474. The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
1951
Around 235 pages

If you were an angsty adolescent, you probably clicked with this novel, even if it was forced on you in lit class. And if you were like me, you gave a speech about the themes in this story that was so moving, people were shouting "encore!" They were being ironic teenaged dickheads, but still. There was some truth there.

16-year-old Holden Caulfield is depressed and angry at the world. He's expelled from a boarding school in Pennsylvania after failing most of his classes. He thinks everybody is a phony, with the exception of his younger sister Phoebe. I hope I was my brother's Phoebe when he was growing up. 

Despite my many rants about Joyce, I do like it when novels develop a distinct vocabulary. Those are the stories that you want to revisit again and again, because it truly feels like you are stepping into another world. Holden is insufferable, making him a very believable teenaged boy. This is a unique take on the coming of age tale, which usually ends with the protagonist changing in some way. 

If you don't read this as a teenager, you will likely get too annoyed by Holden's whining to enjoy this very much. But I first read it when I was at my angstiest, so I thought it was brilliant.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Has sold more than 65 million books.

In 2020, Don Hahn revealed that Disney had almost made an animated movie titled Dufus which would have been an adaptation of The Catcher in the Rye "with German shepherds." Good god.

UP NEXT: The Opposing Shore by Julien Gracq

473. The Rebel

The Rebel
Albert Camus
1951

Around 320 pages

I am grateful that the Powers That Be have suddenly decided that essays fall under the umbrella of novels. When I was reading Camus' other works, I felt he was a philosopher first, and a storyteller second. So I was eager to experience Camus reach his full potential as a theorist. 

The act of rebellion has to have a purpose, otherwise you are just James Deaning it. Camus examines the concept of revolt, on an individual and historical scale. Naturally, my favorite part was when Camus posed the question on if reading can be considered an act of rebellion, or if it always represents a passive escape from reality.

Camus explains how all revolutions in some way seek to destroy god, so they fail before they even start. I found his perspective fascinating, and unlike many philosophical works, it didn't make me want to stick my head in the oven after I finished. 

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Criticized by many Marxists, including Jean-Paul Sartre.

UP NEXT: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

472. Molloy

Molloy
Samuel Beckett
1951
Around 240 pages

Irish authors and I do not click. I wonder if it's because I love England, and they don't. Also, I am a square when it comes to traditional story structure and Irish authors are more like the square root of -1. Unfortunately, there are many more Beckett novels on the List. This is like going on a date with a guy you know you are not attracted to, but you go anyway because you're bored and lonely. 

So this is the first in a trilogy that the List is planning on demolishing my spirit with. I don't know where we are in this story, although the sinking feeling I had in my stomach indicated we were in Ireland. Molloy is living in his mother's room, although it's unclear where the mother is (my money's on the fruit cellar). I hate that Beckett always has to get so disgusting with the descriptions of the body. Anyway, is Molloy crazy or he just trapped in a crazy medium?

I don't want to read an 80 page paragraph. Why does he want to punish the reader for picking up his novel? Men spiraling into madness is a frequently used plot on this List, and I don't find it nearly as interesting as other set ups.

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

During World War II, Beckett was a member of the French Resistance. So he gets a point for that at least.

UP NEXT: The Rebel by Albert Camus

471. The End of the Affair

The End of the Affair
Graham Greene
1951
Around 160 pages

This is number six of eight total Graham Greene novels on the List, which means if you are devoted reader (which I can only assume), you have now been forced to endure five gushing review about this man. I can't help it though, this guy only improves with time. 

Maurice Bendrix is a writer in London during World War II. He has an affair with Sarah Miles, the wife of a good natured but dullcivil servant. Turns out keeping a dalliance with a married woman secret is especially hard when the city is being air bombed. 

I feel like Greene's stories are always fairly straightforward and arise from simple "what-ifs." He doesn't feel the need to add too many twists and turns. This allows him to focus solely on the characters and their very plausible reactions to everyday life. Greene's religious beliefs always allow him to infuse deep meaning into his stories' conclusion.

We still haven't hit my favorite Greene novel on the List, but I can find no faults with this one. It's only that the upcoming story is just so damn perfect.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Greene's own affair with Catherine Walston formed the basis for this novel.

Evelyn Waugh was a fan of the novel, and wrote that the story was “a singularly beautiful and moving one."

An opera was based on this novel. Why does this keep happening? Just leave us alone.

UP NEXT: Molloy by Samuel Beckett

470. The Abbot C

The Abbot C
Georges Bataille
1950
Around 160 pages

This the second novel on the list alphabetically, so this will be an early read for any psycho going through the List in that order. For non psychos like me, it is entry number 470. Trivia question time: what novel comes first on the List? If you are answer correctly in the comments, you get 50 Mandy Bucks. 

Our friend Georges Bataille is at it again, thankfully this time without the golden showers. Two brothers, Charles and Robert, fancy the same woman, Eponine. Robert is a serious priest involved in the French Resistance, while his brother is a libertine, which I guess in this setting means you are a character from Cabaret. The story mostly focuses on the tension between the three of them.

I like a love triangle as much as the next creep, but my enjoyment is largely dependent on how much I connect with the characters. Robert got on my nerves, obviously, because he was a priest, and nobody is behaving in believable ways. I suppose this is intentional, as this is a novella more about feeling than a grounded story. 

But I'm not that into Bataille, he is never as sexy or as interesting as I would like him to be.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Bataille was fascinated by human sacrifice and founded a secret society, Acéphale, the symbol of which was a headless man. Legend goes that Bataille and the other members of Acéphale each agreed to be the first sacrificial victim but none of them would agree to be the executioner. An indemnity was offered for an executioner, but none was found before the society dissolved due to the outbreak of the war. This is what happens when you let white men form clubs.

UP NEXT: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene

469. The Labyrinth of Solitude

The Labyrinth of Solitude
Octavio Paz
1950

Around 220 pages

Once again, the Powers that Be have abandoned all pretense of this being a collection of best novels. Here we get a collection of essays exploring everything from Mexican identity to our relationship with death. I am not complaining though, Octavio Paz made my jaw drop.

I was fascinated with Paz's perspective and his views on the cultural differences between Mexico and the United States. Here's an excerpt where he explains the disparity in values: "North Americans want to understand and we want to contemplate. They are activists and we are quietists; we enjoy our wounds and they enjoy their inventions. They believe in hygiene, health, work and contentment, but perhaps they have never experienced true joy, which is an intoxication, a whirlwind. In the hubbub of a fiesta night our voices explode into brilliant lights, and life and death mingle together, while their vitality becomes a fixed smile that denies old age and death but that changes life to motionless stone." This was one of those books that I had to keep putting down, simply to absorb the power of his words.

He also shared an interesting take on the deeply rooted cultural attitudes that lead to women being treated as inferior, but at the same time, exalted beings. Definitely worth reading, novels be damned.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts: 

Paz won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature.

UP NEXT: The Abbot C by Georges Bataille

468. The Third Man

The Third Man
Graham Greene
1950
Around 160 pages

Graham Greene never intended this novel to be read by the public, but that's never stopped us before (sorry again Kafka). He wrote this in preparation for The Third Man screenplay, which is a famous film that is also featured on the 1001 movie list. And while any Greene piece is worth reading, you can kind of tell that this story isn't as complete as his other masterpieces.

Our narrator is Major Colloway, a member of the British Royal Military Police. The mystery involves the the death of Harry Lime, a shady shadster who was apparently killed in a car accident. His friend Holly Martins, a popular American author, wants to prove that Harry was never involved in anything nefarious, with the help of Harry's girlfriend Anna.

Even Greene concedes that the movie is superior to this novel, which was essentially a warm up exercise for him. It's a perfectly good thriller that definitely reads like a screenplay. So worth reading if you are a Greene fan, but otherwise not a necessary entry.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Greene wrote of the film: "One of the very few major disputes between Carol Reed and myself concerned the ending, and he has been proved triumphantly right."

UP NEXT: The Labyrinth of Solitude by Octavio Paz

467. The 13 Clocks

The 13 Clocks

James Thurber
1950
Around 125 pages

Two fantasy novels in a row?! I'm not usually too excited by wacky styles (I just want a good story) but the structure of this book was undeniably impressive. It's also nice to get a book written for a younger audience. Children's stories should not be underestimated in value.

The evil Duke of Coffin Castle prevents his beautiful niece Saralinda from marrying by setting her suitors impossible tasks. This reminds me of Pericles, but as this is a children's story, we don't really get into the exact nature of the Duke's possessiveness. He gives the latest gentleman caller (who also happens to be a prince) the task of obtaining a thousand jewels and somehow unfreezing the castle's 13 clocks.

This is a fun plot, but Thurber's clever use of wordplay and strict implementation of his own meter make this story truly unique. Even though this is a children's story, Thurber is definitely not writing down to anybody and is trusting a younger audience to appreciate complex poetic structure.

We have quite the roll going on here in 1950, and I trust Greene not to screw it up for us.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

By the time he wrote this, James Thurber was blind.

Adapted into an opera 2002. That happens a lot on this List.

UP NEXT: The Third Man by Graham Greene.

466. Gormenghast

Gormenghast
Mervyn Peake
1950
Around 400 pages

This is a much needed break from all the recent novels dealing with wartime atrocities. And therein lies the beauty of the fantasy genre. It can teach us about life while providing a necessary escape from the suckiness that is reality. 

The wacky crew is back, which includes one of my favorite literary villains of all time, my man Steerpike. Steerpike is continuing to wage his campaign for complete control of the castle, while Titus is being educated by a variety of colorful professors. Personally, my favorite moment was when the castle's doctor's sister decides she wants to get married. She throws a party and invites all of the school's professors in hopes of meeting a man. Honestly, Irma is an inspiration and the reaction of the men was hilarious. 

I love these books, I only wish there were more of them. I am a huge fantasy nerd anyway, so I'm pretty easy to please. I adore the vibe of this world, it's strange and almost cozy in a way. Even the minor characters are enormously entertaining. A great follow up to Titus Groan, he really kept the momentum going.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adapted by the BBC into a miniseries in 2000.

Often credited as the first fantasy of manners novel.

Translated in over 20 languages.

UP NEXT: The 13 Clocks by James Thurber

465. The Moon and the Bonfires

The Moon and the Bonfires
Cesare Pavese
1950
Around 210 pages

This is a good time to check in with the Italians, they have really been taking it in the shorts lately. It's always disappointing when you don't click with a translation, because I don't know whether to send my hate mail to the author or the translator. I kid, of course, this wasn't so bad, I just didn't connect with the material.

Anguilla returns to his small Italian hometown after making his fortune in the United States during the war years. Of course, the town is different from what he remembers. This is like the spiritual sequel to Christ Stopped at Eboli, and both novels are equally depressing.

This was published the same year that Pavese killed himself. It's always strange reading the works of somebody who made that decision. In some ways, the novel becomes an explanation and justification for the suicide. And I am sure it is obvious why a story about the devastating effect of fascism on Italy would provide ammo for somebody already teetering on the edge.

Not much else to say about this one, it's a tough read, but I guess I should be used to that by now, considering our current era. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

First translated into English in 1952, but a more accurate translation came out in 2002. 

UP NEXT: Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake

464. A Town Like Alice

A Town Like Alice
Nevil Shute Norway
1950
Around 360 pages

It's unusual for the List to include a romance novel, which is understandable. Romance novels suggest women have an alternative purpose other than developing male protagonists. Oh, I kid because I love. In true List fashion, even the romances include a death march, rape, and the murder of children. I guess our Fanny Burney days are through.

Jean Paget recently inherited her uncle's estate. However, she only receives a small income and can only access the full amount when she turns 35. You know how flighty young women can be, compared to the emotionally grounded men of the 1950s. Her trustee Noel Strachan takes special interest in Jean, after she reveals her ultimate goal is to build a well in Malaya. We then flashback to Jean's experiences in the war as a prisoner of war in Japan and her romance with an Australian soldier, Joe Harman.

Shute believed women were forced to march around Sumatra for two-and-a-half years, covering 1,200 miles, with fewer than 30 people surviving the march. The Nevil Shute Foundation explained this was a misunderstanding, and that the women were actually transported from prison camp to prison camp by the Japanese. I don't think it's particularly important to get mired in the details, there are no shortage of wartime atrocities to compare this to.

So this is obviously a very upsetting story that is uplifting in its own way, by demonstrating that love and kindness can be found even in the darkest places. And Norway took us to a very dark place. I wasn't very interested in the frame narrative with Noel Strachan, so that part was a snore for me.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Norway based the character of Harman on Herbert James "Ringer" Edwards, whom Shute met in 1948 at a ranch in Queensland. Edwards, an Australian veteran of the Malayan campaign, had been crucified for 63 hours by Japanese soldiers on the Burma Railway. He had later escaped execution a second time, when his "last meal" of chicken and beer could not be obtained. He lived until 2000. What a bad ass.

UP NEXT: The Moon and the Bonfires by Cesare Pavese

463. The Grass is Singing

The Grass Is Singing
Doris Lessing
1950
Around 210 pages

So far I am not overly impressed with 1950, but this is definitely the best of the bunch. This was reminiscent of Native Son (which I loved), and it was great to go back to Africa, even if it always seems to be through a British woman's perspective.

Right from the start, we learn through a newspaper article that Mary Turner, a white woman living in Rhodesia, was murdered by her black servant Moses. We then go back through Mary's tragic life, which involved a desperate marriage to Dick, a poor farmer. Mary's poverty and anger leads her to shun her white neighbors out of embarrassment and treat black people as subhuman. 

Nobody is heroic in this novel, but it's hard to assign blame to anybody. Their lives are completely miserable, and how can you not hate the world when every moment of your existence is a struggle? Every part of it seems so inevitable. Which is great storytelling, and manages to highlight the main tragedy of human existence.

I don't find Lessing to be the most engaging author, but I enjoyed the story and she's a very visual writer.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The title is a phrase from T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land quoted after the novel's dedication to a Mrs Gladys Maasdorp.

A Swedish adaptation was released in 1981.

UP NEXT: A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute

462. I, Robot

I, Robot
Isaac Asimov
1950
Around 250 pages

I was just discussing the Robot Laws with my brother, who works in machine learning. According to Mike, who is the patron saint of Hot Takes, this story is fantasy/magic as there is no way that artificial intelligence would ever play out the way it does in Asimov's world. Believing robots would be capable of understanding harm to the extent that they would have some kind of Boy Scout pledge associated with protecting humans is apparently comforting nonsense and we are all doomed. Mike is always ready to lend a hand, should you need somebody to help push you off the ledge. 

So this isn't a novel so much as a collection of short stories/essays that are framed as Dr. Calvin's reminiscences as a robopsychologist at U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men Inc. The stories aren't concerned about killer robots or pre-canceled Will Smith, and takes a more thoughtful approach to the technology than we usually get. He didn't give them the Forbidden Planet treatment (even if there is a robot named Robbie), which is a pretty interesting perspective coming from 1950.

But I'm not a big sci fi person, with some notable exceptions, and I always found Asimov to be a little dry.  

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Asimov described Carl Sagan as one of only two people he ever met whose intellect surpassed his own. Seems like a modest man.

Asimov was a claustrophile, so he actually enjoyed being in enclosed spaces.

UP NEXT: The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing

461. The Garden Where the Brass Band Played

The Garden Where the Brass Band Played

Simon Vestdijk

1950
Around 310 pages

We are officially in the 1950s!! And we are having a rather lackluster kick off with another novel so obscure, it does not warrant a Wikipedia page. On the other hand, the characters are so firmly rooted in the 1950s, it serves as an excellent introduction to how fucked up this decade was. Hurray.

Nol is obsessed with Trix, a girl he danced with once when he was eight. He's so obsessed with her, that he wants to meet all four men she's slept with in her time. Because of her number,  which apparently is astronomical, Trix is the scandal of the town. People in the past must have been so bored. The only man that Trix is sort of still involved with is Vellinga, who Nol suspects of dosing Trix's drink and raping her. In the 1950s, this is considered caddish behavior.

By now, I am no stranger to reading stories where a man is fixated on a woman, who is barely a person in her own right. Trix is a particularly frustrating example, she does a complete 180 by the end of the novel for no apparent reason. I understand that Vestdijk was trying to invoke a sense of nostalgia, but I was too distracted by the irredeemable behavior of his characters to appreciate it.

Skippable, hopefully the 1950s will have a sudden Trix-inspired turn around.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Vestdijk was nominated for the Nobel prize in literature fifteen times. Always the bridesmaid...

UP NEXT: I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

460. The Case of Comrade Tulayev

The Case of Comrade Tulayev
Victor Serge
1949
Around 400 pages

You know a List book is underrated when it doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. Sometimes it's a hidden gem, other times the world was trying to protect us from mediocrity. This was a powerful account of the Stalin purges, so there are more sinister reasons why this might not be well-publicized. This guy had quite a pair on him.

Comrade Tulayev, a high ranking government official, is shot in the streets of Moscow, setting off waves of suspicion and paranoia that result in one of those purges totalitarian governments are so fond of. So the way everything plays out is not surprising, with historical hindsight and previous List novels that have covered these issues.

Unlike Orwell, Serge isn't painting with broad strokes, and expects the reader to have a strong grasp of the specific historical events playing out at the time. Sorry to disappoint ya teach, but I am not well-versed in the Soviet involvement with the Spanish Civil War, for example. And the story felt a little disjointed anyway, so I found it a bit hard to follow.

But reading a novel that is sticking it to Stalin is always fun. I am just spoiled by other writers who have defter hands.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Originally an anarchist, Serge joined the Bolsheviks five months after arriving in Petrograd.

UP NEXT: The Garden Where the Brass Band Played by Simon Vestdijk

459. Love in a Cold Climate

Love in a Cold Climate
Nancy Mitford
1949
Around 285 pages

If you're like me (and if you're on this blog, you bear more than a passing resemblance to me, whether you want to acknowledge it or not), then you might also appreciate reading a cozy book about winter during the colder months. There's nothing like cuddling up with a cat, hot chocolate, and a novel that takes place somewhere frigid, preferably Russia or Narnia. April in Pittsburgh allows you to pretend it's winter with relative ease.

This is a companion novel to The Pursuit of Love, as the time frame is the same but the story focuses on different characters. Our girl Fanny narrates the life of Polly, a distant relative on her father's side. Polly is in love with her uncle (non blood related), and scandalizes her entire family by pursuing the relationship.

I enjoy novels of manners, it's always amusing when Mitford pokes fun at the behavior and hypocrisies of the upper class. Fanny is bland as a character, but she's not really written to be a fully fleshed out person as she is cast in the role of the observer. Enjoyable, but I liked The Pursuit of Love a scooch better.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The title is a phrase from George Orwell's novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying. So meta!

Adapted as a BBC miniseries in 2001.

UP NEXT: The Case of Comrade Tulayev by Victor Serge

458. The Heat of the Day

The Heat of the Day
Elizabeth Bowen
1948
Around 400 pages

Virginia Woolf has passed the baton to Elizabeth Bowen as the most overrepresented female author on this List. We are on our fourth of six Bowen entries. I am never really blown away, but she's not offensive or boring either. I think I just want her to be as good as Edith Wharton, since their styles are similar. But she's never quite as interesting.

We begin in the midst of World War II, in a London park where a concert is taking place. I enjoyed this opening, and how Elizabeth Bowen used the characters' reaction to the music as our introductions to their personalities. Very clever. Louie, a young woman whose husband is fighting in the war, unsuccessfully hits on Harrison, an English counterspy. Harrison rejects her, as he is deeply in love with Stella, who is in turn is in love with Robert. Harrison believes that Robert is a German spy, and attempts to use that knowledge to manipulate Stella into getting freaky with him. 

It seems crazy that not everybody would have been getting the fuck out of London at this point, but I suppose people always adjust to the new normal no matter how wild it seems. Like I said, this story wasn't as engaging as I wanted it to be. I felt like most of the exciting action took place off-screen and we were left with a melodrama with characters I heartily disliked.

So an intriguing setting but rather forgettable as far as this era goes.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Harold Pinter wrote a tv movie based on the novel directed by Christopher Morahan in 1989, starring Patricia Hodge as Stella, Michael York as Robert and Michael Gambon as Harrison. Gambon, get out of here.

UP NEXT: Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford

457. The Kingdom of this World

The Kingdom of this World
Alejo Carpentier
1949
Around 200 pages

NOTE: I noticed my comments haven't been working, but I believe I fixed the issue.  Sorry if you have been trying to comment, feel free to go extra hard on me as part of my repentance.

I love discovering novelists who clearly had a huge influence on other favorite authors. In this case, the author in question is Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I would be shocked if he wasn't inspired by Carpentier's sentences, although I think Marquez outshone this guy by a significant amount.

In this novel, Carpentier introduces the idea of "lo real maravilloso" or "the marvelous real." As I understand it, this is different from magic realism, as it's more a magical interpretation of real historical events. In this case, Carpentier tackles the Haitian Revolution, as seen by Ti Noel. Ti Noel is a rapist, and I could do with a different tour guide. But I get it, there is no romanticization of the revolution here.

I didn't really enjoy this novel. The way human beings treat each other is brutal on both sides. It's hard to read, just because it all seems so inevitable. We want to believe a revolution led by slaves is a classic good vs. evil, but of course, reality is too sucky for that. The ending was the best part. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Carpentier was a great admirer of Cervantes, and cited him in a number of different texts throughout his career.

UP NEXT: The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen

456. The Man With the Golden Arm

The Man With the Golden Arm

Nelson Algren
1949
Around 350 pages

NOTE: I noticed my comments haven't been working, but I believe I fixed the issue.  Sorry if you have been trying to comment, feel free to go extra hard on me as part of my repentance.

Crossover time! The film adaptation of this novel is on the 1001 Movies list, which is a dragon I've already slayed. The book is very different than the movie, but I didn't think it was much of an improvement.

Francis Majcinek is a drummer known as Frankie Machine. I also have a consonant-happy Polish last name, but nobody has ever given me a cool nickname to make it easier. Well, there's still time. Frankie develops a morphine addiction after being treated for a shrapnel injury during World War II. His shrewish wife Zosh keeps him in check, using guilt and her possibly faked paralysis. He tries to maintain control of his addiction, while starting an affair with his childhood friend Molly.

The female characters are the main reason I don't like this story. You have Zosh, who is a one-dimensional nightmare, and Molly, who is treated as Frankie's chance of salvation. I think they could have been handled with more depth.

Algren does a better job depicting addiction than the film version does, and I liked this ending more. But not a must read (or watch) in my opinion.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Won the National Book Award in 1950.

Ernest Hemingway wrote of this book, "Into a world of letters where we have the fading Faulkner and that overgrown Li'l Abner Thomas Wolfe casts a shorter shadow every day, Algren comes like a corvette or even a big destroyer... Algren can hit with both hands and move around and he will kill you if you are not awfully careful... Mr. Algren, boy, you are good."

When asked to pose below the film's marquee, Algren is reported to have said "What does that movie have to do with me?" He also commented about the movie that "Sinatra shook heroin like he shook a summer cold." That man could read.

UP NEXT: Kingdom of this World by Alejo Carpentier

455. 1984

1984
George Orwell
1949
Around 370 pages

NOTE: I noticed my comments haven't been working, but I believe I fixed the issue. Sorry if you have been trying to comment, feel free to go extra hard on me as part of my repentance.

This is one of those books nearly everybody has read. Even the people who pride themselves on abstaining from the mainstream have probably read this so they can reference it on Reddit. Or maybe I am being naive, and people just allude to this without actually suffering with Winston. Either way, it's fair to say this is a must read, and George Orwell is a fucking prophet.

In 1984, three totalitarian super states run the world. Winston works in the Ministry of Truth, revising historical documents and dreaming of rebellion (meaning he is already guilty of committing thought-crime). He meets Julia, who Winston initially regards warily as a spy, but gradually becomes more involved with her. Just like in Brave New World, women are here to help men realize things. I don't fault Orwell, but I'm looking forward to our Atwood days when women have larger roles.

Orwell gave us an entirely new vocabulary with this novel, and once again provides us with an invaluable tool for understanding totalitarianism. God, literature is so damn cool. Unfortunately, this novel will never lose its relevancy. 

I read this novel in middle school and the torture scenes really freaked me out. I'm sad this is our last Orwell novel, but talk about going out with a bang. 

Official Orwell Ranking

1. 1984

2. Animal Farm

3. Burmese Days

4. Keep the Aspidistra Flying

5. Coming up for Air

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

One of Time's 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.

By 1989, Nineteen Eighty-Four had been translated into 65 languages, which was more than any other novel in English at that time.

UP NEXT: The Man With the Golden Arm by Nelson Algren

454. Death Sentence

Death Sentence
Maurice Blanchot
1948
Around 80 pages

It was very strange to read the phrase "live, laugh, love" in a 1948 novel. I guess people were basic even in 1948. This was a short novel, which is probably why I enjoyed it more than some of the other experimental works we've had lately.

The novel begins with the narrator setting the intention of describing events in 1938. He has never been able to accomplish this before, and actually, he still doesn't really pull it off. There's not much of a plot here, but plots are passe anyway.

Like any sad boi, I enjoy the rumination on death, even if I couldn't get a strong foothold in the story. Maybe not a necessary read, but not a bad choice either.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Blanchot repeatedly wrote against the intellectual attraction to fascism, and notably against Heidegger's post-war silence over The Holocaust.

UP NEXT: 1984 by George Orwell.

453. The Heart of the Matter

The Heart of the Matter
Graham Greene

1948

Around 300 pages

Graham Greene is one of my favorite regulars on the List, and he will always have a place on my bursting shelves. I respect him as a storyteller and a philosopher, even if he is way too supportive of the Catholic Church.

Major Scobie is a repressed Catholic living in West Africa with his equally repressed wife. Greene uses the heat of the setting in an Orwellian way to add to the oppressive atmosphere. Major Scobie wants to make his wife happy, but doesn't really know how. His duties as an official during World War II lead to having a moral crisis or two.

I will maintain my strict code of honor regarding spoilers, but I will say, damn, what an ending. Greene really knows how to twist the knife. This one isn't quite as memorable to me as some of our other Greene reads, but still very enjoyable.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In 2005, Time magazine named it as one of 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.

Adapted into a movie in 1953.

George Orwell called the plot of this novel ridiculous.

UP NEXT: Death Sentence by Maurice Blanchot