International Literature
Similar to the American literature books, these classics may also be quite familiar to the reader, as well as some newer classics.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by James Joyce
- Read the print copy
- Read the ebook through Overdrive/Libby
- Listen to the audiobook through Overdrive/Libby
- Read through Project Gutenberg
Chris Nelms - Clay
May 1969: "Today it seems as though young people are struggling to identify themselves. This is the case in James Joyce's novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. The story progresses through the maturing process of an Irish lad, Stephen Dedalus.
As a young boy, Stephen is lost in a world of politics, parents, relatives, and religion. He is amazed and confused in the babble of arguments that take place among his relatives, and he finds his standards of life growing hazy.
As Stephen continues through school he wearies of the drudgery of everyday living. In an effort to find himself he withdraws into romantic fantasies and by the age of sixteen has been introduced to sex. He lives his life of sexual pleasures until a touching sermon awakens him to a sincere confession and repentance. He then begins anew with deep religious devotion.
After a tormenting time, Stephen decides to leave Ireland. He has lost faith in his homeland, church, and people, and there is nothing left for him but to seek a new life.
In this novel, Joyce portrays a young man much like himself. He does not present the key to life, thus enabling the reader to form his own opinions. The story is written symbolically and poetically, but lacks transitions and connections.
I cannot say this book is enjoyable. However, it is interesting and proves to be individually profitable."
The Count of Monte-Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas
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- Listen to the audiobook through Overdrive/Libby
- Read through Project Gutenberg
Barb Turner - Maumee
February 1964: "The Count of Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is a novel which is characteristic of Dumas' romantic style of writing. The adventurous theme and Dumas' inherent art of stirring man's emotions succeed in capturing the attention of the average reader even today. To his own richly imaginative style, Dumas adds the fascinating theme of an inexorable revenge. Because most men have sustained injustice in one form or another, the theme of relentless and complete vengeance is legitimate. Throughout his novel, Dumas strives to insert those qualities of the soul which he admires in Edmond Dantes, Dumas himself appears to be fascinated by this man - a self-appointed philanthropist and prosecutor of the people. He constructs an intricate plot on a romantic theme and allows the reader to be captivated by the subsequent suspense and climax. The romance and excitement are truly characteristic of Dumas' noted style."
Gregory Molloy - Maumee
April 1965: "The Count of Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is, in many ways, a typical romantic novel.
The use of exotic settings and characters was one major characteristic of romantic writing, and Dumas makes much use of this device. Although most of the story takes place in such familiar settings as Paris, Marseilles, and Rome, many of the characters are quite exotic and mysterious. Monte-Cristo himself, although a native Frenchman, has an air of mystery about him due to his many travels in the Near East and his numerous Eastern habits which stand out when compared to those of the Parisians who surround him. This feeling is heightened by the Eastern style of dress and furnishings he assumes in his mysterious hideaway on the Isle of Monte-Cristo. One of the Count's most faithful servants is a dumb Nubian. Haydee, his slave, is a former Greek princess.
The plot relies a little too much on chance and improbabilities to be really believable, but this flaw is easily covered up by the escapist quality of the story. It places the reader in the position one always wished he could be tied down to no particular people or place, and possessing an immense fortune which enables one to do entirely as he pleases. In addition, Monte-Cristo's terrible revenges against Danglers, Morcef, and Villefort, the men who had wronged him, express another human desire, that to be able to retaliate for one injuries, rather than simply bearing them in silence. On the whole, The Count of Monte-Cristo is an excellent example of the romantic novel."
Crime and Punishment
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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- Listen to the audiobook through Overdrive/Libby
Mike Vardinakis - Springfield
February 1964: "Was Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov's mind so full of hate that he could kill two women with no effect on his conscience? Did he really believe that he had killed the pawnbroker and her half sister because he thought that he could put their large sum of money to such good use? Or did he kill them because he thought he was 'superior' to the useless pawnbroker, and that it was not only his right to kill her but also his duty? Why then did he kill the old woman's half sister? She was young and still had some use left in her, and she wasn't rich like her half sister.
You will find out the answers to these questions and more when you read Crime and Punishment.
When Fedor Dostoevskii wrote this novel, he brilliantly mixed the underlying psychology of motivation with realistic description, thus making this a real adventure in good reading."
Diane Pollick - Cardinal Stritch
November 1966: "The deed is done; the crime is committed; the mind is in control or is it? In Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel of a man whose mental process allows him to commit a murder, the psychological reasoning of the main character plays a main role. After having killed a pawnbroker, Raskolnikov, a student, suffers great mental anguish mainly because he has committed a crime which he was convinced was a good positive action and would benefit mankind, but which in reality was a murder for which he must be punished. Raskolnikov suffers also because of the sensitiveness of his mind toward people in a condition far beneath that of the normal human being. The latter statement is directly related to the sorrow Raskolnikov causes his friends and family by the murder.
Dostoevsky has done an outstanding job in characterization, for it is impossible not to feel a part of the action - including sorrow and guilt - as one delves into this story of human drama. Personality is so specified and minutely realized, that the idea conveyed by the author is grasped immediately.
Crime and Punishment is a masterpiece of insight into the mind of a man."
Cry, the Beloved Country
by Alan Paton
Dave Rud - Maumee
February 1963: "One of the best novels having a strongly expressed theme and an excellent description of a foreign place is Cry, the Beloved Country by Paton. The plot deals with the tragic and joyful experiences of a native of South Africa. This person is Kumalo, a priest or umfundisi in the Zulu language. From the early beginning of the book, Kumalo quickly is faced with many sorrowful experiences and problems. Sent to find what has happened to his son since the boy left for Johannesburg a year ago, the umfundisi is first cheated, then learns that his sister is leading a wretched life as a prostitute, and finally discovers that his son has murdered a greatly respected white man, who had campaigned for the natives.
The boy is executed, and Kumalo returns to the village to learn that there is no water, and little crops or milk is being produced. Suddenly, although many hints had been given previously, things turn from bad to miraculously good. The father of the man that Kumalo's son had killed is now the guardian of the villagers. He sends in milk, pays for a dam to be constructed to retain the water, and hires an agricultural specialist to teach people how to farm the land efficiently. The author ends the book at this climax and leaves the reader in meditation on the meaning of the story.
The author illustrates very vividly the prejudices existing in South Africa and the greed of the white man, but he contrasts them with the criminal acts of the natives and the goodness of the murdered man's father, who helps the natives improve their lives. Certainly, this book points out that no man, or group of men, or situation, is entirely good or bad, but that there are degrees of characteristics in everyone or everything."
Joanne Boellner - McAuley
April 1965: "Racial issues is the theme of this book. The surface plot is an old man looking for his son and sister in Johannesburg, South Africa. But the theme is contained in the troubles he faces and the reasons behind the trouble.
Old tribal customs have been broken, and the Negroes are trying to adapt to white man's ways and having white supremacy forced on them. The book clearly brings out the effects of segregation on man and his reaction to it.
Although the book is difficult to read because of its loose style, it does not in any way lessen the appeal of the book. The author's style is a very realistic one. I think the book would be of value to anyone interested in solutions to the problems facing our society today."
Patricia Devolder - McAuley
April 1966: "In South Africa today there is a racial unrest more bitter than any now known in our country. Cry, the Beloved Country is the tragic story of that unrest, told with poetic loveliness. This novel narrates realistically the basic social problem of segregation. Throughout the book the fight for equality is portrayed by different places and people. In Johannesburg, the main character, Father Kumalo, becomes fast friends with a minister named Msimangu, who fights emphatically for this equality between the white and colored population. Msimangu, who has no hate for any man, says, 'I have one great fear in my heart, that one day when they turn to loving they will find we are turned to hating.' This is the book's main point.
It is a story of personal tragedy as well as a story of national tragedy. The author molds an individual problem into the main problem of social criticism. Through the description of the country and the impoverished and uneducated language and ways of the people, this distinguished novel by a South African minister quickly and rightly found a permanent place in twentieth-century literature."
Rebecca
by Daphne Du Maurier
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- Listen to the audiobook through Overdrive/Libby
Jeanne White - Anthony Wayne
April 1962: "Rebecca - the name that lived in the memory of all who knew her - was but a haunting image to a woman who had never met her...
Haunted by the memory, of her husband's first wife, Mrs. DeWinter unsuccessfully tries to make a proper marriage. She is incessantly compared to the beautiful and charming Rebecca, whose untimely death shocked the many who had been captivated by her enchanting personality.
Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca's house manager, presents a foreboding picture of a woman obsessed by great devotion to destroy anything that threatens the memory of her beloved mistress. Mr, DeWinter's second marriage, in all respects, does just that.
Although it is a chilling and suspenseful novel, Rebecca is marked with tenderness and touches of humor. Anyone desiring untold excitement should not pass by this book."
Sandra Hoover - Anthony Wayne
February 1964: "Rebecca is a modern novel written by Daphne Du Maurier. Rebecca and Maximillian De Winter seemed to share a perfect marriage, which was envied by everyone they knew. When Rebecca comes to a tragic death, however, surprising facts are revealed concerning their married life. Several months after the funeral, Maximillian weds a sweet but self-conscious girl who has a great deal of difficulty adjusting to her marriage and trying to live up to Rebecca's position at the De Winter estate.
The answers to many questions are found throughout the final chapters: whether Maximillian is involved with Rebecca's death, the result of his trial, and how the present Mrs. De Winter copes with each situation.
The suspenseful and tearful events in this book lead to an outstanding and very interesting novel."
Sue St. John - Cardinal Stritch
April 1967: "Rebecca, the story of a young girl who marries a rich widower, holds you in suspense until the very last page. The setting is Victorian England, near the turn of the century.
Even after Max de Winter's recent remarriage, Rebecca, his late wife, seems to possess supernatural powers over Max. She forcibly penetrates the orderly life of Max's estate, Manderly, disrupting the entire de Winter household.
For Max's young bride, Rebecca is a cherished woman of the past, impossible to compete with. But as mysterious events develop, this shy, young bride begins to doubt Rebecca's saintliness, her supposedly sweet nature is one to be questioned. Why couldn't Max and Manderly forget her? Why did Max repeatedly ignore her obvious questions? These answers are thrillingly resounded in one of DuMaurier's best novels!"
Scaramouche
by Rafael Sabatini
Nancy Czubachowski - McAuley
April 1966: "Scaramouche has as a setting the period of the French Revolution. The plot evolves around a fast-moving adventure of a man named Andre-Louis who later became famous as Scaramouche.
In the main character one finds a realistic person in search of himself and an avenger of a long-time friend. He takes the reader with him through his adventures as fugitive, strolling player, and master of the sword.
It is a fine book of romance and adventure, but like most books, it has its weak point. In this case, too much is presented in too short a space. The story has unnecessary description making it at times confusing, somewhat like the House of the Seven Gables."
Up the Down Staircase
by Bel Kaufman
Susan Voegeli - McAuley
February 1966: "Up the Down Staircase is a book that should not be overlooked by any student, or even teacher! It is not one of those that 'must be read before going to college,' but one that should be read purely for enjoyment. It was written primarily with students and teachers in mind. They are the only ones who can really understand and delight in the book because it is so much like their own experiences.
It is a new, down-to-earth, and in some parts hilarious, book on the everyday problems a teacher faces in all her experiences of teaching. She meets up with many teenagers who are 'tough' and have their own individual problems. She knows just what they are, too, because they are forever writing her notes. For the first few weeks of school, they would put their penmanship to practice by telling her they did not like her and that she should give up her profession!
The whole book is written in the style of letters, notes, and assignments that are received by the teacher from the students and other teachers. This is a clever scheme because one can actually see what goes on from the viewpoint of the teacher. One finds that it can be sad at times, but for the majority of the time, it is very amusing."
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Bronte
- Read the print copy
- Read the ebook through Overdrive/Libby
- Listen to the audiobook through Overdrive/Libby
- Read through Project Gutenberg
Vida Lau - Anthony Wayne
November 1962: "In this book, Mr, Lockwood narrates in the flashback style a tale of morbid horror. All the while you read this book you are caught up in his narration you sense the evil of Heathcliff, the adopted son of Mr. Earnshaw. He became bitter and disillusioned when the new master reduced him to a servant and Catherine Earnshaw, whom he loved, married Edgar Linton, her neighbor. Angry, he left only to return in several years. When he returned he seemed to be wealthy and had lost his morose attitude.
Heathcliff soon demonstrated his evil and maliciousness by being indirectly responsible for Hindley and Catherine's death. He took over Wuthering Heights and made Hindley's son dependent on him for existence. He further satisfied his desire for revenge by forcing Catherine's daughter to marry his son.
How he gained his ends and how he was defeated in the end makes an interesting and absorbing tale. It is surprising that so much hidden violence, vicious malice, and morbid horror can be written in one book."
Marianne Downing - Mc Auley
February 1964: "Emily Bronte reveals in this powerful novel, an extraordinary sense of portraying two people with violent emotions. Heathcliff, the main character, was extremely cruel. This, I believe, stemmed from his lost love for Catherine. His brutality to other members of his family was his way of bestowing revenge upon the world he believed mistreated him so unmercifully.
Whether, you've read any novels with a setting such as the moors of England or not, I suggest you read this one. The haunting wilderness adds to the mysterious overtones in this absorbing tale which revolves around the appropriately christened estate - Wuthering Heights.
This classic should leave a marked impression upon you, even if it's indecisive."