393. Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching
Zora Neale Hurston
1937
Around 240 pages

I can't even remember the last book on the List that was written by a person of color, as this List is whiter than my hometown in suburban Pennsylvania.  But the 30s really came to play, and this is another excellent addition to the List. We are a bit of a hot streak, with some exceptions of course.

Janie Crawford, an African-American woman in her forties, recounts her life, beginning with her sexual awakening, which she compares to a blossoming pear tree kissed by bees in spring. Um, okay. Is that relatable to anybody? Janie was raised by her grandmother after her mother left. She gets in several tumultuous relationships, with every person in her life trying to control her.

Janie Crawford is a great character, and doesn't need to stand for every black woman in existence. The story of her liberation was fascinating to read, even if it is extremely frustrating getting there. Hurston's deft use of imagery demonstrates that she deserves her status as one of the greats.

A must read and I really have to look into more of her work.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Richard Wright condemned Their Eyes Were Watching God, writing in a review:

"Miss Hurston seems to have no desire whatsoever to move in the direction of serious fiction… [She] can write; but her prose is cloaked in that facile sensuality that has dogged Negro expression since the days of Phyllis Wheatley... Her characters eat and laugh and cry and work and kill; they swing like a pendulum eternally in that safe and narrow orbit in which America likes to see the Negro live: between laughter and tears." Isn't that where all human beings live?

Ralph Ellison said the book contained a "blight of calculated burlesque." How dare she be calculated.

Men sure hate it when women do things.

UP NEXT: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The high school book list rears its ugly head again.

392. The Years

The Years
Virginia Woolf
1937
Around 445 pages

There are way too many Woolf novels on this List, and I say that as a fan. Although I enjoy some of her other works, the only novels I would label as essential reads are Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, and To The Lighthouse. And we are still not done! Reading this one just bummed me out, considering her mental state at the time.

The novel traces the history of the Pargiter family for nearly 50 years. She has a brilliant way of opening each chapter with a simple sentence to establish the time of year. This really makes the story seem timeless, rather than fixed on certain dates in the twentieth century. Although I usually enjoy family sagas, she tends not to dwell on the juicy and scandalous details. Instead, we just see single days in the lives of fairly ordinary people.

I don't find the scattered prose easy or enjoyable to read. Maybe it was Mrs. Dalloway length, it would have been more digestible. One more to go before the official Woolf ranking.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Last novel published in her lifetime.

Woolf's sister designed the cover art.

UP NEXT: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

391. The Hobbit

The Hobbit
J.R.R Tolkien
1937
Around 310 pages

Like many nerds, I can trace my lineage to reading The Hobbit in middle school. I absolutely love the world that Tolkien created in his matter-of-fact English way. I would love to live in the Shire, and at 5'2" I would hardly need to duck. I remember putting the novel down in the cafeteria, trying to solve the riddles Gollum posed to Bilbo myself. I definitely would have died in the caves. I sure had some wild times back then.

Gandalf tricks Bilbo into throwing a party for 13 dwarves, who are on a quest to reclaim their ancient home from the dragon Smaug. Gandalf encourages Bilbo as the group's burglar, because dwarves suck at stealth. 

As I've gotten older, my tastes have shifted away from Middle Earth, because I want more sex and blood in my stories. But of course I still love the OG of the fantasy world, and I know that a lot of my future favorites were heavily inspired by this. And how could they not be? He's an excellent world builder, and I'll read any story with a dragon. 

I know we hate on the movies a lot, and rightfully so, but I am excited we finally got a hot dwarf.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Tolkien's friend C.S. Lewis wrote of the novel: "The truth is that in this book a number of good things, never before united, have come together: a fund of humour, an understanding of children, and a happy fusion of the scholar's with the poet's grasp of mythology... The professor has the air of inventing nothing. He has studied trolls and dragons at first hand and describes them with that fidelity that is worth oceans of glib 'originality.'"

Tolkien would often write letters to his children from Father Christmas. Tolkien, you old softie.

UP NEXT: The Years by Virginia Woolf

390. In Parenthesis

In Parenthesis
David Jones
1937

Around 230 pages

Okay, if any ole epic poem can creep its way on the List, there's really no excuse for the omission of works like The Odyssey or The Iliad. But hey, I can be as fun as anybody else. I can appreciate throwing in some poetry into the mix. Watch me loosen up as we once again describe the joys of trench warfare.

Based on Jones' own experiences as an infantryman, the poem narrates the experiences of English Private John Ball. Which I suppose is how we are getting away with this poetry nonsense. It's a little hard to understand, based on the heavy use of military slang and Cockney. 

In his Preface, Jones explains that this isn't meant to be a war book, because war has always been a part of life, and war isn't some remote genre out of the realm of normal. Unlike some of our more gratuitous works of modernism, there was real value in telling the story this way. I would imagine that war reminisces are fragmented, confused, and nothing ties up neatly at the end.

So a refreshing change of pace, but not something I want to revisit again and again.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

T. S. Eliot called it "a work of genius."

UP NEXT: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. My entire existence has led to this moment.

389. The Revenge for Love

The Revenge for Love
Wyndham Lewis
1937
Around 380 pages

Ugh, we just can't shake this guy. And there's more to come, ick. I find his prose to be nearly unreadable, and his stories difficult to follow. So let's get this over with.

This is a very bitter satire of the 1930s in England. He's convinced he is smarter than everybody: communists and capitalists alike. And it's not very funny, which is the greatest crime. Also, it's just plain boring.

I hate him, next.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

By 1951, he was completely blinded by a pituitary tumor that placed pressure on his optic nerve. It ended his artistic career, but he kept writing until his death.

UP NEXT: In Parentheses by David Jones. 

388. Out of Africa

Out of Africa
Isak Dineson
1937
Around 420 pages

Once again, we are playing fast and loose with the definition of the word "novel." And once again, we are discussing a novel that is less famous than its film adaptation. I would have assumed a book about Africa penned by a 1930s white woman would be Margaret Mitchell-esque, to say the least. So this was a pleasant surprise.

In 1913, Karen Blixen moves to British East Africa (modern day Kenya), to marry her second cousin, the  Baron von Bad at Sex (a conjecture on my part, but come on). The Baron and Karen own a coffee plantation in the Ngong Hills, with squatters providing most of the labor. 

Obviously, Karen is put through the ringer, but there is so much joy in these pages and love for the people and the land. Of course, the language is unacceptable now, but the thoughtfulness is remarkable for the time. For example, she takes the trouble to differentiate between the cultures and tribes, rather than lumping every black person as an "African." She is respectful and non judgmental about their practices. Compared to something like She, or Lawrence's Plumed Serpent, that's pretty good.

The movie dials up the romance significantly, but I had a great time just reading about Karen dealing with the struggles of plantation ownership during this era. I also appreciated the non linear style of the narrative. Perfect for a memoir, we typically don't sadly reflect on our lives in chronological order.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

She wrote the novel in English first, then rewrote it in Danish.

The title is likely an abbreviation of the famous ancient Latin adage: Ex Africa semper aliquid novi, which translates as “Out of Africa, always something new."

UP NEXT: The Revenge for Love by Wyndham Lewis

387. To Have and Have Not

To Have and Have Not
Ernest Hemingway
1937
Around 180 pages

This is another novel that is significantly outshined by its film adaptation. Nothing in this book is quite as an iconic as Lauren Bacall teaching Humphrey Bogart how to whistle. 

Harry Morgan is just your average fisherman trying to make it in this economy. In the context of the Great Depression, this means he is forced to run contraband between Cuba and Florida. Once he is screwed over by one of the "Haves" he has to take even more drastic measures to survive.

This is certainly not the best that Hemingway has to offer, but it's early yet. As always, it's hard to stomach 1937 racism, especially coming from our hunky protagonist. Additionally, he does some strange things with point of view, which I don't think is his strength as a writer. We got to play to our strengths as authors, and Hemingway is at his best when he is writing from the point of view of one misogynistic white guy. He's not exactly convincing to me as an omniscient narrator.

Hey, I criticize, because I care. He can do better than this. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Bogart and Bacall fell in love on the set of this movie.

Legend has it that director Howard Hawks bet Ernest Hemingway he could make a good movie out of even his worst book – to which Hemingway replied that not even he could make a good movie from To Have and Have Not.

Received mixed critical reviews.

UP NEXT: Out of Africa by Isak Dineson

386. Summer Will Show

Summer Will Show
Sylvia Townsend Warner
1936
Around 410 pages

Reading this in December is like reading Jaws on a ski trip. Some things are just thematically inappropriate and they bother me. Whereas I can go an entire lifetime without noticing that a lightbulb is burned out. My disturbing eccentricities aside, I still had other issues with this book.

The best revenge against a cheating husband is to run away with his mistress. In this case, the scorned wife in question is Sophia Willoughby, and the mistress is Minna, a revolutionary "Jewess." Just like with Margaret Mitchell, we get a white lady with good intentions creating one of the most racist novels I've ever read.  She probably thought she was being progressive in having Minna be so financially selfless, but she also takes great pains to describe what Sophia considers her ugly Jewish features. 

I do enjoy stories with bi representation, as bi erasure is a very real thing in media. And I adore the premise, I just don't think her prose is as readable as some of her contemporaries. These racist novels are hard on the soul.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

As a child, Sylvia was home-schooled by her father after being kicked out of kindergarten for mimicking the teachers. 

UP NEXT: To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway. Good to see you again Papa.

385. Eyeless in Gaza

Eyeless in Gaza
Aldous Huxley

1936

Around 620 pages

This is the last Aldous Huxley novel on the List, and I feel no type of way about that. I think he is a little boring, even with Brave New World on his resume (which admittedly is a masterpiece). I feel that way about most modernists though. I just want a good story dammit. I don't want you to redefine what a sentence is.

The novel tells the story of Anthony Beavis, a socialite who drifted through high society without much purpose until his friend commits suicide. The plot is non chronological and told in stream of consciousness style. 

Huxley does funky things with grammar, and fully actualizes his previous potential as a wacky modernist on par with Virginia Woolf (the later years) and James Joyce. Which I hate, but others evidently enjoy. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The title is taken from a John Milton poem, referencing the biblical story of Samson.

UP NEXT: Summer Will Show by Sylvia Warner Townsend

384. The Thinking Reed

The Thinking Reed
Rebecca West
1936
Around 430 pages

Rebecca West isn't widely read now, as evidenced by the librarian having to go into the basement to fetch the copy from storage for me. My copy had that really good old book smell, along with a loan slip stamped from the 1930s. I love libraries.

Isabelle is a wealthy widow in France with a slew of suitors. To general surprise, she chooses Marc Sallafranque, a short Jewish industrialist with a gambling problem. She thinks she can change him, and that goes about as well as expected. 

I enjoyed this, and the well-aimed jabs at Henry James. West's Isabelle is very different from the protagonist of Portrait of a Lady. She seems much more real, even with her over the top behavior. West is also much funnier than James. I was smiling at her witty observations and the descriptions of Isabelle's other suitors. She did a great job capturing the way men can speak to women like they are children. 

Jane Austen would have really enjoyed Rebecca West. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

West's real name is Cicily Fairfield. She took the pen name"Rebecca West" from the young heroine in Rosmersholm by Henrik Ibsen.

UP NEXT: Eyeless in Gaza by Aldous Huxley

383. Gone With the Wind

Gone With the Wind
Margaret Mitchell
1936
Around 1040 pages

Most people know Gone With the Wind as a racist old movie, but the movie actually toned down some of the more racist aspects of the novel. Which makes it a tough pill to swallow, especially given its remarkable length. Prepare for a very white washed ode to the Confederacy.

Scarlett O'Hara is a the spoiled daughter of a wealthy owner of plantation in Georgia. The novel opens on April 15, 1861, just before seven states, including Georgia, declare their secession from the Union. Scarlett's upset, because Ashley Wilkes, her neighbor who she secretly loves, is about to marry his cousin Melanie. Scarlett makes a scene, which is witnessed by the very smarmy Rhett Butler. Scarlett plays every card in her deck to keep Tara, the plantation, afloat during the Civil War and reconstruction, while maintaining her obsession with Ashley the entire time. 

Gone With the Wind exists in a different reality, where slaves were happy to be slaves. It's a world white people want to live in, which explains its popularity at the time. The romanticization of the Ku Klux Klan will make you gag. Of course, it's not all Mitchell's fault for being so misinformed, but it's still difficult to stomach.

On the positive stylistic side, the influence of Thackeray and Dickens is clear here. And I do love following the morally questionable exploits of fiery women. Mitchell also really uses foils effectively. I found Scarlett's reactions to sweet, angelic Melanie to be deeply amusing.

An important piece in the puzzle of systematic racism in the United States, so I guess worthy of being on the List? I don't know what the fuck the criteria is anymore.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

As of 2014, a Harris poll found it to be the second favorite book of American readers, just behind the Bible. 

Mitchell received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the book in 1937.

More than 30 million copies have been printed.

The only novel Mitchell ever published.

UP NEXT: The Thinking Reed by Rebecca West

382. Keep the Aspidistra Flying

Keep the Aspidistra Flying
George Orwell
1936
Around 250 pages

Writers love writing about being writers. And honestly, I can't get enough of it. Orwell just keeps improving as an author, which isn't always the case. What a life that man led.

Gordon Comstock declares war on money-obsessed society, and decides to quit his job at an ad company to live the romantic penniless life of a writer. He shames his girlfriend Rosemary for not having unprotected sex with him, saying she doesn't dare have a baby with him because he is broke. As my mom would say, this one is a real pill. Anyway, his battle with capitalism goes about as well as you'd expect.

Orwell's work is always deep with meaning, and this might be my favorite title to date. Gordon doesn't have the talent of a genius, but he has the soul of the artist. He's an easy character to sympathize with, because he wants everything without making any sacrifices.

Orwell's real life experience allowed him to paint a vivid picture of financial hardship. For both Gordon and Orwell, poverty was more of a philosophical choice than an inescapable reality. White male privilege at its finest. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to film in 1997 with Helena Bonham Carter. 

Written while Orwell was in Hampstead, after his tramping days.

UP NEXT: Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

381. Wild Harbour

Wild Harbour
Ian MacPherson
1936
Around 210 pages

I love novels that take place in Scotland. The imagery is always so rich, and they always seem to be replete with haunting descriptions that make me feel like I am standing on the bluffs, my dress dramatically blowing in the wind. And the fact that MacPherson pretty much predicts World War II in 1936 is eerie as well.

In 1940s Scotland, married couple Terry and Hugh have taken to the Scottish highlands to escape the War. I think everybody enjoys a good survivalist story. I would last all of three minutes, but it's fun to read about other people living off the land in a post apocalyptic world. 

All of the fear present in this novel and doomed predictions have lost none of their relevancy here in 2022. Another hidden gem from the List. I could have done without the diary format, but very characteristic of the genre.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

MacPherson died in a motorcycle accident in 1944. 

UP NEXT: Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell

380. Absalom, Absalom!

Abasalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner
1936
Around 385 pages

Faulkner always takes me back to sitting in a hot classroom dissecting A Rose for Emily with a circle of sweaty undergrads. My next experience with dear William was trying to impress a guy with Faulkner tattoos by reading The Sound and The Fury. I don't think he was very impressed, as I haven't spoken to him in five years.

I thought I had seen the last of Quentin Compson, but unfortunately, he hath returned. He's telling his Harvard roommate about the rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen. As a narrative technique, this feels completely unnecessary to me, though I understand it contributes to Faulkner's bizarre style of unreliable narrations. Anyway Thomas Sutpen is a slaveowner in the 1830s, which is a uniquely unlucky time to be a slaveowner in human history.

Sutpen is a memorable tragic character destined to fail, but I get no joy out of untangling Faulkner's exhausting prose. The center of his work is a very ugly man you can't sympathize with, living in a doomed time. And I hate Quentin.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Along with The Sound and the Fury, this novel helped Faulkner win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The 1983 Guinness Book of World Records says the "Longest Sentence in Literature" is a sentence from Absalom, Absalom! which contains 1,288 words. The sentence can be found in Chapter 6; it begins with the words "Just exactly like father", and ends with "the eye could not see from any point". The passage is entirely italicized and incomplete. Like give me a fucking break.

UP NEXT: Wild Harbour by Ian MacPherson

379. At the Mountains of Madness

At the Mountains of Madness
H.P. Lovecraft
1936
Around 200 pages

We have some heavy hitters to deal with in the racism department. First Lovecraft, soon Margaret Mitchell. It's tough to swallow. The power of horror and fantasy in fiction is that it can translate real world fears into something more tangible. And we all know what Lovecraft's fears were, so that makes this pretty tough.

Geologist William Dyer is trying to prevent a new scientific expedition. He recounts his own expedition many years ago, where ancient ruins were discovered and many people were brutally killed. 

It might have escaped your notice, but I am somewhat of a nerd. But I have certain blind spots in my nerdvision: Dr. Who, anime, Star Trek, comic books and Lovecraft. I was just never into the lore, regardless of my personal feelings for white supremacists. I feel like all his monsters are just giant blobs.

If I have to come up with something positive, many other writers that I like were inspired by this work. If it wasn't this novel, we wouldn't have The Thing, and then where would we be?

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Director Guillermo del Toro and screenwriter Matthew Robbins wrote a screenplay for the novella, but it has yet to be made.

UP NEXT: Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner. Oh the dread.

378. Nightwood

Nightwood
Djuna Barnes
1936
Around 180 pages

How exciting to get a queer novel from the 1930s. Unfortunately, it wasn't my cup of tea, so it looks like I will have to wait until Sarah Waters to get my lesbian fiction fix. 

Robin Vote marries Felix Volkbien, who is pretending to be a gentile Baron. They marry and have a special needs son, and Robin realizes this is not the life she wants to lead. Understandable, but Robin is not the stuff heroes are made of. She meets and falls in love with Nora Flood at a circus.

This is a very chaotic novel, which I suppose appeals to some people, but for me, it was a bit too all over the place. Nobody is behaving how you would expect them, which lends a dreamlike quality to the story. 

So if you are looking for something trippy, you'll enjoy this. But for me, the unbelievability of the characters kind of dilutes the emotional impact.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

T.S. Eliot edited the novel.

William S. Burroughs called the novel "one of the great books of the twentieth century."  Stop liking things I like, weirdo.

UP NEXT: At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft. Here we go with this idiot.

377. Independent People

Independent People
Halldór Laxness
1934
Around 550 pages

There is exactly one Icelandic novel on the List, and this is it. I know this, because I went to Iceland last year, and I get a bit, ahem, excited about selecting books for travel based on the location I'm visiting. So as I was shivering in my bed at night, listening to the windows rattle in the furious wind, I enjoyed reading about characters who were just as geographically unfortunate as I was. Not to offend any Icelandic readers out there, it's a beautiful country. I was just intensely uncomfortable the entire visit.

The main narrative revolves around Bjartur, who is married to Rosa. Bjartur is determined to be independent, and even refuses to add a stone to Gunnvor's cairn. Gunnvor is the ghost demon woman who roams the hills. I learned after I almost fell in a volcano that Iceland doesn't fuck around. He also changes the name of his farm from Winterhouses to Summerhouses. Oh, Bjartur. Life as an Icelandic farmer is about as easy as you'd expect. 

I loved getting a novel from a country you almost never hear from, aside from Bjork. I also love mythology, and demon ghost women. Of course, it is grueling reading the characters endure such hardship, and Bjartur is insufferable.

This feels emblematic of the Icelandic culture, which is self-reliant and makes the Starks look happy-go-lucky. 

 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The novel helped Halldór Laxness win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

UP NEXT: Nightwood by Djuna Barnes

376. The Last of Mr. Norris

The Last of Mr. Norris
Christopher Isherwood
1935
Around 280 pages

Fellow Potterheads, the long elusive Mr. Norris has finally made an appearance. And he is way kinkier than I thought he would be.

On the way to Germany, William Bradshaw meets Arthur Norris, who carries a suspect passport and wears a wig that has the unfortunate tendency to shift.  As a frequent viewer of Real Housewives, I can sympathize. They strike up a friendship, and William learns some unexpected things about Arthur, like he's a communist and a masochist. 

Apparently, Christopher Isherwood later condemned the work, calling it heartless. Writers are their own worst critics, but I can see where he is coming from, this is not a heart-warming story. To be fair, the setting was Nazi Germany, which isn't a place to seek the good in humanity. I don't think anybody would be as capable of being as aloof as our narrator in those circumstances, but that's always the case with the Dr. John Watson types, who are tasked with dutifully recording the behaviors of eccentrics.

The setting was intriguing and Mr. Norris was certainly memorable. But life is not a Cabaret, so it's not very believable to me.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The British version is called Mr. Norris Changes Trains. The American version is The Last of Mr. Norris. This is the Philosopher's Stone all over again.

Bradshaw is a stand in for the narrator, and Isherwood changed the character's name in future editions his own. As to why Bradshaw isn't gay even though Isherwood was out, he justified it by saying the reader needed to relate to the narrator. We're all gayer than you give us credit for, Ish. Of course the real reason was he didn't want to cause a scandal.

UP NEXT: Independent People by Halldor Laxness

375. They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Horace McCoy
1935
Around 120 pages

While my schoolin' has taught me that the Great Depression began in 1929, this feels like the first novel that is firmly fixed in devastating economic conditions. Hopefully some writers will come along and make us laugh through the tough times as Steinbeck creeps closer and closer, heralded by the sound of dripping breast milk.

Robert is talked into joining a dance marathon with Gloria, after they both fail to get jobs as extras. Gloria wishes she were dead (who wouldn't, after joining a contest like that?). The contest is a lively affair, because there is free food for the competitors, a hefty prize, and everybody was very bored back then. 

As a writer, McCoy did a brilliant job creating action and driving the story forward with the parameters he put in place for himself regarding the dance contest. I didn't think it was necessary to frame the story as a confession, but I understand it was a common technique of the time. And he obviously wasn't very concerned about spoiling the story, considering the last line is the title of the novella.

A short and punchy read, which isn't what comes to mind when I think of a Great Depression novel. Very impressive.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Sydney Pollack directed a 1969 adaptation. 

Season three of Gilmore Girls pays homage to this novel with the episode "They Shoot Gilmores, Don't They?" I belong to a text thread called Gilmore Girls Gal Pals, so this is interesting to me.

UP NEXT: The Last of Mr. Norris by Christopher Isherwood

374. Auto-Da-Fe

Auto-Da-Fe
Elias Canetti
1935
Around 465 pages

After the a brief scenic detour, we are back to novels doing their best to shock, appall, and disgust us. Although Canetti goes in a much more creative direction than usual when it comes to freaking us out.

Herr Doktor Peter Kien is dangerously obsessed with books. He shuns society but is fanatical about protecting his library and believes human lives are worth less than his precious page pals. In other words, he's the Austrian me. Kien thinks he should marry his housekeeper, because she's good at taking care of his books, if you know what I mean. Kien doesn't know what I mean, and has some pretty fucked up ideas regarding human sexuality. But then his housekeeper knocks over one of his books and he has to lock himself in the bathroom and weep. I was with him up until this point, and then he really goes off the deep end.

Even though this book was uncomfortably relatable to somebody who has written 374 posts about novels by dead people, this novel rubbed me the wrong way. I would categorize this as something like 120 Days of Sodom, with a healthy dose of Kafka body horror thrown in. 

Skip, unless being grossed out your thing. And if it is, you've clearly chosen the right List to follow.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

First American translation's title was The Tower of Babel.

The title refers to the burning of heretics during the Inquisition.

UP NEXT: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? by Horace McCoy

373. The House in Paris

The House in Paris
Elizabeth Bowen
1935
Around 270 pages

I love novels that take place during a single day. There's something very feminine about those stories. There is so much significance in our everyday actions that's difficult to capture if your characters are having adventures all over the place. And not all personalities are capable of the kind of growth that characters experience in plots with a larger time frames. There's something very real about nobody changing.

Eleven-year-old Henrietta Mountjoy, accompanied by Miss Naomi Fisher, is stopping by Naomi's sickly mother on her way to visit her grandmother. Henrietta is expected to spend the day with Leopold, a nine year old boy waiting to meet his mother for the first time that day. The children are fascinated with each other, in a very believable way.  And Leopold's parentage is explored.

I enjoy Bowen's writing, she gave the scenes with the children the emotional weight they deserved. As children we are capable of creating strong emotional bonds with people we never see again. Elizabeth Bowen should be wider read, I enjoy her novels immensely.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Virginia Woolf loved the book and said in a letter: "I had the feeling that your world imposed itself on my world, while I read, which only happens when one is taken in hand by a work."

UP NEXT: Auto-da-Fe by Elias Canetti. 

372. England Made Me

England Made Me
Graham Greene
1935
Around 210 pages

Last entry, we welcomed George Orwell, now say hello to Graham Greene! Both men command a significant portion of this List, because white guys have VIP passes that entitle them to at least five entries apiece. Also, they are both really talented writers and I can't wait to dive into their work. 

One of the reasons I love Graham Greene is because he always starts with a simple premise that can be explained in one sentence. Anthony, a charming and broke womanizer, accepts a job from his twin sister Kate as her rich boss/lover's bodyguard. The manageable set up allows for Greene to create detailed character portraits that feel very real. 

As is the case with any early work, Graham is still perfecting his voice as a writer, but he still demonstrated enormous talent for the craft. He shall hence forth be affectionately referred to as GG on this blog.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The character of Krogh was loosely based on Ivar Kreuger.

Adapted into a film in 1973, but the setting was changed to Nazi Germany.

UP NEXT: The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen

371. Burmese Days

Burmese Days
George Orwell
1934
Around 275 pages

Welcome to the blog George. He makes it to the List on his very first try, with a book reminiscent of E.M. Forster. I had to read this in my college days, and there's nothing like a class discussion to sap your love of a work. Still, I think this is one of the most important reads we've had lately.

John Flory is an English timber merchant living in Burma. He is ashamed of the birthmark that covers half his face, and his only friend is an Indian doctor. He is content with his Burmese mistress until he meets the beautiful Elizabeth Lackersteen. She's a beautiful upper class orphan and represents everything that John Flory desperately wants but feels unworthy of possessing. She's turned off by his obvious affinity for the Burmese natives and clumsy attempts at courting her.

This novel is rich in symbolism. Everything here has purpose, whether its the burning leopard skin or the water buffalo attack, the events of this novel are rich in meaning. It didn't feel like Orwell was preaching, probably because the characters were based on real people. His descriptions were also powerful; I could almost feel the Burmese heat emanating from the pages.

A must read and a great introduction to everything Orwell has to offer.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Orwell spent five years from 1922 to 1927 as a police officer in the Indian Imperial Police force in Burma.

Orwell was turned down for publication as it was feared he would be sued for libel.

UP NEXT: England Made Me by Graham Greene. I missed that boy.

370. The Nine Tailors

The Nine Tailors
Dorothy Sayers
1934
Around 400 pages

This is the follow up to Murder Must Advertise, which means the book includes number eight and nine in the series. Usually I'm much more of a stickler for that kind of stuff, but I am showing everybody I can let my hair down. If I end up having to go back and read all the Lord Wimsey series, well then, that's my business.

Lord Peter Wimsey becomes stranded after a car accident in the Fenland village of Fenchurch St. Paul on New Year's Eve. This is lucky, because they need somebody in the church to ring the bells for nine hours after one of the ringers gets the flu. Wimsey learns about an old theft, and the reader learns a lot about bells. 

I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous Sayers mystery, which had a lot to do with the heavily technical jargon of bells. I think she was tempted to include a little too much of her research into the novel, which wasn't necessary to the story. However, I was impressed by the answer to her mystery, which I thought was very original. 

Once again, a fun mystery which are few and far between on this List.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The book's title are taken from the old saying "Nine Tailors Make a Man. This refers to the nine strokes which at the beginning of the toll for the dead announcing to the villagers that a man is dead. A woman's death is announced with six strokes. God, men routinely find way creative ways to be dicks to us.

UP NEXT: Burmese Days by George Orwell. 

369. Threepenny Novel

Threepenny Novel
Bertolt Brecht
1934
Around 400 pages

If you missed the anti-capitalism novels in the early 1900s, we are back with a bang! Personally, I don't want to read another "novel" that heavily borrows from Marx. And Brecht is an odd duck.

Brecht adapted his opera into this novel, which is remarkable, although I think the story suffers from its obvious theatrical structure. Three main characters, Peachum, Macheath, and Coax, show us just how exploitative the system works, and how it crushes the working classes in its path. 

I believe Brecht is referencing specific German companies, which is kind of lost in translation, but the message is universal and timeless. But like most social commentary novels, it lacks emotional depth. None of the characters feel like real people to me. I guess that's not the point.

So if you were looking for the novelization of a communist opera, look no further. Also, if you were, I have some questions.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

During the Nazi Germany period, Brecht fled his home country, first to Scandinavia, then the US.

UP NEXT: The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers

368. Novel With Cocaine

Novel With Cocaine
M. Ageyev
1934
Around 200 pages

It's been awhile since we have had a Russian novel on this List, so it's nice to get their cheerful perspective about what's going on in the world. The time period provided an interesting backdrop to a not so interesting story.

The narrator is addicted to cocaine and has toxic relationships with women. It reads as an essay, which makes sense as it was first published in a literary magazine. I enjoyed the philosophical musings, even though addiction isn't my favorite topic. 

Nabokov called this novel decadent and disgusting. Maybe the List has desensitized me with its Rabelaisian torture, but this didn't strike me as more disgusting than say, Henry Miller or Nabokov himself. Addiction is disgusting. Just wait until we reach Trainspotting. 

If it made Nabokov clutch his pearls, it's worth reading. But not the most enjoyable entry on the List.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The English translation of the title fails to convey the double meaning of the Russian "Роман," meaning both "novel" and "romance".

M. Ageyev is a pen name. Upon its French publication, there were rumors that it was a work of Nabokov. His son has denied it. It doesn't feel very Nabokov-y to me.

UP NEXT: Threepenny Novel by Bertoit Brecht

367. The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Postman Always Rings Twice
James M. Cain
1934
Around 120 pages

Tale as old as time, or at least, as old as Therese Raquin. After Henry Miller, it's quite nice to read a coherent story that doesn't focus on flatulence and vaginas. Instead, we get a story that could really be written in any genre. This time, we get the hard-boiled version.

Frank Chambers is a drifter who stops at a rural California diner for a meal. The diner is owned by an old Greek guy, and his much younger wife Cora. Frank and Cora fall in love and decide not to go the expensive divorce route.

This is a prototypical hard-boiled story. The way that the entire narrative is framed as a confession, the hot dame that turns alcoholics into killers, the inevitable betrayals. So the predictability might be boring to some people, but I enjoyed the ride. Cora actually felt like a real person instead of just some male fantasy. Well, mostly.

It was also a nice departure from the tough as nails detective telling the story to a different sort of narrator. The Listmakers are so obsessed with this story, it's on the movie list as well. Twice.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted as a film seven times. 

Dorothy Parker, on the novel: "Well, there's all sorts of stuff written about what kind of novel it is—it seems to baffle these critics as they keep trying to label it. But to me it's a love story and that's all it is." The Queen hath spoken.

UP NEXT: Novel with Cocaine by M. Ageyev. Sounds straightforward.

366. Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Cancer
Henry Miller
1934
Around 320 pages

I tried to have good mindset going into this one. I have read Tropic of Capricorn before, so I knew what I was getting into. But we have a lot of post modernism ahead of us, so I did my best to drop my 'tude and read it like it was a very long poem. A poem that is hellbent on grossing us out.

Um, let's see what I can recall in terms of plot. It seems autobiographical, Henry Miller has disgusting friends and has sex with women. Only he's not mature enough to use the word "women." He makes the every day into something gross. 

I guess this was revolutionary, since so many countries banned it. I can see it being exciting for teenagers stuck in Pleasantville, who are just learning what sex is. On the other hand, it's nothing that John Cleland, Rabelais, and James Joyce haven't covered already, much as I wish they didn't. 

There's a place for novels like this, but I hope it's far away from me.

RATING: -----

Interesting Facts:

In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the book non-obscene. I'm really getting sick of those guys.

On why the book is named Tropic of Cancer: "It was because to me cancer symbolized the disease of civilization, the endpoint of the wrong path, the necessity to change course radically, to start completely over from scratch." Oh, get a grip.

UP NEXT: The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

365. A Handful of Dust

A Handful of Dust
Evelyn Waugh
1934
Around 310 pages

Evelyn and I haven't always been on the best terms, mostly because he can be a dull writer and I think it's weird he married somebody also named Evelyn. But I have to give credit where credit is due, this novel did not go in the direction I thought it would.

Tony Last is happy living in his ugly ancestral home with his son John Andrew, but his wife Brenda is pretty miserable. Brenda starts an affair with somebody not that great, I suppose she wants a story for herself. Tony is ridiculously ignorant of the affair until it is spelled out for him, and he eventually takes a mid-life crisis trip to South America. Then things take a pretty wild turn.

Like Fitzgerald, Waugh really is capable of acute self reflection, which is probably why he was so unhappy. The characters weren't necessarily realistic; I think Brenda was demonized and Tony was martyred, which is probably due in large part to it being from He-Evelyn's perspective. 

I did enjoy the deliciously dark ending that satisfied the horror fan in me.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to the radio, stage, and film.

Based on Waugh's own experience traveling to South America.

UP NEXT: Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. Another Henry, and a very crude one at that.

364. Tender is the Night

Tender is the Night
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1934
Around 315 pages

If every author is writing the same book over and over again, trying to get it right, theoretically their last book should be their best. That is certainly true with Tender is The Night, which Fitzgerald clearly put his heart and soul into. Too bad it is frequently overshadowed by The Great Gatsby, as this is the vastly superior work.

Dick and Nicole Driver are a glamorous couple who rent a villa in Southern France, and surround themselves with other expat hotties. Rosemary Hoyt, a 17-year-old actress, is staying with her mother in a nearby resort. Rosemary becomes infatuated with both Nicole and Dick, and picks up on the fact that the couple is not stable. Dick has a drinking problem and Nicole is struggling with mental illness. Sound like anybody we know?

Fitzgerald poured himself into this story, and it's obvious he's offering us a sad reflection on his life. Why can't two hot rich people in France be happy? What is it about the human condition that we can make it so difficult for ourselves? Of course, Fitzgerald doesn't have the answers to these questions, but he is capable of painting a compelling portrait of two people who exist to destroy each other, like every great love story should be.

I agree with Fitzgerald that this is the novel he should be remembered for. A masterpiece.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

The title is taken from the poem "Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats.

Fitzgerald considered the novel his masterwork. 

Rosemary Hoyt was based on 17-year-old Lois Moran, who Fitzgerald had an affair with. Zelda set fire to her expensive clothing in a bathtub in revenge. 

UP NEXT: A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh. More Waugh. Yay.

363. Thank You, Jeeves

Thank You, Jeeves
P.G. Wodehouse
1934
Around 230 pages

It feels a bit twisted to adore a book that uses blackface as a major plot point, even if we do try to put ourselves in the mindset of a white British guy from the 1930s. But damn, is Wodehouse charming and disarming. But it's a weird choice from the Listmakers, who could have simply chosen a different Bertie Wooster adventure. I guess they didn't want us to get too charmed.

Jeeves the valet is fed up with his boss's Bertie Wooster relentless playing of the banjo ukulele, so he leaves his service to work for Lord Chuffnell, one of Bertie's old friends. Bertie travels to one of old Chuffy's cottages in Somersetshire to practice his instrument without being bothered by people with ears. Chuffy hopes to sell his rundown manor to J.Washburn Stoker. He is also in love with Pauline, Stoker's daughter and Bertie's former fiancee. Chuffy wants Bertie's blessing to propose to Pauline. Misunderstandings ensue.

Bertie and Jeeves are fascinating characters. On the one hand, you have Bertie, who is the epitome of the man that fears marriage above all else, and hilariously lampoons the British lords we keep hearing about. On the other hand, we have Jeeves, whose influence cannot be minimized (where would we be without Ask Jeeves?). They are almost Shakespearean in their banter, and I loved it.

Wodehouse's mastery of language is clear in the way he plays with his words and puns. An excellent break from the more serious novels on the List, even if the race stuff is handled in a 1934 way.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Blackface performances were popular at the time Wodehouse was writing this novel. At the time, Al Jolson, Bing Crosby and Shirley Temple were among the many actors who performed in blackface. Ick.

UP NEXT: Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. My favorite Fitzgerald.

362. Call It Sleep

Call It Sleep
Henry Roth
1934
Around 460 pages

There sure are a lot of Henrys on this List. Henry Roth almost sounds like a name you would come up with if you were floundering to come up with a real author at a fancy cocktail party. Alas, Henry Roth is very real, and very disturbing.

Call It Sleep tells the story of a Galician Jewish immigrant family in the slums of New York. David Schearl, a six year old boy, has a loving relationship with his mother Genya, but is routinely terrorized by his father Albert. They are soon joined by his mother's sister Bertha, who is coarse, gross, and entirely repulsive to Albert. David eventually meets Leo, an older Catholic boy, who takes advantage of David's affection in the cruelest of ways.

The characters in this novel are so creepy, and David's life is so bleak, that this is a hard novel to get through. Albert made me feel like I was reading an Emile Zola novel again, where the father is an abusive and monstrous boar who makes the entire household miserable. 

The heavy religious themes didn't do much for me, but obviously my heart hurt for David. Interesting to get a Jewish novel on here.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Out of print for nearly 30 years.

UP NEXT: Thank You, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. This is a fun one!

361. Miss Lonelyhearts

Miss Lonelyhearts
Nathanael West
1933
Around 210 pages

It's the Great Depression, so get ready to live in the sunken place. Not that we haven't read depressing novels before, but they have mostly been about dying in war, not having the economy crash. So get ready for sadness's new flavor.

Miss Lonelyhearts is an unnamed newspaper columnist tasked with writing a newspaper column for the lovelorn and lonely. Which would have totally been me before the invention of dating apps. Miss Lonelyhearts shimself is a pill, who is desperately trying to find meaning in his life, through religion or beating women. His editor Shrike, frequently pranks him and feeds into the notion that everything is awful always.

Certainly not an optimistic book, nor a particularly pleasant novel for those of us who actually like women, art, or media in general. It is an interesting example of detournement, for those of us who like learning about big words and movements outside of university. Unpleasant, and skippable.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into multiple films, an opera, and a Broadway play.

UP NEXT: Call It Sleep by Henry Roth

360. Murder Must Advertise

Murder Must Advertise
Dorothy Sayers
1933
Around 360 pages

I feel like the List looks down at mystery novels, so we don't see them very often. But at the heart of every great novel is a mystery, so I don't have any such snobberies (I have plenty of others though). It takes a real craftswoman to put together a story as intricately designed as this one. 

This is actually the eighth entry in the Lord Peter Wimsey series, which might send the purists into a tailspin, where they have to read the first seven novels before tackling this one. Good thing I'm so normal and non obsessive. But the only thing you need to know is that Lord Peter Wimsey is a rich English gentleman, who solves mysteries for his own amusement. Pym's Publicity Ltd has recently been rocked by a mysterious death. Junior copywriter Victor Dean fell down the office's iron spiral staircase, making no attempt to save himself on the fall down. His replacement, Death Bredon, finds a half-finished letter in Dean's desk to his boss, saying something "undesirable" has been going on in the office. Hmmmmmmmm.

Why are the plot of Sayers' novels so much easier to follow than the adventures of Sam Spade? I think there is more talent there. We are back to the Holmes-style detective, and honestly, I can't get enough of these stories. It's fun to guess the culprit and see how all of the subtly planted clues pay off in the ending. Highly recommended.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Sayers worked as an advertising copywriter until 1931.

Sayers hated the book. Girl, you are too hard on yourself!

UP NEXT: Miss Lonely Hearts by Nathanael West

359. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas
Gertrude Stein
1933
Around 310 pages

Gertrude Stein is in love, and now we all must suffer. I think Stein is a very dull writer, and the jig was up pretty early that this was Gertrude writing, not Alice. Alice herself is not a very fascinating subject. She hung on the arm of Gertrude and was privy to the salons of the 1920s. Big deal, who wasn't?

"Alice" tells stories of the artists of the period, including Henri Matisse, Guillaume Apollinaire, and Pablo Picasso. Unfortunately, she does not delve into the juicier aspects of her relationship with Stein. I guess every book can't be a Sarah Waters' novel.

She also discusses The Making of the Americans which is one of the worst novels the List has made me read. So despite my Pittsburgh bond with Gertie, I would label this skippable.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Ernest Hemingway called it "a damn pitiful book."

Alice never thought it would be a success. That's so Alice.

UP NEXT: Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers. She's been mentioned in several List books lately. Now we get to see what all the fuss was about.

358. Testament of Youth

Testament of Youth
Vera Brittain
1933
Around 688 pages

We've heard plenty of accounts from men during World War I, so it's interesting to get a woman's perspective from this era as well. It seems like being a woman during this time largely consisted of sitting around, waiting to hear if your loved one is dead yet.

Testament of Youth is a memoir of Brittain's life from 1900 to 1925. Are we allowing memoirs on the List? Is this even a novel? Oh well. Brittain originally plans on attending Oxford, but becomes a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse instead, once her life is directly affected by the Great War. It also describes her time at university and her attempts to become a respected journalist. 

We have now reached the era where authors can properly reflect on the War since it is finally over. Brittain is a very sympathetic narrator. The "disillusioned youth" is a common motif on this List, but Brittain manages to really make it fresh through her hopes and goals. We also get a frightening glimpse at how female writers were treated at the time. 

A long, but worthwhile read.

RATING: ***-

Interesting Facts:

First installment of Brittain's memoirs, which continue with The Testament of Friendship and The Testament of Experience.

UP NEXT: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein. Snore.

357. A Day Off

A Day Off
Storm Jameson
1933
Around 215 pages

My library had never heard of Storm Jameson, and the options for hardcover versions on Amazon were unreasonably priced. So I did the unthinkable: I listened to the book on tape. 

This probably doesn't sound so unusual to those who are working their way through this List through audiobooks, but it certainly ruffled my feathers. I just don't enjoy being read to. I always want them to hurry it along, and I miss the warm feeling of a book in my snobby hand. 

On the other, less snobby hand, audiobooks can be great for road trips, long commutes, or nights of terrible chronic pain where you can't get to sleep. Sound off on your opinions regarding audiobooks in the comments!

Back to A Day Off. I love novels that take place in the course of one day (although as always, Fuck Ulysses). An unnamed woman takes a day off from her job at the glove shop, and wanders around London, waiting to hear from her lover George. She's not exactly a sympathetic character, given my jealousy she was in London. Putting aside my envy, she was a well-written protagonist. I enjoyed how the author weaved her backstory into the present day. And given the time period, the location was particularly interesting.

I don't necessarily think this is worth tracking down, since you will probably have to spend cashola to obtain it. But if you stumble upon this book on a lonely bookshelf somewhere, know that you have discovered a hidden treasure.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Storm Jameson was a committed socialist.

Jameson wrote the introduction to the British translation of The Diary of Anne Frank.

UP NEXT: A Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain. Two women in a row, I've never heard of such a thing.

356. The Man Without Qualities

The Man Without Qualities
Robert Musil
1930-1943
Around 1775 pages

Would you believed this is unfinished? Apparently, 1775 pages wasn't enough to make his point. Sigh. I don't really think there is such a thing as "an unfinished masterpiece." Part of what makes it a masterpiece is the brilliant conclusion. Writing endings is damn hard, and you don't get a pass just because you died.

I'll do my best to be succinct (somebody should be around here!). Ulrich is our Man Without Qualities. He is a mathematician, and is like an amoral Oblomov. He floats his way through several Austrian historical events, meeting "interesting" characters along the way. Thankfully, the supporting characters have more qualities than he does.

I had read this before, because I read that Musil is the Austrian Anthony Powell, who in turn is the British Marcel Proust. But I think Proust and Powell had a much clearer idea of what they wanted to say. It's fairly directionless, and Ulrich is a dull protagonist. That's what happens when you pride yourself on the ordinariness of the main character.

Way, way too long. You'll be crying Onkel before the first 100 pages are done.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Musil worked on the novel for over 20 years.

Musil spent the last decade of his life feeling bitter and unrecognized, as his writing didn't bring him any money. That's just being a writer, Musil.

In the German edition, there is even a CD-ROM available that holds thousands of pages of alternative versions and drafts. There is no end to human suffering.

UP NEXT: A Day Off by Storm Jameson. 

355. Brave New World

Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
1932
Around 310 pages

This is the novel that Aldous Huxley was born to write; Antic Hay and Crome Yellow were clearly practice. I feel like most people have read this novel: either you were forced to read it in high school, or you were a rebel who would never read assigned novels, choosing to read subversive authors like Huxley and Thompson instead. So is it overrated? Let's see!

The novel takes place in the distant future, where citizens are engineered by artificial wombs and kept in a stupor with the drug Soma. Bernard Marx is a sleep specialist and a noncomformist. He's attracted to Lenina, a popular and sexually liberated hatchery worker. They take a holiday together to a reservation in New Mexico, where they experience a great deal of culture shock. They meet Linda, a former citizen of World State, and her natural born son. They take the pair back to London. Think Pocahontas 2, with less sexual tension.

A brilliant novel that fills me with a strong sense of doom. Is Huxley a soothsayer? I don't think we've had a dystopian/sci fi writer get it so right. I know we would have disappointed H.G. Wells with our lack of time machines in 2022. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take my anti-depressants and get on with my day.

Oh, I'll admit it, I like 1984 better.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Title is taken from Shakespeare's The Tempest. Spoken by Miranda, who is an idiot...I mean, innocent: 

"O wonder!

How many goodly creatures are there here!

How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,

That has such people in't."

Huxley took the name for the drug after the Vedic ritual drink Soma.

Has been banned at one time or another in China, Ireland, USA, and India.

UP NEXT: The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil

354. Cold Comfort Farm

Cold Comfort Inn
Stella Gibbons
1932
Around 310 pages

You wouldn't necessarily think a novel that parodizes a genre you've never read before could be funny or enjoyable. But hey, it's happened before! I adored Don Quixote without having read any chivalric romances. I also really liked this novel, despite never having read the "loam and lovechild" genre that Gibbons skewers (although I suppose it could be arguing she is putting Hardy in her crosshairs as well).

Newly orphaned Flora Poste is a sophisticated city mouse, but with no immediate prospects available (she is a woman after all), she decides to visit her distant relatives' farm. Her relatives take her into their poorly run farm in Sussex, and they are...eccentric, to say the least.

I read she is mainly taking on authors like Mary Webb and Sheila Kaye-Smith (who?). But she takes on the Hardy formula as well: country folks are as wild and deep as the English countryside, which we will spend 80 pages describing. 

This is pretty funny, Flora Poste is a great satirization of our typical English leading lady, and you know how much I love when a female author is on the List. A nice break from war novels.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The setting is the near future, shortly after the "Anglo-Nicaraguan wars of 1946". It refers to future social and demographic changes, such as the changing neighborhoods of London: Mayfair has become a slum and Lambeth is fashionable. The novel also contains technological developments that Gibbons thought might have been invented by then, including TV phones and air-taxis, so technically this is science fiction. Rad.

Adapted to television in 1995, with Ian McKellan and Kate Beckinsale.

UP NEXT: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Never heard of it!