50 Books You Should Read

Le Grand Meaulnes (The Lost Domain) by Alain-Fournier

The Trial by Franz Kafka

The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil

Le Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac

Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

A Set of Six by Joseph Conrad

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Treasure Island by Robert L. Stevenson

Kidnapped & Catriona by Robert L. Stevenson

The Master of Ballantrae by Robert L. Stevenson

Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Emma by Jane Austen

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

Stories by Augusto Monterroso

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa

Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges

Mister President by Miguel Ángel Asturias

War of Time by Alejo Carpentier

A World for Julius by Alfredo Bryce Echenique

Against the Grain by Joris-Karl Huysmans

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Letters from my Windmill by Alphonse Daudet

Odes by John Keats

Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Childhood, Boyhood and Youth by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart by Chrétien de Troyes

Lais by Marie de France

The Heptameron by Marguerite of Navarre

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Metamorphoses by Ovid

Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

Disdain with Disdain by Agustín Moreto

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

The Odyssey by Homer

The Iliad by Homer

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

7 GREAT HISPANIC NOVELS

Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Mario Vargas Llosa

The world of radio drama and an unusual loving relationship are two of the cornerstones of this novel. Its flexible structure is open to interpolated funny stories. Based on the author's real life experience, this novel combines a picture of Lima in the 1950s, and an examination of both the practical and creative aspects of writing.

The Vortex, José Eustasio Rivera

Trying to escape their problems, Arturo Cova and his mistress Alicia venture into the Colombian jungle. They start an initiation trip through the virgin rainforest, a hostile milieu masterfully depicted in the novel. The author had taken part in an expedition that denounced violence against Indians in rubber exploitation.

El señor Presidente (Mister President), Miguel Ángel Asturias

The echoes of the first European avant-garde can be seen in the narrative techniques employed in this novel, in which a dictatorship continues its grip on Guatemala through violence and cruelty.  A love story provides a counterweight to human degradation, while a whole country wonders what the next step is.

The Kingdom of this World, Alejo Carpentier

The slave rebellion in Haiti and mentalities in contrast are the subjects of this novel, whose baroque prose is one of the greatest achievements of the Latin American novel. The presence of Voodoo and the circularity of time help shape this narrative.

Pedro Páramo, Juan Rulfo

At the beginning of this book, two characters move along a dreamlike landscape. It is a symbolic, invented place, a peculiar hell where shadows of the dead feed on old feelings and hate. Later the reader realizes that they are only some of the sleepless ghosts that live in Comala.

Broad and Alien is the World, Ciro Alegría

Peruvian Indian groups are deprived of their lands and natural wealth, with the acquiescence of the authorities and the passivity and idleness of a local scholar. Classical narrative techniques are used in this book that focuses on the dehumanization of life.

A World for Julius, Alfredo Bryce Echenique

The lives and doings of an influential, aristocratic Peruvian family are the starting point of a novel of satire and social criticism. The author shows Julius’s expanding world and the decline of his family. A warm, tender and incisive portrait.

Lost Illusions

Honoré de Balzac wrote Lost Illusions (Les illusions perdues) between 1837 and 1843. The novel is divided into three parts; in the first one, entitled "The Two Poets", the main character – young Lucien - is introduced in his milieu, a dreary provincial town. In Angoulême, Lucien and his friend David inspire each other to pursue their dreams; David feels more engaged with science, while Lucien decides to become a writer. The society into which he is introduced is led by Madame de Bargeton, a lady who encourages him to pursue a literary career.

Although the hero boasts of his noble origins (changing his name to Rubempré), he represents an impoverished class; Lucien is anxious to recover lost ground by bringing his artistic talent to bear. The will to succeed as a writer in Paris will lead him to go beyond moral bounds to improve his social status. Furthermore, his family is ready to sacrifice everything for Lucien, in whom they have blind faith. Eve and David - his sister and brother-in-law - are very much guided by Lucien’s fantasies, as they want to see him succeed in the task he has taken on.

In Part II (“Un Grand Homme de Province à Paris”), these hopes fade away as Lucien has a first taste of parisian life. His musings about his needs and problems touch on topic of falsehood in human relations: it is a hard lesson for Lucien. Despite all of this, he continues his efforts. He sinks deeper, as he frequents bad company. In a contrast very close to melodrama, actress Coralie represents the fallen woman, while Eve is depicted as an angel.

Journalism, and especially, Parisian Bohemianism are well depicted in the novel; among the intellectuals, D’Arthez is not a fame seeker, but he strives to produce quality work. As for journalism, it is addressed in a very critical way. Intellectuals and writers gather at an unforgettable local tavern, and the depictions of customs of librarians and printers at that time are also very interesting as well. Furthermore, David runs a print shop at Angoulême, so it provides greater details. The last part of the book, entitled “The Travails of an Inventor”, focuses on David’s problems to make his business thrive.

Despite all hope, wasted effort increases Lucien’s moral decay. Sand castle crumbles before his eyes and Lucien plunges into despair. The lives and doings of Balzac’s characters continue in other books: the outcome of the story can be found in The Splendors and Miseries of Courtesans (Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes), written between 1838 and 1846.

Dead Souls

Recently I have read Dead Souls (Мёртвые ду́ши), a novel by Nikolai Gogol.  It was published in 1842, in the years before the Emancipation of the Russian serfs. As the main themes are greed and corruption, it is a highly relevant story for our times. The author approaches to perfection with the portrayal of some characters, as well as in satirical focus and funny dialogues. 

• The main character is a common man, eager to gain a higher social status; the  story begins at an inn, where he stops to get his strength back. After some lively descriptions of places and characters, we discover that the goal of the hero’s journey is not at all an idealistic one, and readers will be amazed as Chichikov proposes an unusual transaction.

• The reactions of landlords are really mixed and they influence the structure of the book. The madcap pursuit of money is symbolized troughout the book by the carriage roaming the roads of troubled Russia. 

• The main plot thread consists of Chichikov’s visits to some small villages; he also displays his ability to gain influence in the cities he passes by. He speculates with the census, the collection of taxes and the mortgages; he looks at himself in the mirror, but lets wishful thinking cloud his judgment. At the midpoint of the story, Chichikov gets tangled up in his own plot and embarrassing situations will arise in the hilarious ball scene. 

• Gogol's novel reflects a world in crisis; nevertheless, the autor does not draw a cruel satire, nor a bitter one; on the contrary, the psychology of characters leads to a self-analysis. The omnipresence of everyday life contributes to bring the novel up to date; in this sense, the narrator’s cheerful loquacity often appears in the story, moving the reader towards compassion for some characters and looking indulgently on them. 

The autor points out the possibility of redemption: hardworking together in communion with Nature, the characters will achieve happiness and virtue. The final speech uttered by the Prince summarizes the moral of the story: altruistic cooperation as a solution for generalized corruption.