great shorter reads
Often, in these busy times, it may be difficult to find time to plough through the latest 700 page magnum opus of an award-winning author. Let's not forget that succinct prose is often much more challenging to put together as well.
So as a free service, here are three shorter* works of fiction that have stood out to me; chosen mainly for their brevity - but their impact is not diminished in the slightest:
(*By shorter, lets say less than 200 pages).
1. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (Penguin Modern Classics): Such a short book has provoked a huge storm of opinion around it - and rightly so. Through the often naive viewpoint of the narrator, Conrad seeks to pick apart the various myths that surrounded the Imperialism of his era. Some value this book for its perceptive study of human nature - observations that can be likened to Lord of the Flies.
2. The Double Tongue, William Golding (Faber & Faber): Ever since reading the Mystery of Edwin Drood, the idea of reading posthumous novels always fascinated. Although set far in Greece's past, we can observe Golding's accurate understanding of human behaviour. It could be argued that this is not really a short book, as it was never finished, but it serves its purpose for this list!
3. The Trial, Franz Kafka (Penguin Modern Classics): At first reading, this presents quite a haunting picture to the reader. We are never really sure of the time span, of how many of the events came to be set like this. This is very much a product of its time - examining how modern society was seeking to become more and more controlling. An atmosphere of intense claustrophobia hangs over this story.
So as a free service, here are three shorter* works of fiction that have stood out to me; chosen mainly for their brevity - but their impact is not diminished in the slightest:
(*By shorter, lets say less than 200 pages).
1. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (Penguin Modern Classics): Such a short book has provoked a huge storm of opinion around it - and rightly so. Through the often naive viewpoint of the narrator, Conrad seeks to pick apart the various myths that surrounded the Imperialism of his era. Some value this book for its perceptive study of human nature - observations that can be likened to Lord of the Flies.
2. The Double Tongue, William Golding (Faber & Faber): Ever since reading the Mystery of Edwin Drood, the idea of reading posthumous novels always fascinated. Although set far in Greece's past, we can observe Golding's accurate understanding of human behaviour. It could be argued that this is not really a short book, as it was never finished, but it serves its purpose for this list!
3. The Trial, Franz Kafka (Penguin Modern Classics): At first reading, this presents quite a haunting picture to the reader. We are never really sure of the time span, of how many of the events came to be set like this. This is very much a product of its time - examining how modern society was seeking to become more and more controlling. An atmosphere of intense claustrophobia hangs over this story.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, March 08, 2005 at 3:56 pm.
