of chivalry.
5) Dutch: Joost van den Vondel
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: Peter Hoft, Jacob Kats
Vondel is the most outstanding writer Holland, who lived in the 17th century. He was a poet and playwright and a representative of the "Golden Age" of Dutch literature. His most famous play is "Geysbrecht of Amsterdam", a historical drama that was performed on New Year's Day at the Amsterdam City Theater between 1438 and 1968.
The play is about Geisbrecht IV, who, according to the play, invaded Amsterdam in 1303 to restore the family's honor and regain the titled nobility. He founded something like a baronial title in these parts. Vondel's historical sources were incorrect. In fact, the invasion was carried out by Geisbrecht's son, Jan, who turned out to be a real hero, overthrowing the tyranny that reigned in Amsterdam. Today Geisbrecht is a national hero because of this writer's mistake.
Vondel also wrote another masterpiece, an epic poem called "John the Baptist"(1662) about the life of John. This work is national epic Netherlands. Vondel is also the author of the play "Lucifer"(1654), which explores the soul of a biblical character, as well as his character and motives, to answer the question of why he did what he did. This play inspired the Englishman John Milton to write 13 years later "Paradise Lost".
6) Portuguese: Luis de Camões
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: José Maria Esa de Queiroz, Fernando António Nugueira Pessoa
Camões is considered the greatest poet Portugal. His most famous work is "The Lusiads"(1572). The Lusiads were a people who inhabited the Roman region of Lusitania, where modern Portugal is located. The name comes from the name Luz (Lusus), he was a friend of the god of wine Bacchus, he is considered the progenitor of the Portuguese people. "The Lusiads"- an epic poem consisting of 10 songs.
The poem talks about all the famous Portuguese sea travel for the discovery, conquest and colonization of new countries and cultures. She is somewhat similar to "Odyssey" Homer, Camões praises Homer and Virgil many times. The work begins with a description of the journey of Vasco da Gama.
This is a historical poem that recreates many battles, the Revolution of 1383-85, the discovery of da Gama, trade with the city of Calcutta, India. The Louisiades were always watched by the Greek gods, although da Gama, being a Catholic, prayed to his own God. At the end, the poem mentions Magellan and speaks of the glorious future of Portuguese navigation.
7) German: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: Friedrich von Schiller, Arthur Schopenhauer, Heinrich Heine, Franz Kafka
Talking about German music, one cannot fail to mention Bach, in the same way German literature would not be so complete without Goethe. Many great writers wrote about him or used his ideas in shaping their style. Goethe wrote four novels, a great many poems and documentaries, and scientific essays.
Undoubtedly his most famous work is a book "The Sorrows of Young Werther"(1774). Goethe founded the German Romanticism movement. Beethoven's 5th Symphony is completely identical in mood to Goethe's "Werther".
Novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther" tells about the unsatisfied romanticism of the main character, which leads to his suicide. The story is told in the form of letters and made the epistolary novel popular for at least the next century and a half.
However, Goethe's masterpiece is still the poem "Faust", which consists of 2 parts. The first part was published in 1808, the second in 1832, the year of the writer’s death. The legend of Faust existed long before Goethe, but Goethe's dramatic story remained the most famous story about this hero.
Faustus is a scientist whose incredible knowledge and wisdom pleased God. God sends Mephistopheles or the Devil to test Faust. The story of a deal with the devil has often been raised in literature, but the most famous is perhaps the story of Goethe's Faust. Faust signs an agreement with the Devil, promising his soul in exchange for the Devil to do whatever Faust wishes on Earth.
He becomes young again and falls in love with the girl Gretchen. Gretchen takes a potion from Faust that is supposed to help her mother with insomnia, but the potion poisons her. This drives Gretchen crazy and she drowns her newborn baby, signing her death warrant. Faust and Mephistopheles break into the prison to rescue her, but Gretchen refuses to go with them. Faust and Mephistopheles go into hiding, and God grants Gretchen forgiveness while she awaits execution.
The second part is incredibly difficult to read, as the reader needs to have a good understanding of Greek mythology. This is a kind of continuation of the story that began in the first part. Faust, with the help of Mephistopheles, becomes incredibly powerful and corrupted until the very end of the story. He remembers the pleasure of being a good person and then dies. Mephistopheles comes for his soul, but the angels take it for themselves, they stand up for the soul of Faust, who is reborn and ascends to Heaven.
8) Russian: Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky
Today, Pushkin is remembered as the father of native Russian literature, in contrast to that Russian literature that had a clear tinge of Western influence. First of all, Pushkin was a poet, but he wrote in all genres. Drama is considered his masterpiece "Boris Godunov"(1831) and poem "Eugene Onegin"(1825-32).
The first work is a play, the second is a novel in poetic form. "Onegin" written exclusively in sonnets, and Pushkin invented new uniform sonnet, which distinguishes his work from the sonnets of Petrarch, Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser.
The main character of the poem is Eugene Onegin - the model on which all Russians are based literary heroes. Onegin is treated as a person who does not meet any standards accepted in society. He wanders and plays gambling, fights duels, he is called a sociopath, although he is not cruel or evil. This person, rather, does not care about the values and rules that are accepted in society.
Many of Pushkin's poems formed the basis for ballets and operas. They are very difficult to translate into any other language, mostly because poetry simply cannot sound the same in another language. This is what distinguishes poetry from prose. Languages often do not match the possibilities of words. It is known that in the Inuit language of the Eskimos there are 45 different words for snow.
Nevertheless, "Onegina" translated into many languages. Vladimir Nabokov translated the poem into English, but instead of one volume, he ended up with 4 volumes. Nabokov retained all the definitions and descriptive details, but completely ignored the music of poetry.
This is all due to the fact that Pushkin had an incredibly unique writing style that allowed him to touch on all aspects of the Russian language, even inventing new syntactic and grammatical forms and words, establishing many rules that almost all Russian writers use even today.
9) Italian: Dante Alighieri
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: none
Name Durante in Latin means "hardy" or "eternal". It was Dante who helped organize the various Italian dialects of his time into the modern Italian language. The dialect of the region of Tuscany, where Dante was born in Florence, is the standard for all Italians thanks to "Divine Comedy" (1321), a masterpiece by Dante Alighieri and one of greatest works world literature of all times.
At the time this work was written, the Italian regions each had their own dialect, which were quite different from each other. Today, when you want to learn Italian as a foreign language, you will almost always start with the Florentine version of Tuscany because of its significance in literature.
Dante travels to Hell and Purgatory to learn about the punishments that sinners serve. There are different punishments for different crimes. Those who are accused of lust are always driven by the wind, despite their fatigue, because during their lifetime the wind of voluptuousness drove them.
Those whom Dante considers heretics are responsible for splitting the church into several branches, including the prophet Muhammad. They are sentenced to be split from neck to groin, and the punishment is carried out by a devil with a sword. In this ripped up state they walk in circles.
IN "Comedy" there are also descriptions of Paradise, which are also unforgettable. Dante uses Ptolemy's concept of heaven, that Heaven consists of 9 concentric spheres, each of which brings the author and Beatrice, his lover and guide, closer to God at the very top.
After meeting various famous figures from the Bible, Dante finds himself face to face with the Lord God, depicted as three beautiful circles of light merging into one, from which emerges Jesus, the incarnation of God on Earth.
Dante is also the author of other smaller poems and essays. One of the works - "On Popular Eloquence" talks about the importance of Italian as a spoken language. He also wrote a poem "New Life" with passages in prose in which noble love is defended. No other writer spoke the language as flawlessly as Dante spoke Italian.
10) English: William Shakespeare
Other great authors who wrote in the same language: John Milton, Samuel Beckett, Geoffrey Chaucer, Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens
Voltaire called Shakespeare "that drunken fool", and his works "this huge pile of dung". Nevertheless, Shakespeare's influence on literature is undeniable, not only in English, but also in the literature of most other languages of the world. Today Shakespeare is one of the most translated writers, his full meeting works have been translated into 70 languages, and various plays and poems - more than 200.
About 60 percent of all catchphrases, quotes and idioms English language coming from King James Bible (English translation Bible), 30 percent from Shakespeare.
According to the rules of Shakespeare's time, tragedies at the end required the death of at least one main character, but in an ideal tragedy everyone dies: "Hamlet" (1599-1602), "King Lear" (1660), "Othello" (1603), "Romeo and Juliet" (1597).
In contrast to tragedy, there is a comedy in which someone is sure to get married at the end, and in an ideal comedy all the characters get married: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1596), "Much ado about nothing" (1599), "Twelfth Night" (1601), "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (1602).
Shakespeare was a master at heightening the tension between characters in perfect harmony with the plot. He knew how, like no one else, to organically describe human nature. Shakespeare's real genius is the skepticism that permeates all of his works, sonnets, plays and poems. He, as expected, praises the highest moral principles of humanity, but these principles are always expressed in the conditions of an ideal world.