ESSENTIALWORKS OFLITERATURE

WA L I F C H B E I R

FIVE CLASSICS YOU HAVE HEARD OF

AND A FEW MORE YOU HAVEN'T

I N T R O D U C T I O NHUMANITY HAS IMAGINED MUCH SINCE WRITTEN WORDS

WERE FIRST USED TO CAPTURE AND PRESERVE

EXPERIENCE IN STORY FORM . WHILE MOST OF THESE

WORKS HAVE DISAPPEARED FROM OUR COLLECTIVE

MEMORY , A SMALL FRACTION HAVE REMAINED . EVEN

FEWER HAVE BECOME CLASSICS .

WALIF CHBEIRLITERATURE CLASSICS

B L O O DM E R I D I A N

BLOOD MERIDIAN DOES NOT SHY FROM VIOLENCE .

RATHER , IT EMBRACES VIOLENCE AS A METAPHOR

FOR WHAT MCCARTHY PERCEIVES AS HUMANKIND ’S

INHERENT TENDENCY TOWARD PATHS OF CONFLICT .

IMAGES OF WANTON BLOODSHED OVERFLOW THE

PAGES OF THIS UNAPOLOGETIC BATTLEFIELD OF A

NOVEL , AND IT IS THE SCALE , SCOPE AND PRECISE

DEGREE TO WHICH THIS BLOODSHED CUTS READER ’S

CONCEPTIONS OF HUMANITY TO THE CORE WHICH

MAKES BLOOD MERIDIAN SO MEMORABLE .

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CLASSIC LITERATURE

C O R M A C M C C A R T H Y

T H E C O U N T O FM O N T E C R I S T O

REVENGE MAY BE A BITTER PILL FOR SOME , BUT

IT IS DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE VENGEANCE

TASTING ANYTHING BUT SWEET TO MAIN

CHARACTER EDMOND DANTES , WHO , AFTER

BEING FORCED TO SUFFER UNJUSTLY FOR

YEARS , IS MOVED TO ACT IN SWEEPING ,

FANTASTIC SEQUENCES OF JUSTICE .

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LITERATURE CLASSICS

A L E X A N D R E D U M A S

S I D D H A R T H A

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WALIF CHBEIRLITERATURE CLASSICS

HERMANN HESSE ’S EXPLORES THE INTRICACIES

AND MORAL UNDERPINNINGS OF ONE MAN ’S

PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT . A COMING-OF-AGE

TALE WITH A SPIRITUAL AURA , THIS STORY

EXPLORES GIFTED ESOTERIC STUDENT

SIDDHARTHA ’S LIFELONG TRANSFORMATION

FROM HOLY MAN TO SINNER TO SAGE .

SIDDHARTHA IS RIPE WITH SUBTLE

OBSERVATIONS ON WHAT DRIVES HUMAN

DESIRE , WHICH PAINT ITS PAGES IN THE SHADE

OF BOTH A PROPHETS ’ PARABLE AND AN

EVERYMAN ’S ASIDE .

H E R M A N H E S S E

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LITERATURE CLASSICS

W H I T E F A N G

J A C K L O N D O N

NOVELS WHICH FEATURE NATURE ’S CRITTERS AS CHARACTERS ARE

NO RARITY , BUT EPIC ADVENTURES TOLD ENTIRELY FROM THE

PERSPECTIVE OF ONE ANIMAL ARE A BIT LESS COMMONPLACE . THIS

SETUP IS EXECUTED WONDERFULLY IN WHITE FANG , WHICH

CHRONICLES A LONE WOLF ’S SEARCH FOR HOME .

1 9 8 4

ORWELL ’S 1984 IS A HAUNTING KLAXON FOR THE

EARS OF THOSE WITH A TENDENCY TO FORGET HOW

GREATLY FREEDOM CAN BE RESTRICTED . MORE

WARNING THAN STORY , 1984 IS AN ALLEGORY FOR

ORWELL ’S POLITICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL

PARANOIA , AND , IN AN AGE WHICH OFTEN BEARS

UNNERVING RESEMBLANCE TO 1984 ’S HORRID

CIRCUMSTANCE , A NECESSARY REMINDER OF

EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE TO LOSE .

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CLASSIC LITERATURE

G E O R G E O R W E L L

U N D E R T H ER A D A R W O R K S

NOT EVERY GREAT NOVEL GETS THE ATTENTION THAT

AUTHORS LIKE ORWELL , VONNEGUT , TWAIN OR

HEMMINGWAY . DESPITE THEIR LACK OF NOTORIETY , THESE

WORKS ARE HIGHLY DESERVING OF A READ .

WALIF CHBEIRLITERATURE CLASSICS

T H E M O N K

LEWIS WROTE HIS CROWNING LITERARY

ACHIEVEMENT WHEN HE WAS ONLY 19 YEARS OLD .

ITS REMARKABLY COMPLEX STORY DEPICTS A GOD-

FEARING MONK ’S DESCENT INTO TOTAL , SATAN-

INDUCED PSYCHOPATHY AND WON LEWIS CENTER

STAGE UNDER LONDON ’S LITERARY SPOTLIGHT . THE

NOVEL WAS EQUALLY PRAISED AND REVILED , WITH

CRITICS CELEBRATING LEWIS ’S INGENUITY IN

CHARACTER CREATION AND CONDEMNING THE

STORY ’S MORAL BANKRUPTCY .

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CLASSIC LITERATURE

M A T T H E W L E W I S

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LITERATURE CLASSICS

C R A N F O R D

E L I Z A B E T H G A S K E L L

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS A SERIES OF SATIRICAL INSTALLMENTS ,

CRANFORD EXAMINES THE CHANGING COUNTRYSIDE CUSTOMS OF AN

ENGLAND ON THE BRINK OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION . THIS WORK IS

PARTICULARLY NOTABLE FOR ITS UNIQUE PRESENTATION OF GENDER

DYNAMICS DURING A TIME WHEN WOMEN WERE STILL LARGELY

VIEWED AS SUBSERVIENT TO MEN .

Z E N O ' S

C O N S C I O U S

ZENO COSINI IS PERHAPS THE MOST NEUROTIC MAN

TO EVER THINK A THOUGHT . WRITTEN IN THE STYLE

OF A PSYCHIATRIST-PRESCRIBED DIARY , ZENO ’S

CONSCIENCE AMUSINGLY REFLECTS AND AMPLIFIES

HIS MENTAL ACROBATICS AS ZENO ATTEMPTS TO

NAVIGATE THE SIMPLE COMPLEXITIES OF EVERYDAY

LIFE .

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CLASSIC LITERATURE

I T A L O S V E V O