Masterpieces of modern literature rating. Book publishing houses in Russia: list, rating, addresses
Anna Karenina. Lev Tolstoy
The greatest love story of all time. A story that has not left the stage, filmed countless times - and still has not lost the boundless charm of passion - a destructive, destructive, blind passion - but all the more bewitching with its grandeur.
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The Master and Margarita. Michael Bulgakov
This is the most mysterious of the novels in the entire history of Russian literature of the 20th 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 re-read dozens, hundreds of times, but most importantly, which is still impossible to understand. So, which pages of The Master and Margarita were dictated by the Forces of Light?
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Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte
Mystery novel, included in the top ten best novels of all time! The story of a stormy, truly demonic passion, which excites the imagination of readers for more than a 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.
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Eugene Onegin. Alexander Pushkin
“Have you read "Onegin"? What can you say about Onegin? These are the questions that are repeated incessantly among writers and Russian readers, ”the writer, enterprising publisher and, by the way, the hero of Pushkin’s epigrams, Thaddeus Bulgarin, noted after the publication of the second chapter of the novel. For a long time ONEGIN has not been accepted to evaluate. In the words of the same Bulgarin, it is “written in Pushkin's verses. That's enough."
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Notre Dame Cathedral. Victor Hugo
A story that survived the centuries, became a canon and gave its heroes the glory of common nouns. A story of love and tragedy. The love of those to whom love was not given and not allowed - by religious rank, 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 shooters Phoebe de Chateauper, the beautiful Fleur-de-Lys and the poet Gringoire.
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Gone With the Wind. Margaret Mitchell
The great saga of the American Civil War and the fate of the wayward and head-on Scarlett O'Hara was first published over 70 years ago and has not aged to this day. This is the only novel by Margaret Mitchell for which she won a Pulitzer Prize. A story about a woman who is not ashamed to be equal to either an unconditional feminist or a staunch supporter of house building.
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Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare
This is the highest of love tragedies that human genius can create. A tragedy that has been filmed and will be filmed. A tragedy that does not leave the stage to this day - and to this day it sounds like 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 ...”
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The Great Gatsby. Francis Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is not only the pinnacle of Fitzgerald's work, but also one of the highest achievements in world prose of the 20th century. Although the action of the novel takes place in the “turbulent” 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 about the broken fates of the “Jazz Age” generation.
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Three Musketeers. Alexandr Duma
The most famous historical adventurous novel by Alexandre Dumas tells about the adventures of the Gascon d'Artagnan and his Musketeer friends at the court of King Louis XIII.
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Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandr Duma
The book presents one of the most exciting adventure novels of the classic of French literature of the 19th century, Alexandre Dumas.
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Triumphal Arch. Erich Remarque
One of the most beautiful and tragic love stories in the history of European literature. The story of a refugee from Nazi Germany, Dr. Ravik, and the beautiful Joan Madu, entangled in the "unbearable lightness of being," takes place in pre-war Paris. And the disturbing 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.
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The person who laughs. Victor Hugo
Gwynplaine is a lord by birth, as a child he was sold to bandits-comprachikos, who made a fair jester out of a 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.
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Martin Eden. Jack London
A simple sailor, in whom it is easy to recognize the author himself, goes a long, full of hardships path to literary immortality ... By chance, finding himself in a secular society, Martin Eden is doubly happy and surprised ... and the creative gift awakened in him, and the divine image of the young Ruth Morse, so not similar to all the people he knew before ... From now on, two goals relentlessly stand before him.
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Sister Kerry. Theodore Dreiser
The publication of Theodore Dreiser's first novel was so difficult that it led its creator into a severe depression. But the further fate of the novel “Sister Kerry” turned out to be happy: it was translated into many foreign languages reprinted in millions of copies. New and new generations of readers are happy to plunge into the vicissitudes of the fate of Caroline Meiber.
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American tragedy. Theodore Dreiser
The novel "An American Tragedy" is the pinnacle of the work of the outstanding American writer Theodore Dreiser. He said: “No one creates tragedies - life creates them. The writers only portray them.” Dreiser managed to depict the tragedy of Clive Griffiths so talentedly that his story does not leave the modern reader indifferent.
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Outcasts. Victor Hugo
Jean Valjean, Cosette, Gavroche - the names of the heroes of the novel have long become household names, the number of its readers for a century and a half since the publication of the book has not decreased, the novel has not lost its popularity. A kaleidoscope of faces from all sectors of French society in the first half of the 19th century, vivid, memorable characters, sentimentality and realism, a tense, exciting plot.
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The adventures of the good soldier Schweik. Yaroslav Gashek
Great, original and hooligan novel. A book that can be perceived both as a "soldier's story" and as a classic work, directly related to the traditions of the Renaissance. This is a sparkling text that makes you laugh to tears, and a powerful call to “lay down your arms”, and one of the most objective historical evidence in satirical literature.
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Iliad. Homer
The attraction 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 beating of contemporary life. Homer's immortality lies in the fact that his brilliant creations contain inexhaustible reserves of universal human values - reason, goodness and beauty.
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St. John's wort. James Cooper
Cooper was able to find and describe in his books that originality and unexpected brightness of the newly discovered continent, which managed to fascinate the entire world. modern Europe. Each new novel by the writer was eagerly awaited. The exciting adventures of the fearless and noble hunter and tracker Natty Bumpo conquered both young and adult readers..
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Doctor Zhivago. Boris Pasternak
The novel "Doctor Zhivago" is one of the outstanding works of Russian literature, which for many years remained closed to a wide range of readers in our country, who knew about it only through scandalous and unscrupulous party criticism.
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Don Quixote. Miguel Cervantes
What do the names of Amadis the Gallic, the English Palmerine, the Greek Don Belianis, the White Tyrant 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 outlived the parodied genre for centuries. "Don Quixote" was recognized best novel throughout the history of world literature.
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Ivanhoe. Walter Scott
"Ivanhoe" is a key work in the cycle of novels by W. Scott, which takes us to medieval England. The young knight Ivanhoe, who secretly returned from the Crusade to his homeland and was disinherited 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.
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Headless horseman. Reed Mine
The plot of the novel is built so skillfully 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 beloved, the beautiful Louise Poindexter, investigating the sinister secret of the headless horseman, whose figure, when he appears, terrifies the inhabitants of the savannah, was extremely fond of readers of Europe and Russia.
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Dear friend. Guy de Maupassant
The novel "Dear friend" has become one of the symbols of the era. This is Maupassant's most powerful novel. Through the story of Georges Duroy, making his “way up”, the true morals of high French society are revealed, the spirit of venality that reigns in all its areas contributes to the fact that an ordinary and immoral person, such as the hero of Maupassant, easily achieves success and wealth.
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Dead Souls. Nikolay Gogol
The release of the first volume of N. Gogol's "Dead Souls" in 1842 caused a heated controversy among contemporaries, splitting society into admirers and opponents of the poem. “…Speaking of “Dead Souls”, one can talk a lot about Russia…” – this judgment of P. Vyazemsky explained the main reason for the controversy. The author’s question is still relevant: “Rus, where are you going, give me an answer?”
Reading time: 26 min.
Big Rating magazine brings to your attention the best books of all time in the TOP-20 rating. The list includes world bestsellers by domestic and foreign authors. Something in them catches, not letting go, and each of these works is worth reading at least once in a lifetime.
The great American writer Francis Fitzgerald touched upon the hottest topics of the dashing 1920s in his novel. Despite the chronological remoteness of the events described in the book, today many people find the novel close to their spirit. Fitzgerald was the first of the US prose writers to announce to the world the beginning of a new century - the "jazz age" and spoke on behalf of the "lost generation". Reading the novel "The Great Gatsby" you seem to plunge into the era of jazz music and "dry law". Using the main character as an example, Fitzgerald demonstrates the life path of those rich people who rose from the bottom thanks to bootlegging. The author shows his admiration for these personalities, but at the same time condemns their moral foundations and principles. Main character The novel personifies the "American dream" of that time - he is a real minion of fate, who made his fortune and achieved power. But are money and power capable of making a person truly happy? Don't forget about love too...
We are all accustomed to pirates as terrible and bloodthirsty creatures that commit robberies, rape women and kill everyone who gets in their way. Such is the opinion about the representatives of this "profession". In most cases, this is exactly what happens. But when there is an exception to the general rule, it is very interesting. It is precisely such an atypical pirate that the main character of the work of Rafael Sabatini, Peter Blood, is. Far from piracy, the young Irishman worked in the medical field and was, by the will of fate, drawn into the Monmouth uprising that broke out in England at the end of the 17th century. Absolutely uninvolved in the events of the rebellion, Peter Blood, among others, was accused of treason to the monarch and sentenced to death. But luck smiled at the hero when the death sentence was replaced by exile in the southern colonies, where he went in the status of a slave. It is here that the young Blood has to start his career anew, only not as a bachelor of medicine, but as a pirate. Now the hero of the book has one goal - to regain freedom.
Any person sooner or later wants to take a break from the daily routine, pack up and go on at least a short trip. It is not necessary to undertake an epochal climb to Elbrus or go to the wilds of the Amazon. Sometimes a short river boat trip, such as the Thames, is enough. Traveling in the company of your closest friends is already more fun, and even more so in the company of a small four-legged companion. The only important condition is a strictly male company. This is exactly what the three English bosom friends Harris, Jay and George decided to take a break from the bustle of the city while drinking tea. But having decided to implement the idea, the gentlemen realized that not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance. Every little thing, starting with the preparations and ending with an attempt to open canned food, turns into a funny and fun adventure for friends. And the presence in the boat of an extremely energetic fox terrier named Montmorency adds additional sparks of humor to the general fireworks of events. Jerome K. Jerome's novel "Three Men in a Boat, Not Counting the Dog" contains a lot of funny misunderstandings, hilarious collisions and comical situations from which our heroes get out of while maintaining a truly British sense of dignity.
One of the largest and undoubtedly the greatest creations of world literature. And although historians and writers have not fully figured out whether Homer really existed or was a collective image, one thing is known for certain - the Iliad is a description of truly grandiose events.
The starting point of the story was the strong romantic attachment of the Trojan prince Paris, who burned with an ardent love for the most beautiful woman of that time - Helen. That's just the beauty, who reciprocated the young man, at that moment was already bound by marriage with spartan king Menelaus. When Paris, inflamed with passion, dared to kidnap his lady of the heart, the enraged husband of Elena declared war on Troy, gathering loyal kings and warriors under his banner. The scale of events was so great that even the gods of Olympus did not remain indifferent and took part in the war, predicting the victory of each of the chosen parties. The protracted struggle lasted for many years, reaping a bountiful harvest of death. Wives were widows, children were orphans. There is no worthy justification for any of the wars of mankind, just as there is none for the Trojan War. But for many centuries, the epochal nature of Homer's Iliad was preserved.
A controversial work, perceived by some as the notes of a madman, by others as a philosophical treatise, and by others as a fascinating fairy tale. Alice in Wonderland was written by the English mathematician, poet and writer Charles Dodgson, better known to us as Lewis Carroll. After many decades, critics can only guess what exactly the author was trying to convey to us by writing such an original work. There is only one way out - to read the novel and put forward your own theory.
The book tells us about a far from stupid, but slightly frivolous, girl Alice, who accidentally met the White Rabbit during her vacation. Noticing his pocket watch, and sensibly judging that rabbits do not have watches, Alice rushes after the White Rabbit in order to find out where he is in such a hurry. In pursuit of a nimble beast, our young adventurer falls safely down the rabbit hole. And now Alice is waiting for real miracles and amazing adventures that defy common sense. Or maybe you should not try to understand everything? After all, you can simply immerse yourself in the phantasmagoric world of the White Rabbit, the smoking caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Cards, attend an unforgettable tea party with the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. We assure you it won't be boring.
Delightful dystopia, frightening and beautiful at the same time. The author realistically depicts a society with the ideas of hedonism and consumerism flourishing in it. There is no place for love here, and sex is just a pleasant pastime. Huxley describes it so emotionally that it becomes scary to read, but it’s impossible to tear yourself away from the book. Here, people are created in a test tube, and the "manufacturers" initially choose who will be intellectually developed and who will be mentally retarded. Habitual human values like self-development, culture, religion and knowledge are not needed for nothing and are not at all interesting. People seek only to have fun in any way they can, and enthusiastically waste their precious time on uninterrupted recreation. Reading "O wonderful new world”, you understand that everything described here is pure fiction, from cover to cover, but you do not cease to be horrified by the similarity of the events described in the book with vices modern society. And this is the whole point of the work.
The eminent French writer Alexandre Dumas was able to breathe life into a boring and confusing story of battles, intrigues and political games of the French court. The main characters of Dumas' novel are the three brave musketeers Athos, Porthos and Aramis, as well as the young Gascon d'Artagnan, who arrived to conquer Paris. An ambitious young man came to the capital from the outback and dreams of getting into the service of His Majesty. d'Artagnan is agile, agile, cheerful and noble. But these features attract not only friends, but also enemies who want to see the young man on their side. Devoted to the king and queen, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and d'Artagnan will have a life full of conspiracies, intrigues, exploits and fights. And the motto "One for all and all for one" confidently leads the heroes to victory.
The title of the novel is a reference to the song of the Beatles, and the work itself is a demonstration of the complexity, sinuosity and intricacies of the life path of any person. Murakami clearly showed a wide range of readers that for confusion in making decisions and a painful choice of one's own path, it is not necessary to be a great person, because difficulties and trials can fall to the lot of each of us. Among these people is the protagonist of the novel, student Tooru Watanabe. The storyline consists of Tooru telling about his youth spent at the university and the events that happen to him at this stage of life. In the course of the story, the hero recalls his best friends Naoko and Kizuki. Tooru will talk about Kizuki's suicide and the rapid development of relations with Naoko. He will remember how the girl went to the clinic for treatment. He will tell about student riots and the girl Midori, who shed color on his gray life.
What is unique is the fact that even those of us who have never held this book in our hands are still aware of the plot of this tragic love story of a young man from the Montague family for a girl from the Capulet family. Yes, and the phrase: "There is no sadder story in the world than the story of Romeo and Juliet" can be heard even in the texts contemporary songs. The main characters of the novel were not originally destined to live happily ever after. Both warring families took up arms against their great and pure love. But the difficulties not only did not stop the lovers, but also pushed the representatives of the houses of Montague and Capulet to each other. Although the first meeting lasted only a few moments, this was enough for young people to realize the desire to be together forever. Their love was so strong that Romeo and Juliet were ready to give their lives for her. And if fate does not allow them to be together in this life, then at least their souls will be reunited in the next world.
A wonderful touching tale about the adventures of a teddy bear. This character, which first appeared in England in the 1920s, is now famous all over the world. The story begins with a teddy bear given to the boy by his young father, Christopher Robin. The child names the toy Winnie, after a live bear living in the London Zoo. Next, father and son have fun writing stories together that could take place in real life with cute Winnie the bear. So the bear cub has such friends as Piglet the pig, Kenga the kangaroo and her baby Little Roo, Eeyore the donkey, the owl, the rabbit and many others. Over the years, more than one generation of children managed to grow up on the stories of the adventures of a funny bear cub - about bees, about a heffalump and about Winnie's friends. An important fact what remains is that the main character of the book does not lose its popularity among modern children. Apparently such a charmer as a teddy bear Winnie the Pooh, can not leave anyone indifferent.
Cleary's family chronicles have riveted the attention of readers at all times. That's just a different age audience perceives them far from the same. So young people are more interested in love story line, which evokes sensual experiences about the fate of the main characters with eternal intrigue - whether they should be together. The younger generation needs bright colors, battles, action and passions. Older readers are interested in the complexity of the characters and relationships of the main characters. This audience is looking for a deep meaning in the work, knowing full well that it is not always hidden precisely in parts containing violent passions and many events.
In the center of the plot of this story is the large Cleary family, who moved to Australia from New Zealand. McCullough displays the entire palette of goals, motivations and actions of each character. But the main storyline is firmly connected with the main character of the novel - Maggie, whose personal life the reader can trace from the age of 4 until her death at 58.
Psychiatric hospitals with their inhabitants have always been separate world living by its own laws and rules. And since you have been brought here by a whim of fate, you will have to adapt to the existing order. This unspoken rule is fully extended to the hospital, which is described in the novel Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Everything changed with the appearance of a new patient in the psychiatric hospital - Randall Patrick McMurphy. Randall is a cunning criminal who masterfully portrays a madman in order to escape prison. Having settled into a new place, McMurphy makes acquaintances and begins to communicate with the local guests. Randel is overwhelmed with frank horror at the realization that there are absolutely healthy people in the hospital, no more crazy than himself. All of them stay in the hospital of their own free will, just trying to hide within its walls from the hardships of the outside world. And the patients are also very intimidated by Mildreth Ratched, a local nurse who runs the hospital and does not tolerate disobedience. McMurphy not only declares battle to the local order, but also tries to rescue patients from an unhealthy environment by showing them what a full life looks like.
In the terrible worlds of dystopias described by such literary geniuses as Ray Bradbury, consumerism reigns as the only value of humanity. The true eternal values like knowledge and age-old wisdom, enclosed in books, are subject to universal condemnation and even destruction. For the possession of great literary works or just books, people are condemned or sentenced to death. Burning books is becoming commonplace, and most of the people living in this world are accustomed to such a course of things. Those who do not understand the importance of this view of life are declared fools by society. Shared a similar philosophy and the main character of the work - Guy Montag. He worked as a "fireman" (in the context of this work) and was unshakable in his worldview. But his whole ideology went to hell when Guy met the one that managed to show him reverse side medals.
Perhaps Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 has not lost its relevance today precisely because of the flourishing era of consumerism in modern society. People have a lot to think about.
The brilliant works of Erich Maria Remarque had a great influence on literary world Germany. The novel "Three Comrades" immerses its readers throughout life, the depth of thoughts and feelings of people who went through the meat grinder of the First World War and managed to get out of it alive. And the book is not about the victims, but about the people who unleashed this very war. The protagonist of the novel - Robert Lokamp - tells about the problems and events that concern him. Robbie explains in detail that the most important things in a person's life are the people around him. He openly promotes the importance of friendship in relationships. But Robert also emphasizes that even being among people who understand and accept you unconditionally, you cannot always count on happiness. "Three Comrades" is a book about the "lost generation" of people trying to live in a difficult and ambiguous era.
With his landmark and vociferous fantasy novel, John Tolkien opened new round literary fashion for works about elves, hobbits, wise and strong kings, great wizards, goblins and fire-breathing dragons. And although the first time The Lord of the Rings was published in the distant 1950s, readers still do not lose interest in it. Fans not only do not stop re-reading Tolkien's work over and over again, but also review Peter Jackson's films, and also play games that managed to recreate the writer's unique fairy-tale world. In the novel we are talking about the Ring of Omnipotence and the uncompromising thousand-year war for the right to possess it. The young hobbit Frodo must travel through the hostile Mordor to the fiery Mount of Doom in order to destroy the Ring. In a difficult journey, Frodo is supported by friends (dwarves, humans, elves) and opposed by the evil Sauron, who is eager to get his Ring back and gain world domination. The plot of The Lord of the Rings attracts the reader with its unique atmosphere, allowing him to immerse himself in the world of elves, gnomes, hobbits, wizards and evil rulers.
In this work, Turgenev not only raised the eternal problem of fathers and children, but also, ahead of the wide spread of the ideas of nihilism in Russia, managed to show readers an example of an adherent of the movement in the form of Evgeny Bazarov. It was with this ardent supporter of nihilism that the young son of the landowner Kirsanov, Arkady, made a strong friendship. Fascinated by the ideas of a new acquaintance, Arkady sincerely accepts all the convictions of Bazarov. The young man even brings a newly-made friend to visit his father and uncle - Pavel Petrovich and Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov. Representatives of the older generation of the family do not perceive the new youth philosophy, considering it too radical. That's just Nikolai Petrovich listens to the thoughts of the nihilist calmly and with a smile, and Pavel Nikolayevich goes into open conflict with Bazarov. Eugene is firm in his convictions, he is sure that he needs for life, rejects the old principles, not wanting to blindly accept them on faith, as people of the older generation do. The steadfastness of Bazarov's views was shaken after meeting the landowner Anna Odintsova, who aroused previously unknown feelings in the nihilist.
Although this work of the author is less well known compared to Lolita, it definitely deserves the close attention of readers. In his novel, Nabokov, in his unique manner, reveals the hidden nature of the human character and clearly demonstrates the blackness that can hide in the heart of a young and, at first glance, harmless creature. The events of the novel unfold in Germany, where the art critic Krechmar leaves his wife and daughter for sixteen-year-old Magda, a girl with a dubious biography. The love of a man is so strong that even the death of his own daughter did not overshadow his ardent passion for Magda. But a happy life together was short-lived. The girl meets with the artist Gorn - her former lover. Past feelings flare up in them with renewed vigor and the couple begins to meet in secret from Krechmar, since Magda is still financially dependent on him. For credibility, Horn appears to Kretschmar as a homosexual. Evil lovers are plotting, mocking Krechmar, gradually depriving him of his mind.
The events and actions of the book are presented from the point of view of Holden Confield and are a reflection of the perception of a 16-year-old boy to the reality around him. In his narration, Holden talks about the period of his life before entering the clinic for treatment. The story reveals to the reader the whole depth of hopelessness and experiences of a young man who remained misunderstood by a large and cruel world. At the same time, Holden does not fall into philosophical reasoning, does not express value judgments, he simply describes the events taking place and tries to understand what can give him a feeling of happiness. So the little boy's song he heard about "how you catch someone in the rye ..." leads Holden to understand the happy moment. But, alas, it is impossible to achieve it, because the reality is completely different.
In "NG - ExLibris" in the issue dated 31.01.2008 under the heading "From the Divine Bottle of Master Francois Rabelais to the scandalous "Blue Fat" by Vladimir Sorokin" a very curious and indisputable list of "100 novels, which, according to the editorial staff of" NG-Ex libris" shocked the literary world and influenced the entire culture."
“The millennium has just begun, we can sum up the results. 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.
After all, why are we worse? The English/Americans make their lists of great novels, including either boring modern English-language fiction, or even more boring but long-forgotten English-language fiction. Adding "for objectivity" a few Russian novels, a few things from world literature. We are also tendentious, we also include only what we know, what we are sure of - after all, this is our choice. We really want to be objective, but absolute objectivity in such lists is impossible. 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 so - we like it.
Of course, the novels of living (or recently deceased) authors are closer to us, more understandable, therefore there are more of them than we should. If we had written our list 100 years ago, we would certainly have included Artsybashov, Veltman, Chernyshevsky, Pisemsky, Krestovsky, Leskov and Merezhkovsky (they should still be included now, but their stories and stories, like those of many others not included, perhaps all is better), etc. Of course, many did not enter. Those without which literature is unthinkable. Ivan Bunin, for example. Or Edgar Poe. Or Anton Chekhov. Or Knut Hamsun, the author of many great novels. But his best thing is “Hunger” - a story! A similar story, by the way, with Yuz Aleshkovsky. He has novels, but " Business Cards”-“ Disguise ”and“ Nikolai Nikolaevich ”- stories, if they were three times wrong!
Others, on the contrary, entered "by pull". For example, Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin" is a poem, but the author called his work "a novel in verse." So romance. On the other hand, both “Dead Souls” by 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 literary creativity the third estate, headed by the commercial bourgeoisie. As a result, the heroic epic and the legend that dominated ancient and feudal-chivalric literature were replaced by the genre of the novel. Hegel called the novel a "bourgeois epic" for a reason. Therefore, you will not find in our list either Apuleius' Golden Ass or Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parsifal. An exception is made only for the works of Rabelais and Cervantes, which can be considered embryonic novels, or proto-novels.
We repeat: this is solely our choice, subjective and biased. We, as is customary, 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 the time of writing or by the date of the first publication).
"100 novels that, according to the editorial staff 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, but nothing has changed.
2. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. "The cunning hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha" (1605-1615).
A parody that survived for many centuries parodied works. A comic character that has become tragic and a household name.
3. Daniel Defoe. "The Life and Wonderful Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a sailor from York, who lived for twenty-eight years in complete solitude on desert island off the coast of America near the mouths of the Orinoco River, where he was thrown by a shipwreck, during which the entire crew of the ship, except for him, died; with an account of his unexpected release by pirates, written by himself ”(1719).
An extremely accurate embodiment in the artistic form of the ideas of humanism of the Renaissance. A fictionalized proof that a single person has an independent value.
4. Jonathan Swift. Travels of Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships (1726).
The biography of a man who encountered incredible forms of intelligent life - midgets, giants, intelligent horses - and found not only a common language with them, but also many common features with his fellow tribesmen.
5. Abbe Prevost. "The Story of the Chevalier de 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 world." But it was this inserted chapter that became the masterpiece of a love story that struck not so much contemporaries as descendants, a masterpiece that overshadowed everything else written by Prevost.
6. Johann Wolfgang Goethe. "The Suffering of Young Werther" (1774).
They say that in the 18th century, young people committed suicide after reading this novel. And today is history vulnerable person, unable to defend his "I" in the face of hostile reality, leaves no one indifferent.
7. Lawrence Stern. "The Life and Beliefs of Tristram Shandy" (1759-1767).
A charming game of nothing and never. Subtle postmodernism, cheerful and light struggle of witty and risky. The whole text is on the brink, hence, from the opinions of the gentleman Shandy, not only Sasha Sokolov, not only Bitov, but even Sigismund Krzhizhanovsky arose, 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, forcing to exclaim: “O times! Oh manners! However, virtue still prevails.
9. Marquis de Sade. "120 days of Sodom" (1785).
The first computer game in the history of world literature with cut off parts of the bodies and souls of puppet characters, a multi-level cutter-choker-burner. Plus black-black humor in a black-black room on a black-black night. Scary, creepy.
10. Jan Potocki. "Manuscript found in Zaragoza" (1804).
Labyrinth-like novel-box in short stories. The reader gets from one story to another without having time to take a 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. Among them is an artificial person, and a creator, responsible for his work, and a tragically lonely monster.
12. Charles Maturin. "Melmoth the Wanderer" (1820).
True gothic romance full of secrets and horror. Paraphrase on the theme of the Eternal Jew Ahasuerus and the Seville Seducer Don Juan. And also a novel of temptations, varied and irresistible.
13. Honore de Balzac. "Shagreen leather" (1831).
The most terrible novel by Balzac, the first and best author of serials to date. “Shagreen Skin” is also part of his big series, just a piece is getting smaller and smaller, I really don’t want to finish reading it, but it already irresistibly leads me into the abyss.
14. Victor Hugo. "Notre Dame Cathedral" (1831).
An apology for romance and social justice based on the material of 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 criminal chronicle - a tendentious accusatory pamphlet with philosophy. Stendhal has a love story where everyone is to blame, everyone is sorry, and most importantly - passion!
16. Alexander Pushkin. "Eugene Onegin" (1823-1833).
A novel in verse. The story of love and the life of an "extra person" and an encyclopedia of Russian life, which, thanks to the critic Belinsky, we know from school.
17. Alfred de Musset. "Confessions of a Son of the Century" (1836).
"A Hero of Our Time", written by Eduard Limonov, only without obscenities and loving African Americans. Lovingness, however, is enough here too, full of melancholy, despair and self-pity, but there is also a sober calculation. I'm the last bastard, he says lyrical hero. And he is certainly right.
18. Charles Dickens. The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1837).
Surprisingly funny and positive work of the English classic. All old England, all the best that was in her was embodied in the image of a noble, good-natured and optimistic old man - Mr. Pickwick.
19. Mikhail Lermontov. "A Hero of Our Time" (1840).
The story of the "superfluous man", who nevertheless became, or rather, for this very reason, 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 that burden the nation.
21. Alexandre Dumas. "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 men of primary school age.
22. William Thackeray. "Vanity Fair" (1846).
Satire, only satire, no humor. All against all, 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 a single unfulfilled desire that completely enslaves a person.
24. Gustave Flaubert "Madame Bovary" (1856).
A novel that ended up in the dock in the form of a magazine publication - for insulting morality. The heroine, who sacrificed family ties and reputation for love, is tempted to call the French Karenina, but "Madame" was ahead of "Anna" by more than twenty years.
25. Ivan Goncharov. "Oblomov" (1859).
The most Russian hero of the most Russian novel about Russian life. There is nothing more beautiful and more destructive than Oblomovism.
26. Ivan Turgenev. "Fathers and Sons" (1862).
The anti-nihilistic satire, which became a revolutionary guide to action, then satire again, will soon be a guide again. And so without end. Because Enyusha Bazarov is eternal.
27. Mine Reid. "Headless Horseman" (1865).
The most tender, the most American, the most romantic of all American novels. Because, probably, that the Briton wrote, really 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. The Napoleonic plans of Rody Raskolnikov lead him to the most vulgar crime. No scope, no grandeur - only abomination, dirt and an unpleasant aftertaste 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. "Idiot" (1868–1869).
An attempt to create an image of a positively beautiful person, which can be considered the only successful one. And that Prince Myshkin is an idiot, that's 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 unflagging interest.
32. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "Demons" (1871–1872).
About Russian revolutionaries - atheists and nihilists - of the second half of the 19th century. Prophecy and warning, which, alas, was not heeded. And besides, murders, suicides, vagaries of love and passion.
33. Mark Twain. "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1876) / "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884).
A novel in two books. 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 violent love story, a married woman's rebellion, struggle and defeat. Under the wheels of the train. Even militant feminists are crying.
35. Fyodor Dostoevsky. "The Brothers Karamazov" (1879-1880).
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 a God and the immortality of the soul? If there is, then not everything is permitted, and if not, then I'm sorry.
36. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. "Gentlemen Golovlevs" (1880-1883).
The pinnacle of the literary activity of the toughest Russian satirist of the 19th century, the final verdict on the feudal system. An unusually relief image of an ugly family - people, distorted by a combination of physiological and social conditions.
37. Oscar Wilde. "Portrait 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. HG Wells. "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 can raise very serious problems.
39. Bram Stoker. "Dracula" (1897).
A bridge between measured Victorian literature and energetic adventure prose of the 20th 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).
Maritime romance is just the backdrop for the portrait of Captain Larson, an amazing personality that combines brute force and philosophical thought. Later, such people became the heroes of the songs of Vladimir Vysotsky.
41. Fedor Sologub. "Small demon" (1905).
The most realistic thing in all decadent literature. A story about what envy, anger and extreme selfishness lead to.
42. Andrey Bely. "Petersburg" (1913-1914).
A novel in verse written in prose. In addition, about terrorists and Russian statehood.
43. Gustav Meyrink. "Golem" (1914).
A bewitching occult novel, the action of which takes place on the verge of reality and sleep, the gloomy 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).
A novel is a labyrinth from which, to date, no one has managed to get out 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 displayed as the protagonist Julio Jurenito. A book, some pages of which turned out to be prophetic.
47. Yaroslav Gashek. "The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik during the World War" (1921-1923).
Common sense during the plague. A hero who is declared an idiot for being the only normal one. Funniest war book ever.
48. Mikhail Bulgakov. "White Guard" (1924).
The sinking ship of the past is nothing and no one can save. The more tempting is the toy house, where real soldiers who lost the war against their people will be truly killed.
49. Thomas Mann. "Magic Mountain" (1924).
Tomorrow was the war. Only World War I. And indeed - the Magic Mountain. Up there, where the mountains are, you want to sit out, to escape from the plague (any, it is approximately the same at all times and in all countries), but you just can’t. The magic does not work, they are already waiting downstairs, and they have very good arguments.
50. Franz Kafka. "Process" (1925).
One of the most complex and multifaceted novels of the 20th century, which gave rise to hundreds of mutually exclusive interpretations ranging from an entertainingly told dream to an allegory of a metaphysical search for God.
51. Francis Scott Fitzgerald. "The Great Gatsby" (1925).
A novel from the era of the American Jazz Age. Literary critics are still arguing: whether the author buried the great American dream in him, or simply regrets the eternal delay of today, sandwiched between the memory of the past and the romantic promise of the future.
52. Alexander Green. "Running on the waves" (1928).
A beautiful-hearted romantic extravaganza that has already helped a generation of young people and girls to survive the puberty period and gain faith in the Good and the Light and in their own higher destiny.
53. Ilya Ilf, Evgeny Petrov. "Twelve Chairs" (1928).
A picaresque novel of the era of building socialism with the main character-adventurer Ostap Bender. satire on Soviet society 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 building communism in a single village. Perhaps the most disturbing novel about the explosion of messianic and eschatological sentiments in the first post-revolutionary years.
55. William Faulkner. "The Sound and the Fury" (1929).
The discreet charm of the magical American South. Legends, fairy tales, myths. They don't let go, they still call back to the Americans, because you have to be afraid of the past. Faulkner comes up with the American Zurbagan, only there you can be saved.
56. Ernest Hemingway. "Bye weapons!" (1929).
Military prose, overseas military prose. War without war, world without peace, people without faces and eyes, but with glasses. The glasses are full, but they drink from them slowly, because the dead don't get drunk.
57. Louis Ferdinand Celine. "Journey to the End of the Night" (1932).
Stylish and sophisticated black. Without hope. Slums, poverty, war, dirt, and no light, no ray, one dark kingdom. Even the corpses are not visible. But they are, the journey must continue while Charon is having fun. Especially for tolerant optimists.
58. Aldous Huxley. "Oh Brave New World" (1932).
Interpreters argue: is it a utopia or a dystopia? Be that as it may, Huxley was able to anticipate the blessings and plagues of the modern "consumer society".
59. Lao She. "Notes on the Cat City" (1933).
Cats have nothing to do with it. Even foxes, traditional for the Chinese, also have nothing to do with it. This is power, this is plainclothes readers who come and knock on the door. It begins cheerfully and allegorically, and ends with a Chinese torture chamber. Very beautiful, very exotic, you just want to howl and growl, not meow.
60. Henry Miller. Tropic of Cancer (1934).
The groan and howl of the male, longing for cities and years. The most physiologically crude prose poem.
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 of it and in the middle.
62. Margaret Mitchell "Gone with the Wind" (1936).
A harmonious combination of women's prose with an epic picture of American life during the Civil War of the 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 rallied the three comrades.
64. Vladimir Nabokov. "The Gift" (1938–1939).
The piercing 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. "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 you will definitely be rewarded - even after death.
66. Mikhail Sholokhov. "Quiet Don" (1927-1940).
Cossack "War and Peace". The war during the Civil War and the world, which we will destroy to the ground, so that later we will never build anything again. The novel dies towards the end of the novel, amazing case in literature.
67. Robert Musil "A Man Without Qualities" (1930–1943).
For many years, Musil adjusted one to the other polished lines to the limit. 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 constructions of the era of postmodernism.
69. Veniamin Kaverin. "Two Captains" (1938–1944).
A book that called on the Soviet youth to "fight and seek, find and not give up." However, the romance of distant wanderings and scientific research captivates and attracts so far.
70. Boris Vian. "Foam of days" (1946).
The elegant French Kharms, an ironist and postmodernist, dumped all the culture of his time in feathers and diamonds. Culture cannot be washed off until now.
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. "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 hidden fear of the Soviet state and pessimism about the 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. That is why everyone immediately loved him. Both in America and in Russia.
75. Ray Bradbury. "451 Fahrenheit" (1953).
A dystopia that came true a long time ago. Books are not burned now, they are simply not read. We switched to other media. Bradbury, who always wrote about the village (well, Martian or whatever, but still - the 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-tale about the struggle between Good and Evil in a fictional world, which most accurately reflected the aspirations of the people of the twentieth century. Made millions of readers worry about the fate of the gnomes, elves and furry hobbits, as for their fellow tribesmen. Formed 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 youngster. 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 received Nobel Prize according to literature, the novel that killed the poet is the one that killed physically.
79. Jack Kerouac "On the road" (1957).
One of the cult compositions of the beatnik culture. The poetics of the American freeway in all its raw charm. A hipster chase that ends in nothing. But the chase is interesting.
80. William Burroughs. "Naked Lunch" (1959).
Another cult composition of beatnik culture. Homosexuality, perversions, glitches and other horrors. Interzone populated by secret agents, mad doctors and all sorts of mutants. But in general - a hysterical rhapsod, repulsive and bewitching.
81. Witold Gombrowicz. "Pornography" (1960).
Despite the fact that the provocative title does not match the content, none of those who mastered this sensual-metaphysical novel was left disappointed.
82. Kobo Abe. "Woman in the Sands" (1962).
Russian melancholy without Russian expanses. Vertical escape. From skyscrapers to the sand pit. Escape with no right to return, no right to stop, no right to rest, no rights whatsoever. A woman can only cover with sand, only fall asleep. Which she does. The escape is considered successful: the fugitive is not found.
83. Julio Cortazar. "Playing Hopscotch" (1963).
A novel made up of novels. Interactive games, call, mister reader, live, I'll do as you say. Latin Americans love to play, they are very reckless. This novel is a big game of literary gambling. Some win.
84. Nikolay Nosov. "Dunno on the Moon" (1964-1965).
A novel is a fairy tale. Only there is very little fairy tale, but a lot of funny and scary. The most accurate, most come true dystopia of the twentieth century. And now this book is still coming true and coming true.
85. John Fowles Magus (1965).
The life and terrifying adventures of the soul and meaning of modern Robinson Crusoe on, alas, an inhabited island of sheer nightmares. No one will ever forgive anyone or anything.
86. Gabriel Garcia Marquez. One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967).
The story of the fictional city of Macondo, full of drama, was founded by a passionate tyrant leader interested in the mystical secrets of the Universe. A mirror reflecting the real history of Colombia.
87. Philip K. Dick. "Do Robots Dream of Electric Sheep" (1968).
A work that asks the question “Are we who we take ourselves to be, and is the reality as our eyes see it?”. It forced serious philosophers and culturologists to turn to fantasy 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 try in various ways to escape from the ordinary world into the beyond.
89. Alexander Solzhenitsyn. "In the first circle" (1968).
A novel about a “good” camp, a novel about what, it would seem, is not so scary, which, apparently, is why it has such a strong 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 acts even more strongly. Let's not forget that the circle may be the first, but this is not a lifeline, but one of the circles of the Kolyma hell.
90. Kurt Vonnegut "Slaughterhouse number five, or Crusade children" (1969).
A funny and crazy novel in a schizophrenic-telegraphic style. The bombing of Dresden by the Americans and the British in 1945, aliens dragging Billy Pilgrim to the planet Tralfamador. And "things like that," said every time 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.
92. Sasha Sokolov "School for Fools" (1976).
One of those rare novels in which it is not what is more important, but how. The protagonist is by no means a schizophrenic boy, and the language is complex, metaphorical, musical.
93. Andrey Bitov. "Pushkin House" (1971).
About the 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 of Soviet life, an organic part of which is the great Russian literature.
94. Eduard Limonov. "It's me - Eddie" (1979).
A novel-confession, which became one of the most shocking books of its time thanks to the utmost frankness of the author.
95. Vasily Aksenov. "Island of Crimea" (1979).
Taiwanese variant Russian history: The Bolsheviks did not get the Crimea in Civil. 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 background of political cataclysms. And the conclusion - any choice is unimportant, "what happened once, could not happen at all."
97. Vladimir Voinovich. "Moscow 2042" (1987).
The most sophisticated work of the writer. Four utopias inserted into each other like nesting dolls. Tricks with the chronotope and other fun. And also - the most eccentric manifestations of the Russian mentality in all its glory.
98. Vladimir Sorokin. "Romance" (1994).
This book is primarily for writers. Roman, the hero of "Roman", arrives in a typical Russian village, where he lives 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 novel thinking.
99. Victor Pelevin. "Chapaev and Void" (1996).
Buddhist thriller, mystical thriller about two eras (1918 and 1990s). Which of the eras is real is unknown, and it doesn’t matter. A keen sense of life in different dimensions, flavored with signature irony. Sometimes even breathtaking. Scary and fun.
100. Vladimir Sorokin. "Blue fat" (1999).
The most scandalous novel by this author. A stormy plot, a whirlpool of events. A fascinating play with language - like in a symphony. Chinaized Russia of the future, Stalin and Hitler in the past, and much more. But in general, when you finish reading, it breaks to tears.
A book is a whole world that exists not only on paper, but also in the imagination of the reader. Finding a good piece is a difficult task. This review includes best books of all time- rating of the top 10 works that everyone should read.
1. War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
One of the best Russian novels was written between 1863 and 1869, but the publication of the work did not begin until 1865. The book shows the life of the Russian nobility during the war with the army of Napoleon Bonaparte.
In St. Petersburg, Anna Scherer, who is in good standing with the Empress, arranges a reception. All the cream of Petersburg society is invited to it. The elite of the nobility speak French as well and as often as Russian. Here, for the first time, fears and assumptions are expressed about the upcoming war with the French. At the same time, in Moscow, Count Rostov is hosting a reception to celebrate the birthday of his daughter Natasha. Moscow society is less concerned with politics and more everyday life. But soon the war will abruptly turn the fate of the entire nobility of the empire.
2. 1984 (George Orwell)
The dystopia was written in 1948. The events of the novel take place in 1984. The author of the book has always opposed the idealization of the party and the work has a pronounced political overtones.
In 1984 England, there is only one political party, the Outer Party. Its permanent leader is Big Brother, who has concentrated all power in his hands. The protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith, works for the Ministry of Truth. In appearance, he is an ordinary civil servant who adheres to the ideology of the party and strictly follows its law. In fact, Smith is not satisfied with the established order of things. He is afraid of what will happen if someone finds out about his true views. Winston's main task is to find among the employees of the Ministry those who can be trusted and those who should be kept away from.
3. Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
One of Vladimir Nabokov's most popular and best books was written by him in 1955 in English language and later translated into Russian by the author himself. The work tells about the life of a man who, due to psychological trauma in childhood, has not lost his attraction to young girls and his relationship with his stepdaughter.
Nickname of the protagonist Humbert. His main problem is that he is not attracted to adult women, but at the same time he is afraid to answer before the law for having relations with minors. His salvation is the girls involved in prostitution, whose services he periodically resorts to. Everything changes when Humbert finds a widow with a daughter named Dolly. Humbert gives the latter the nickname Lolita and marries her mother.
4. To the lighthouse (Virginia Woolf)
The novel of the English writer quickly gained popularity and entered the top the best works of all times. The book tells about the life of a large Ramsey family in a house from which the lighthouse is visible.
Mr and Mrs Ramsay live in a house on the Isle of Skye with their eight children. They often stay with family friends and just acquaintances. Mrs. Ramsay is a strict woman, she causes envy in others and genuine love in her children. Mr. Ramsay, on the other hand, is respected by his friends, but the children consider him a tyrant. The children's dream to go at least once to the lighthouse, which they see every day since their birth, runs like a red thread through the whole novel. Every day the mother promises that tomorrow they will definitely go there, but the father opposes it. Over time, life changes dramatically and the desire to visit the lighthouse fades into the background.
5. The Great Gatsby (Francis Scott Fitzgerald)
The middle of the ranking of the best books in history is occupied by The Great Gatsby. The novel was first published in 1925. The work tells about the life of the golden elite of American society in the "roaring twenties". This is a book about people making money out of nothing and blowing it away on the cusp of the Great Depression.
The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, who was born into a wealthy family but never exalted himself above others. Nick moves to Long Island and rents a house next door to his second cousin Daisy's. There, Nick meets another neighbor - the fabulously rich, but unknown to anyone, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby throws amazing parties, inviting all the elite of New York to them. Something draws Nick to Gatsby. It seems to him that among the fans of all the dirt, debauchery and hopeless squandering of Long Island, Jay is the purest person.
6. Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
The only novel by an American writer, which became a real bestseller in a matter of days after publication. The work tells about the events that took place during the civil war in the US and immediately after graduation. The book was published in 1936.
The main character of the novel, Scarlett O'Hara, lives in the American South and is one of the most beautiful southern girls. All the young people who have ever met her are in love with her, but Scarlett herself is confident and never reciprocates anyone. Her heart belongs to Ashley Wilkes. Suddenly, war is approaching the lands of the south. The usual noise of the ball and the chirping of spring picnics is replaced by the roar of guns. The life of all southerners is changing dramatically, but Scarlett has the greatest number of upheavals.
7. The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings is the best fantasy book of all time. The novel was first published in 1954. This is a single work, divided into three volumes due to its impressive volume. For over 50 years The Lord of the Rings has been in print as a trilogy.
The protagonist of the Hobbit story preceding the novel, Bilbo Baggins, retired, having given his nephew the hobbit Frodo a strange ring. From the old magician, Frodo learns that this is not just an ornament, but the Ring of Omnipotence. It was created by the vain Sauron in Mordor. The Ring of Omnipotence subdues the 19 remaining rings that are held by elves, hobbits and humans. It gives its owner power over the world, while destroying all the good that was in it. Sauron is hunting for his ring and now Frodo must prevent the instrument of power from falling into the hands of the king of darkness.
8 Beloved (Toni Morrison)
Dark-skinned Sethie was once a slave in the southern states, and then fled to the lands of the free north. However, there was a law in the United States that allowed a slave to be prosecuted in any state. Many years have passed since the escape, but Sethie and her daughter Denver have not got used to a free life. One day, a girl named Beloved appears on the threshold of their house. She magically enchants Sety and completely absorbs her attention. Her friend Paul Di rushes to rescue Sethie, but he does not know the whole truth about the life of his friend. Why does Sethie feel guilty towards her Beloved?
9. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
The classic educational novel by an American writer was written in 1960 in the ranking of the best works of all time. The book is based on memories from the childhood of Harper Lee herself, all events and characters correspond to reality.
AT small town Maycombe lives the main character of the novel - the six-year-old Jeanne, as well as her brother Jim, father Atticus and friend Dill. Atticus works as a lawyer and takes on the most complicated and, at first glance, hopeless cases. This time he is defending the black Tom, who allegedly raped a girl named Mayella. No one but Atticus and his son believes in Tom's innocence. Together, Genie, Jim and Dill become interested in a mysterious neighbor nicknamed the Scarecrow. Why does he never leave the house? And is Tom really guilty of what happened to the girl?
10. On the road (Jack Kerouac)
Rounding out our top 10 best books of all time is On the Road. The novel was written in 1951, but publishing houses rejected it for six years. Only in 1957 the work was published. The book is based on real events from the life of Jack Kerouac himself and his best friend.
Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty meet by chance during Dean's trip to New York. Moriarty admires Paradise's writing talent and together they decide to go on a journey in search of inspiration. Friends travel for three years, having traveled during this time most USA and then break up. Dean remarries and Sal continues to travel. The writer meets a Mexican woman and decides to arrange a life in Mexico on cotton plantations, but Dean finds him and they break off again in search of adventure.
Among the largest publishing companies in the world, those operating in the field of professional and scientific publishing, with a strong focus on digital products, are leading. In addition, fast-growing Asian publishing houses are getting closer to European and American companies, which traditionally dominate the global book market. South Korea and China. This is evidenced by the next rating of the largest publishing companies in the world, published on the eve of the Frankfurt Book Fair.
The next ranking of world book publishing leaders was prepared by consultant Rudiger Wischenbart as part of the Global Ranking of the Publishing Industry project. This is a joint project of the French professional magazine Livres Hebdo and the German company Ruediger Wischenbart Content and Consulting. Since 2007, the rating has been published annually by the professional journals Livr Ebdo, Buchreport (Germany), Bookseller (UK), Publishers Weekly (USA). The rating includes publishing groups with a turnover in 2008 of over $250 million.
Rank Rank Company name Name Country Turnover, million euros
2008 2007 "parent" 2008 2007 2006
Groups
1 2 Pearson Pearson UK 5.044 4.812 5.616
2 4 Reed Elsevier Reed Elsevier UK- 4,586 4,217 5,851
(Reed Elsevier) Holland
3 1 Thomson Reuters The Woodbridge Canada 3,485 4,998 —
(Thomson Reuters) Company Ltd
4 5 Walters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer Holland 3.374 3.413 3.693
(Wolters Kluwer)
5 3 Bertelsmann Bertelsmann Germany 2.980 4.392 4.612
(Bertelsmann)
6 6 Ashette livre Lagardere France 2.159 2.130 1.975
(Hachette Livre)
7 7 McGraw-Hill McGraw-Hill USA 1,794 1,853 —
Education (McGraw-
Hill Education
8 13 Grupo Planeta Grupo Planeta Spain 1,760 1,000 1,015
(Group Planeta)
9 10 De Agostini Editore Gruppo Italy — — 1,668
(De Agostini Editore) De Agostini
10 11 Scholastic Scholastic Corp USA 1.499 1.493 —
11 9 Hughton Mifflin Education Media USA- 1,712 —
Harcourt (Houghton and Publishing Cayman
Mifflin Harcourt) Group Islands
12 12 Holzbrink Verlagsgruppe Germany — — 1,324
(Holtzbrinck) Georg von
Holtzbrinck
13 15 Sengage learning Apax Partners UK 1,172,968 —
(Cengage Learning) et al.
14 21 Wiley John Wiley USA 1,139,846 —
& sons
15 14 Informa Informa United Kingdom 1,028 997 978
16 16 HarperCollins News Corp USA-Australia 944 923 —
(Harper Collins)
17 18 Shokakukan Shokakukan Japan 927 901 —
(Shokakukan)
18 20 Shueisha Shueisha Japan 902 852 —
19 19 Kodansha Kodansha Japan 886 885 908
20 17 Springer Science Cinven UK- 880 906 924
And business media and Candover Germany-Italy-
(Springer Science France
And Business Media)
Analysis shows that only five of the top ten major publishing groups are seriously engaged in publishing books for the general public: Pearson (Penguin), Bertelsmann (Random House), Ashett livre”, “Planet” (which recently absorbed the French publishing house “Editis” (Editis)) and “De Agostini”. By the way, the headquarters of all these groups are located in Europe.
Many publishing corporations are now experiencing economic difficulties associated with the crisis, and reorganization. For example, last year the Thomson group sold its educational branch, which now operates under the name Sungeage Learning and ranks 13th in the ranking. Even so, the traditional publishing business at Thomson kept the group in the top three.
Most of the leading publishing groups define their business as "professional information" rather than "book publishing" and are actively pursuing new digital opportunities. At the same time, digitalization creates many difficulties, especially for those companies that operate in the field of educational book publishing. Traditional book publishing has now become only one, and far from being the most important, pillar of the largest publishing corporations.
- The displacement is called the vector connecting the start and end points of the trajectory The vector connecting the beginning and end of the path is called
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- Acceptable Value Range (ODZ), theory, examples, solutions