JustJoey's Classics

List of books read so far:

before 1800
The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes by Anonymous (1554)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1605)
The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (1719)
Candide by Voltaire (1759)
The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1774)
De historie van mejuffrouw Sara Burgerhart by Betje Wolff (1782)

1800-1900
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (1811)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813)
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (1814)
Emma by Jane Austen (1815)
Le rouge et le noir by Stendhal (1830)
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (1838)
De leeuw van Vlaanderen by Hendrik Conscience (1838)
Camera obscura by Hildebrand (1839)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1852)
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (1860)
Max Havelaar by Multatuli (1860)
Les misérables by Victor Hugo (1862)
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (1868)
Little women by Louisa May Alcott (1868)
Anna Karenina by Lev N. Tolstoj (1877)
The adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1885)
Eline Vere by Louis Couperus (1889)
Hunger by Knut Hamsun (1890)
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1892)
A Posthumous Confession by Marcellus Emants (1894)
The Awakening by Kate Chopin (1899)

1900-2000
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann (1901)
The Hound van de Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)
Heart of darkness by Joseph Conrad (1902)
The way of all flesh by Samuel Butler (1903)
Solitude by Víctor Català (1905)
A room with a view by E. M. Forster (1908)
The thirty-nine steps by John Buchan (1915)
Of human bondage by W. Somerset Maugham (1915)
142. Summer by Edith Wharton (1917)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
118. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (GB, 1925) - 4 stars
The murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926)
Der Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (1927)
Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh (1928)
126. The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth (AT, 1932)
Kaas by Willem Elsschot (1933)
Bint by Ferdinand Bordewijk (1934)
The hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937)
The grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
L'étranger by Albert Camus (1942)
Le petit prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupéry (1943)
The razor's edge by W. Somerset Maugham (1944)
Animal farm by George Orwell (1945)
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (1945)
La peste by Albert Camus (1947)
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (1947)
De avonden by Gerard Reve (1947)
Cry, the beloved country by Alan Paton (1948)
Nineteen eighty-four by George Orwell (1949)
115. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (GB, 1951)
The catcher in the rye by J.D. Salinger (1951)
Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (1953)
De Kapellekensbaan (Chapel Road) by Louis Paul Boon (1953)
Lord of the flies by William Golding (1954)
The lord of the rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954)
122. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (GB, 1955)
Het bittere kruid (Bitter Herbs) by Marga Minco (1957)
112. Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado (BR, 1958)
144. Memento Mori by Muriel Spark (1959)
To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
143. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1961)
Terug naar Oegstgeest by Jan Wolkers (1965)
123. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (US, 1965)
Nooit meer slapen (Beyond Sleep) by Willem Frederik Hermans (1966)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez (1967)
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)
Een vlucht regenwulpen by Maarten 't Hart (1978)
Rabbit is rich by John Updike (1981)
The color purple by Alice Walker (1982)
Het verdriet van België (The Sorrow of Belgium) by Hugo Claus (1983)
The cider house rules by John Irving (1985)
114. De man die werk vond by Herman Brusselmans (1985)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (1987)
The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster (1987)
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco (1988)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind (1985)
A prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (1989)
113. The Music of Chance by Paul Auster (US, 1990)
116. Hoffman's honger (Hoffman's Hunger) by Leon de Winter (NL, 1990)
De wetten by Connie Palmen (1991)
121. Kartonnen dozen by Tom Lanoye (BE, 1991)
Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow by Peter Høeg (1992)
The secret history by Donna Tartt (1992)
117. Felicia's Journey by William Trevor (IE, 1994)
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (1996)
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
120. The Hours by Michael Cunningham (VS, 1998)
Stupeur et tremblements by Amélie Nothomb (1999)
119. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee (ZA, 1999) - 4 stars

since 2000
Atonement by Ian MacEwan (2001)
Een schitterend gebrek (In Lucia's Eyes) by Arthur Japin (2003)
De asielzoeker by Arnon Grunberg (2003)
124. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003)
Het meten van de wereld (Measuring the World) by Daniel Kehlmann (2005)
The Sea by John Banville (2005)
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (2006)
The Road Home by Rose Tremain (2007)
De middagvrouw (The Blindness of the Heart) by Julia Franck (2007)
The gathering by Anne Enright (2007)
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (2008)

Other editions: (15)
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (1817) (2006 Edition)
Persuasion by Jane Austen (1818) (2006 Edition)
A Christmas carol by Charles Dickens (1843) (2006 Edition)
De kleine Johannes by Frederik Van Eeden (1884) (2008/2010 edition)
The yellow wall paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892) (2006 Edition)
Pallieter by Felix Timmermans (1916)
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh (1934) (2006 Edition)
Memento mori by Muriel Spark (1959) (2006 Edition)
The world according to Garp by John Irving (1978) (2006 Edition)
Black Dogs by Ian McEwan (1992) (2006 Edition)
American Pastoral by Philip Roth (1997) (2006 Edition)
Amsterdam by Ian MacEwan (1998) (2006 Edition)
The Lambs of London by Peter Ackroyd (2004) (2006 Edition)
Nemesis by Philip Roth (2010) (2012 edition)
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (2011) (2012 edition)

I've posted a list of all the books of the 1001-list I have read so far. I'll add the others as I continue.
I'm using the Dutch 2009-edition of Peter Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die as a source. In this edition 34 Dutch and Flemish books are added and 34 other books have been deleted. I have yet to find out which ones.

Currently reading:
Gabriela by Jorge Amado (2008/2010 Edition)

>2 Trifolia: If you do find out about those titles, I'd love to know what they are!

# 4 - I will. Strangely enough, I found out that the English version includes Dutch books that are not in the Dutch version. Pallieter is not in my Dutch edition, but seems to be in the English edition, if I'm not mistaken? Maybe the Dutch editor didn't like Flemish authors? I'll skim the whole book again and list the Dutch and Flemish books as soon as I have the time.

I have added the (16) books from other versions to my list, but separate from the others. In that case I have read a total of 105 books (out of the 1313 that appear to be on one list or another)?

How do you count your books? Numbers are not that important to me, but I joined the 1001 Progress Index and it may be relevant there?

I skimmed the list for Dutch-Flemish authors and can find 49 of the 50 books that are supposed to be the best the Dutch-Flemish authors have delivered. I'm not too enthusiastic about this list. Apart from the apparent imbalance between Dutch and Flemish authors, I also notice some books that I have never even heard of before, although I can safely say I know a lot of Dutch author's names and their work. And the choice itself, well, I find it rather poor... Fortunately, it's only 5 % of the 1001...

ETA: nr. 50: De morgen loeit weer aan by Tip Marugg

Dutch authors
1. De historie van mejuffrouw Sara Burgerhart by Betje Wolff (1782)
2. Camera obscura by Hildebrand (1839)
3. Max Havelaar by Multatuli (1860)
4. Het Land van Rembrandt by Conrad Busken Huet (1882)
5. Eline Vere by Louis Couperus (1889)
6. A Posthumous Confession by Marcellus Emants (1894)
7. Van de koele meren des doods by Frederik van Eeden (1900)
8. Op hoop van zegen by Herman Heijermans (1901)
9. De uitvreter by Nescio (1918)
10. Herfsttij der middeleeuwen by Huizinga (1919)
11. Het fregatschip Johanna Maria by Arthur van Schendel (1930)
12. Het verboden rijk by J.J. Slauerhoff (1932)
13. Bint by F. Bordewijk (1934)
14. Het land van herkomst by Edgar du Perron (1935)
15. Hollands Glorie by Jan de Hartog (1940)
16. Het achterhuis by Anne Frank (1947)
17. De avonden by Gerard Reve (1947)
18. De koperen tuin by Simon Vestddijk (1950)
19. Het bittere kruid (Bitter Herbs) by Marga Minco (1957)
20. Ik Jan Cremer by Jan Cremer (1964)
21. Terug naar Oegstgeest by Jan Wolkers (1965)
22. Kroeglopen by Simon Carmiggelt (1965)
23. Nooit meer slapen (Beyond Sleep) by Willem Frederik Hermans (1966)
24. In de bovenkooi by L.M.A. Biesheuvel (1972)
25. Dubbelspel by Frank Martinus Arion (1973)
26. Een vlucht regenwulpen by Maarten 't Hart (1978)
27. Geur der droefenis by Alfred Kossmann (1980)
28. Bezonken roood by Jeroen Brouwers (1981)
29. Hersenschimmen by J. Bernlef (1984)
30. De betoverde berg by Etienne van Heerden (1986)
31. Hoffman's Honger by Leon de Winter (1990)
32. De wetten by Connie Palmen (1991)
33. Advocaat van de hanen by A.F.Th. Van der Heijden (1990)
34. Heren van de thee by Hella Haasse (1992)
35. De ontdekking van de hemel by Harry Mulisch (1992)
36. De tweeling by Tessa de Loo (1993)
37. Gesloten huis by Nicolaas Matsier (1994)
38. Allerzielen by Cees Nooteboom (1998)
39. Ik omhels je met duizend armen by Ronald Giphart (2000)
40. Een schitterend gebrek (In Lucia's Eyes) by Arthur Japin (2003)
41. De asielzoeker by Arnon Grunberg (2003)

Flemish authors
42. De leeuw van Vlaanderen by Hendrik Conscience (1838)
43. Kaas by Willem Elsschot (1933)
44. Houtekiet by Gerard Walschap (1939)
45. De Kapellekensbaan (Chapel Road) by Louis Paul Boon (1953)
46. Het verdriet van België (The Sorrow of Belgium) by Hugo Claus (1983)
47. De man die werk vond by Herman Brusselmans (1985)
48. Kartonnen dozen by Tom Lanoye (1991)
49. Margot en de engelen by Kristien Hemmerechts (1997)

Interesting. Max Havelaar, De leeuw van Vlaanderen, and Het verdriet van België are on the original, and De Kleine Johannes by Van Eeden, but not the one you list here. I don't recognize any of the others as being on it, but I'm less inclined to notice the titles I've had less exposure to, so I might be missing one or two.

So now, since you say you think a lot of these aren't great selections, would you point out any, both those listed here and from your own experience, that you do think are worth listing for the Dutch language? I can't read them in Dutch yet, but I can at least try immersing myself in some of the literature! :)

# 7

On the original Boxall-list are, besides the ones you mention, the following novels:
Camera Obscura
Eline Vere
The Forbidden realm | Het verboden rijk
The Garden Where the Brass Band Played | De koperen tuin
Back to Oegstgeest | Terug naar Oegstgeest
Smell of Sadness | Geur der droefenis
The Laws | De wetten
The Discovery of Heaven | De ontdekking van de hemel
The Twins | De tweeling
All Souls Day Allerzielen
Margot en de Engelen (this one has not been translated in English)
The Deadbeats Ontaarde slapers
Rituals | Rituelen
Cheese | Kaas
Pallieter | Pallieter

If you want to read some great Dutch literature, I liked Eline Vere, The Discovery of Heaven, Cheese and The Deadbeats best of the ones mentioned above.

Other novels, very much worth reading, which are on the Dutch version of the list and are translated in English, are - just to name a few:

Out of Mind | Hersenschimmen
Country of Origin | Het land van herkomst
Beyond sleep | Nooit meer slapen
Sunken Red | Bezonken Rood
In Lucia's Eyes | Een schitterend gebrek

I noticed that you are an American living in Belgium now; I really admire that you are so interested in the literature of your new (permanent?) home.

>8 Simone2: Thanks :) Yup, permanently relocated ~4.5yrs ago, I've just been terribly slow about progressing on the language because everyone here speaks English, they give me no motivation to properly learn Dutch! Heh. So yeah I figure, in the meantime, the least I can do is read some of the good literature that has been contributed from the area! ;) I read Sorrow of Belgium last year, and got a copy of De leeuw van Vlaanderen that I intend to read this year, and would like to read others but don't really know any! :)

# 7-9 - I'll try to make a list of my favourite Dutch books asap, but in the meantime, you might checkout my other thread on books by Dutch and Flemish writers. I need to update it, but it might give you an impression of what I like to read.
It's wonderful that you want to make the effort of reading Dutch and Flemish books, even if you read them in translation.
I didn't like The Sorrow of Belgium and De leeuw van Vlaanderen is so very outmoded, unlike other books that have been written round that time. I'm afraid they're not the kind of books that will make you fall in love with Dutch literature. We'll have to fix that.

# 8 - Thanks for the list, Simone. I second your thought on best reads, at least re. the ones I read.

< 9-10 I agree with Just Joey, I think the ones you read won't make you fall in love with Dutch literature (although I liked The Sorrow of Belgium. Try some of the others, to give you a proper view into our literature :-). I don't know if any of the books of Tom Lanoye has been translated into English yet, but I think he's the best Flemish author today.

Oh, a couple individual books don't make a country (or two)'s literature, don't worry! I thought Sorrow of Belgium was interesting, but odd, very very odd, hahaha. I also think, being so far removed from the culture (both location and time-wise) there is probably a fair bit that would mean more to someone who was not so removed. Coincidentally, right after I read it, my husband came across something online (I think it was online) that said it "is the only book everyone in Belgium has read, and no one has finished," something along those lines, so now I can say Mwahaha, I have finished it! ;P And I know, the other is rather old, and it's more famous for the reasons it was written rather than the writing itself, but that's important, too, it's important as a significant cultural icon, so I want to make the effort and hopefully not have much trouble keeping interested! :P

Thanks for the link, Joey, I will star it for future reference :)

And I will add Tom Lanoye to my list to keep in mind for the future! :)

112 Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado (BR, 1958) - 4 stars


After reading this book, I remember what is so special about South-American literature. This book has this typical feel of seriousness, wrapped in humour and irony. Basically, this is the story of the development of the small harbour-town Ilhéus in the Bahia-region in Brazil and its inhabitants in the 1920s. The book is packed with colourful characters who aren't very rounded, but who are unforgettable anyway. Amado knows how to portray people and their small traits that make them human: the jealousy, the friendship, the hypocrisy, the anger, the lust,... it's all there.
Underneath the thin layer of civilisation, there is still a less refined layer of brute force, machismo and violence in which the men do as they please and the women are expected to do whatever the man decides. It's not a coincidence that the four parts of the book are dedicated to four women who each choose their own way of dealing with the situation. Gabriela is one of them but her story is more prominent than the others.
This book was written in 1958, but it still has a modern feel. Highly recommended.

113. The Music of Chance by Paul Auster (US, 1990) - 4 stars

What a highly intriguing book. I'd probably never have taken a second glance if it had not been on the 1001-list which I'm following as a guideline to diversify my reading and get out of my comfort-zone. The subject is rather postmodern: a man becomes rich and decides to quit his job, leave behind his young daughter and spend his days driving in his car through the United States. When he's almost broke, he meets a young man who promises to make them both rich again by playing poker against an odd pair of millionaires. But things go wrong and they end up in a field, building a wall in order to pay their debts.

There are several conclusions that can be drawn from this book, but I think it basically deals with the meaning of life and your personal responsability for that. I found it interesting to see how the men (didn't) use(d) their talents to fill their lives, how they reacted to their (lack of) freedom and their forced labour, how they coped with the situation. I think it basically dealt with life itself: how we act and react within the boundaries of our own situation in life. After all, it sometimes depends on how you look at the situation, rather than the situation itself.

This mini-review probably doesn't make any sense if you haven't read this book. But if you like dystopian, postmodern novels that are very readable and will leave you with plenty to think about, be sure to put it on your wishlist. It's a very rewarding read. I never thought I'd ever be so bowled over by a dystopian novel...

114. De man die werk vond (The man who found a job) by Herman Brusselmans (BE, 1985) - 2,5 stars

I'd never read any book by Flanders' self-declared best writer Herman Brusselmans who is a bit of a cult-figure I don't like his showiness and his style on television, so I was reluctant to read his books, However, I felt I needed to read at least one, because after all, he's a bestselling author, so I chose to read what is supposed to best work so far.

The man character of this book is a socially inept librarian, who's employed at a library in an anonymous office-building in Brussels. Apart from the fact that he's a hypochondriac (or is he really ill?), he's lazy, bored, impolite and downright rude. This book deals with the boredom and the trivialities of life and is packed with humour, which at first I found hilarious, but quickly became a bit formulaic since it did not lead up to anything much. It was good that this book only counts 127 pages, because more of the same would have been boring. It's ok, but I don't think I'll become a fan. Glad I read it though.

Hm, yeah, I don't mind an occasional book where "nothing happens" (so to speak), but it has to be done right, and it sounds like that one wasn't quite up to par.

# 16 - Indeed, the best thing about it was the fact that the main character was a librarian (although what he did to the books was awful), but this did not make the book less shallow.

Today, I did a recount of the books I've read so far because apparently I hadn't included some books that I'd already read. But I've doublechecked now, so unless I find out that I've read other books that are in other editions, I normally will only progress by actually reading books I haven't read before.

115. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (GB, 1951) - 3,5 stars

Classic love-story with a catholic twist. Quite unexpected, but a bit outdated.

116. Hoffman's honger (Hoffman's Hunger) by Leon de Winter (NL, 1990) - 2,5 stars

If there is one word to describe this book, it would be incoherent.
The premises are promising: a Dutch ambassador in Prague, an American secret agent and an American tourist all play their part in this combination of a spy-novel and a family-tragedy just before the wall went down in 1989. The Dutch ambassador, a tragic figure who's scarred by WWII and the death of his children, is suffering from a binge-eating disorder, indigestion and sleeplessness and reads Spinoza to put his mind off things. But this does not prevent him from being tangled up in matter of espionage and counter-espionage.
Despite the fluent style, I wasn't impressed by the incoherent story, the lack of depth in the characters and the cheap emphasis on the effects of the binge-eating and lust. And Spinoza, well, imo, this was just a gimmick to make it all look a bit more intellectual.
This is definitely not my idea of a good book.

I have one of the 1001 Books to Read books, but was frustrated with the choices and how they were made, so I decided to ignore it. Boxall seems to include lots of books by some authors, but skip others which seem influential and obvious to me. I'll have to pull it down again and look through it, it has been some years. Perhaps I'll feel differently. Or maybe I'm too much of a reading rebel to follow someone else's idea of a good book!

Boxall seems to include lots of books by some authors, but skip others which seem influential and obvious to me

Yeah, there's a bunch with a lot and a bunch more with a few, and it's really stupid. Surely there is a huge amount of more varied material out there than half the works by each of a few dozen really prominent authors. We get the idea, they were good!! Don't just go filling out the list like that! Bah. It's why I don't take the list so seriously but just use it to try and read lots of classics and whatnot I hadn't otherwise heard of. I have no plans to read everything off it.

It seems there's a bit of a controversy about the 1001-list and I agree with both Lisa and PolymathcMonkey. It's quite obvious the list has major shortcomings and some authors are really overrated by the amount of books. But there are some really good books on it too and it's a good way to come across some books you'd probably never be aware of because they're not in the comfort-zone. Often, these turn out to be the best reads. So, you win some, you lose some, but the list won't hold me back from reading other books that look interesting and that I want to read.
Has anyone thought of composing a 1001-list by his own or by this group? Anyone interested?

I agree, that's what I use it for, just getting good suggestions aside of the main classics we all know of.

I don't think I'd be comfortable creating my own list, I barely know any know any foreign works outside the big classics (which is one of the shortcomings of the list already) nor have I read enough to say what should/shouldn't go on. If others wanted to take it up, I'd offer suggestions about nominated titles that I had opinions on.

I'm nowhere near well read enough to make a list of 50 books, let alone 1001, but making a list with the people in this group sounds like much fun!

# 23 - 24 - Yes, I don't feel I've read enough to create a list either, but maybe if we joined efforts, we might ast least compose a list that would reflect the choice of this group. As if the 1.300+ is not enough already :-)

Hahaha, there can never be too many lists! :P

You both are so right:
http://bookriot.com/2013/12/31/10-best-top-100-books-lists/

# 26 - Indeed, bring them on :-)
# 27 - That's an interesting link, Barbara! Has anyone bothered to list which books are on all of these lists?

>28 Trifolia: Working on it! I'll let you know when I am finished!

117. Felicia's Journey by William Trevor (IE, 1994) - 4 stars

The young and naive Irish Felicia leaves her home to search for her boyfriend in England, but when he's not where he's supposed to be, her search becomes a nightmare. And then, the friendly elderly Mr. Hilditch offers to help her. But his offer is not as altruistic as it seems.
The fine outline of the characters, the elegant prose and the delicately woven plot make this book a joy to read, despite the creepy undertone. Probably not to everyone's taste, but I found this a wonderful book.

118. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (GB, 1925) - 4 stars

This book is something else. It covers one day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway as seen through the eyes and lived in the minds of the people she meets that day. I knew this was a “stream-of-consciousness”-book before I read it but I had not expected the frequent changes of the points of view, the thoughtful, erratic and extremely personal reflections of the characters nor the poetic language that make this an outstanding book. Not an easy read, but very rewarding if you like psychological novels without a real plot.

119. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee (ZA, 1999) - 4 stars

What a powerful book.
A short affair with one of his students forces professor David Lurie to resign from Cape Town-university. He decides to visit his daughter who lives by herself on a farm in the East of South-Africa. After the two of them are brutally assaulted by three men, the psychological wounds are harder to mend than the physical ones. As they cope with the assault differently, it does not improve their relationship. It actually represents two ways of handling a situation. When David decides to visit the father of the girl he imposed himself on, it's obvious there's yet another way of dealing with this kind of situation.
This book deals with violence, especially against women, and the power that men have or impose on women, but it's more than that. The social-economic and racial component and the complexity yet credibility of the main characters make this an outstanding book. This is certainly not a black-and-white book, but a grey one, in every meaning of the word. Highly recommended.

120. The Hours by Michael Cunningham (VS, 1998) - 3 stars

A deconstruction of the life of Virginia Woolf and the characters of her book Mrs Dalloway in a modern version. I liked the style, the elegant prose and the clever way in which the author deconstructed and constructed his parallel stories. But somehow, I thought it was a bit too constructed. It felt a bit forced, a bit awkward. But overall, I enjoyed the read. Needless to say that it's better to read Mrs Dalloway first to fully enjoy the story.

121. Kartonnen dozen by Tom Lanoye (BE, 1991) - 2 stars

Tom Lanoye has been one of the most relevant Flemish-Belgian contemporary writers for years and this book (Cardboard Boxes) is his coming-of-age-autobiography, written early on in his career. Reading Lanoye is a joy because of his vivacious style, his humour and his nifty use of words. But the explicit gay-erotic theme is omnipresent in his work and sometimes that can be a bit too much.
So I have ambivalent feelings towards this book. If he'd tone down a bit in his sexual frankness, I'd love his books though.

Interesting, and makes me curious about it. Would it be evil to make my husband read it and see what he thinks? Hahaha.

I just finished Mrs Dalloway and so dropped by to read your review of it.

I also really enjoyed it and am looking forward to tomorrow's RL book club discussion of it.

(Computer problems have me limited to snippets of time at work, so I won't be adding my review until my puter gets out of the hospital).

122. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (GB, 1955) - 2,5 stars
123. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (US, 1965) - 3,5 stars

124 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003) - 4 stars

125. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2005) - 4 stars

125. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (2007) - 3,5 stars

>125 I don't think The Book Thief is on the list. I did enjoy it, though.

Oops, my mistake. I was in a hurry and I noticed it is on the list of 1001 books, etc. (http://www.librarything.com/list/508/all/1001-Books-You-Must-Read-Before-You-Die) but apparently that's not the official list. Thanks for letting me know. I'll check the official list, as of now.

the day The Book Thief makes the official 1001 list is the day I stop reading off it ;-)

126. The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth (AT, 1932) - 4 stars

127. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (1982) - 3,5 stars

128. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938) - 4 stars

129. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (2004) - 3 stars

130. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence (1928) - 2,5 stars

>48 Trifolia: sounds like you liked Lady Chatterley about as much as I liked Women in Love.

132. The Tin Drum by Günter Grass (1959)
133. The Man of Property by John Galsworthy (1906)

134. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol (1842)
135. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford (GB, 1915)
136. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (US, 1930)
137. Bleak House by Charles Dickens (GB, 1853)

138. Independent People by Halldór Laxness
139. The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth (1812)
140. Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
141. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

142. Summer by Edith Wharton (RTT/PC/1917) - 4,5 stars


Read for: Reading Through Time Personal Challenge: 1917

A powerful novella with a limited scope: interaction of three key players in a small village in New England during some summer months. We get to see the story through the eyes of 19-year-old Charity, the adopted daughter of a somewhat cranky widower, lawyer Royall.
Young and naive as she is, she falls in love with Lucius Harney, a young architect who makes a study of old houses in the village. A romance develops. Ultimately there are some events that follow each other rapidly and lead to a climax.

Although the end is very clear, the reader is still left with many questions. The romantics will be disappointed, the critics will think that Charity has gotten more than she ever deserved, while the realists will find that it is the right solution in the circumstances. Much will also depend on the personal situation and even age of the reader. A young person will probably have hoped for more, while a more sedate reader will realize that life often runs differently than hoped for and that is not always a bad thing. Personally, I do not think Charity got her dream-life but Wharton gives away enough elements in this story to tell us that, taking all circumstances into account, she will recover and have her chances.

I know too little of the works of Edith Wharton and the 'mores' of that time to know what she meant herself, but that's really not necessary to like this novella. This is a story which raises many more questions than it gives answers and ultimately these are the best books. Wharton also uses a very beautiful style that enhances the atmosphere. The characters would have been powerful enough to play a leading part in a novel. In this case it would certainly have been on the same level as Pride and Prejudice of Jane Austen. Due to the limitations of the short story, the characters are not fleshed out well enough to achieve that level but it is and remains a very beautiful story, even after 100 years.

>54 Trifolia: I thought House of Mirth and the Age of Innocence were masterpieces, and Ethan Frome fine indeed (though not cheerful at all), so I look forward to Summer. Think I might own it, so will aim to read it soon. . . maybe next summer.

143. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1961)
144. Memento Mori by Muriel Spark (1959)