452. Cry, the Beloved Country

Cry, the Beloved Country
Alan Paton
1948
Around 260 pages

Two books in a row from non Western countries! We will return to stuffy Englishmen by the next entry, but it's nice to take a nice jaunt out of the US/Europe for a bit. I don't think they even mentioned the apartheid in public school, apparently reviewing the French and Indian War for the umpteenth is much more important.

In the isolated village of Ndotsheni, Reverend Stephen Kumalo receives a letter from a minister in Johannesburg, telling him that Stephen's sister Gertrude needs his help. Kumalo journeys to the city to support his sister, but also in the hopes of finding his son Absalom who he has not seen in many years. 

I love how we start the story with the reverend in his village, so we get to share the experience of traveling with Kumalo to Johannesberg. It really drove home what the city looked like from Kumalo's perspective; it was like Lucy discovering Narnia. I enjoyed the story even before we got to the murder. Kumalo handled all his characters with nuance that is extremely difficult when tackling this subject.

One of the best novels we've had in awhile. First enjoyable novel in 1948!

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adapted as a musical called Lost in the Stars in 1949.

Paton served as President of the Liberal Party of South Africa until its forced dissolution by the government in the late 1960s, because its membership allowed black people and white people.

UP NEXT: The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene

451. All About H. Hatterr

All About H. Hatterr
G.V. Desani

1948
Around 315 pages

It always makes me nervous when a novel is praised by authors I don't really vibe with. Both Salman Rushdie and Anthony Burgess (who wrote the preface) celebrate this novel, which is a red flag for me and my delicate tastes. And while I don't think Desani was being intentionally confusing, like some of my other arch-nemeses choose to be, the language was so esoteric that I have a very difficult time with the prose.

H. Hatterr was raised in missionary schools in Calcutta. He visits seven sages in seven Oriental cities, which sounds like a video game I would definitely play. Many of the phrases used could be found in the Hobson-Jobson, a glossary of Anglo-Indian terms that most readers would have been familiar with. Any novel that heavily uses slang loses its accessibility as time passes. That doesn't mean it can't be a rewarding read, but it takes work.

It is nice to get a perspective of India from someone other than a white man. But I think I needed one of those No Fear Shakespeare guides to get through it. Still easier to follow than Joyce.  

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

One of The Telegraph's 2014 list of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels.

UP NEXT: Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

450. Disobedience

Disobedience
Alberto Moravia
1948
Around 160 pages

Somebody who is obedient enough to take the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die really doesn't know how to be disobedient. If I am being disobedient, I promise I'm trying my best to follow your orders, you just didn't give very helpful directions. So I was hoping I could learn a thing or two in this novel. Unfortunately, I wasn't too into this. There have been a lot of snoozes lately.

Luca is a bratty kid who makes Holden Caulfield seems like a well-behaved young man. In fact, he is so insufferable that it made this entire novel almost unreadable for me. I get what Moravia is trying to do, by choosing an unlikely, weaker character to say "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore." Everything in this era is secretly criticizing fascism. 

But I couldn't stand Luca so I think this was pretty skippable.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Moravia once remarked that the most important facts of his life had been his illness (a tubercular infection of the bones that confined him to a bed for five years) and Fascism, because they both caused him to suffer and do things he otherwise would not have done. Way to be inspirational, Moravia.

UP NEXT: All About H. Hatterr by G.V. Desani. I'm already confused.

449. Doctor Faustus

Doctor Faustus
Thomas Mann
1947
Around 535 pages

This is our last Thomas Mann, at least in this lifetime. And by that I mean they snuck him in even more entries on future editions of the List. So for now, this is Mann's parting shot to us.  Thanks for being as boring as possible on your way out, you big creep.

Adrian Leverkuhn is our protagonist, a character so hellbent on becoming a renowned musical genius that he contracts syphilis on purpose and bargains his soul in exchange for artistic inspiration. He's insufferable, Mann is insufferable, and my favorite character was the Mephistophelean demon. 

This novel has many layers, and on its most basic level is relatable as a concept. What author hasn't thought about gambling with their soul after a particularly bad bout of writer's block? In a broader historical context, Adrian is a perfect metaphor for Germany at the time. Obsessive and reverential over the past, with a ruthless ambition that is ultimately most destructive to itself.

But I'm not a classical music person, so nearly every allusion was lost on me. I think Mann is more invested in impressing his readers with his intellect than moving along the story. And he's really standing on the shoulders of giants with this one, as he has the bare bones of his story from the Faust legend already prepared. 

Auf wiedersehen, weirdo.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Mann read chapters to friends to test the effect of the text. 

UP NEXT: Disobedience by Alberto Moravia

448. The Plague

The Plague
Albert Camus
1947
Around 310 pages

Well, I am sure there was an upswing in sales for this particular novel about seven apocalypses ago. I've never enjoyed media relating to outbreaks, I would rather just live in denial (which is uniquely challenging in 2022). 

A plague hits the city of Oran, and naturally the government is slow to respond to the situation and when they do interfere, it makes the situation a bajillion times worse. Our main character is Dr. Bernard Rieux, and he is among the first to discover the plague after his apartment building's concierge dies.

So this certainly hits different now, it's clear the world was completely unprepared for the inevitable pandemic. Given its historical context, the novel also works as a metaphor for the Nazi Occupation of France. It's so easy to let a situation get out of control simply by carrying on as though everything was normal. 

I don't know if it's possible for humanity to wise up, but Camus seems to think so.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a radio play in 2020.

UP NEXT: Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann

447. The Victim

The Victim
Saul Bellow
1947
Around 270 pages

Saul Bellow has replaced Henry Green as an author that I am not too enthusiastic about, but I will still have to read most of his works. And much like Green, Bellow has interesting premises but I find his writing style a little dry.

Asa Leventhal is a Jewish copywriter who is constantly taking care of his brother Max's family, as Max has essentially abandoned his wife and two sons. Leventhal is confronted by a man named Kirby Allbee, who is "playing the victim," which is the worst accusation you can receive on reality television. He blames Leventhal for losing his job and ultimately ruining his life, because strangers can't stop blaming Jewish people for things. Which is essentially the entire theme of the novel.

I understand why Bellow would make Leventhal a largely passive character, because the themes at work here relate more to society's expectations on us, rather than the importance of free will. Still, it made for a rather frustrating read. I don't think I would have handled anything like Leventhal does, which makes it seem inaccessible. 

This really gave me Strangers on a Train vibes, I wonder if Hitchcock was inspired by this novel.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Bellow had his fourth child when he was 84.

UP NEXT: The Plague by Albert Camus

446. Exercises in Style

Exercises in Style
Raymond Queneau
1947
Around 205 pages

Well, after that last entry, this one seems a little silly and inappropriate, which I guess is how life works even in 1947. Also, I learned about a new subculture in France during the time: the zazous. The zazous liked to wear garish clothing, dance wildly to swing music, and carry umbrellas. I guess they needed to express themselves, I'm just not entirely sure what the statement is.

Queneau tells the same story 99 times in a row, each in a different style. So this has the feel of an undergrad writing assignment meets Shel Silverstein. As the purpose of this piece seems to be to play with language, much is lost in translation when you're not reading the French version.

This felt like the literary equivalent of an etude, so it's interesting from a technical perspective but lacks soul. Now I'm spoiled from Levi.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Has been translated in over 30 languages.

UP NEXT: The Victim by Saul Bellow

445. If This is a Man

If This is a Man
Primo Levi
1947
Around 180 pages

I didn't know when we would get to our first Holocaust novel. The idea of experiencing something like that, and then having the wherewithal to be able to revisit it in a novel only a year after the camp was liberated is absolutely mind-blowing to me. Primo Levi has got to be one of the most impressive human beings who has ever existed.

Primo Levi was an arrested as a member of the Italian anti-fascist resistance and sent to Auschwitz in February, 1944. He somehow managed to survive until the liberation in January, 1945. I was unsurprised to find out he was a scientist before his arrest. He describes his surroundings in a frank, slightly detached way that expects no pity (why would he?). I can only imagine that was how he was able to get through the experience, by assigning himself to the role of observer. An observer has a purpose, a reason to survive, and his reason was to write this memoir.

Every sentence of this memoir is powerful, but I was particularly struck with this line, which nails the banality of evil so chillingly: "We had expected something more apocalyptic; they seemed simple police agents." I sometimes question my consumption of books like this in the interest of protecting my own emotional health, but this memoir isn't misery porn. 

Levi's story is an incredibly inspirational one. God, literature is so fucking noble and awesome, Levi was able to win a second battle against the Nazis here (the first battle was surviving in the first place).

 RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

The German edition contains a preface addressed to the German people, which Levi said he wrote out of passionate necessity to remind them what they had done.

UP NEXT: Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau

444. Under the Volcano

Under the Volcano
Malcolm Lowry
1947
Around 425 pages

During his life Malcolm Lowry tried to strangle his wife twice, and it appears he either killed himself or his wife killed him. Juicy. Well, I don't entirely blame her for snapping, if this novel is any indication of what their life was like together.

Geoffrey Fermin is an alcoholic British consul living in Quauhnahuac, Mexico. There are plenty of stories about white men living abroad with a drinking problem, treating their wives horribly. Here's another one. Oh and there's a bullfight, because of course there's one.

I don't know, this just felt like a repeat of D.H. Lawrence, and he did it better. Lowry sounds like a very troubled person. Great writing can obviously make any perspective accessible, but I didn't find this novel to be particularly impressive.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Under the Volcano as 11 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the century. Let's take it easy.

Charles Bukowski said when he read Lowry's novel, "I yawned myself to shit."

UP NEXT: If This is a Man by Primo Levi

443. The Path to the Nest of Spiders

The Path to the Nest of Spiders
Italo Calvino
1947
Around 185 pages

Why couldn't it be follow the butterflies? I am more likely to lose my mind over a millipede than a spider, but either way, it's an experience sure to end tears. Luckily, this novel doesn't culminate in a spider attack guaranteed to result in nightmares. This is our introduction to Italo Calvino and he doesn't disappoint. Nobody's first novel should be this good.

Pin is an orphaned cobbler's apprentice who lives with his sister who makes ends meet with prostitution. Pin spends most of his time at a sketchy dive bar entertaining customers with his stories. After a misadventure with a Nazi, Pin ends up in a band of partisans. 

By now we have seen dozens of World War II novels, but I think this is the first one that is largely from the perspective of a child. What a time to come of age. Calvino is a strong writer, obviously he is going to improve but this is a truly impressive start.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

At the time of his death, Calvino was the most translated contemporary Italian writer in the world.

UP NEXT: Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry

442. Back

Back
Henry Green
1946
Around 220 pages

We are back with yet another Henry Green novel, although this the last time you have to endure me complaining about him. Honestly, he was never that bad, but he was never that mind-blowing either. But for being consistently good, he does deserve some props. And an official ranking.

1. Blindness

2. Party Going

3. Loving

4. Caught

5. Back

6. Living

This is the story of Charley Summers, who has been detained as a POW in Germany for three years. Not only did he lose his leg, but he also learns the married woman he was in love with died while he was gone. 

I guess it's unfair to compare everybody to the best of the best, but I just think of better novelists who have covered this ground, from Rebecca West to Evelyn Waugh. Didn't leave much of an impression, which was my entire impression of Henry Green.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Vanessa Bell (Virginia Woolf's sister) designed the cover.

UP NEXT: The Path to the Nest of Spiders by Italo Calvino

441. Titus Groan

Titus Groan
Mervyn Peake
1946
Around 400 pages

I never thought a man named Mervyn would be capable of bringing me such pleasure. But I absolutely adore this novel. We rarely have fantasy/gothic novels on the List, so this was a real treat for me. I would highly recommend for anybody that enjoys better known fantasy sagas.

The book is set in the castle of Gormenghast, the ancient and crumbling residence of the Groan family. Lord Sepulchrave is the head of the household, and is largely uninterested in his duties as a lord, and instead just wants to read all the time. Are you starting to see why I'm doting over this novel? Anyway, we have a host of excellent characters. Favorites include Mr Flay, Lord Sepulchrave's personal servant who is religiously devoted to the castle's wellbeing and the villainous kitchen boy Steerpike, who wouldn't be out of place as a Shakespearean villain. And then there is the excellent cast of female characters, including a freaky set of twins and Countess Gertrude, who is always surrounded by her army of white cats. 

When you have characters as rich as Peake does, you simply put them all in place and the action flow smoothly based on their interactions with each other. I didn't even mention Titus, the infant son of Lord Sepulchrave and Gertrude, and his older sister Fuchsia. 

I am delighted that there is a sequel to this novel, it definitely needs one. I absolutely love fantasy, it's so relaxing to escape into this fairy tale world. One of my favorite finds from the List.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

The series has been translated into 25+ languages.

His widow finished the series after his death with Titus Alone.

UP NEXT: Back by Henry Green. This guy is sticking to me like a bad habit.

440. Brideshead Revisited

Brideshead Revisited
Evelyn Waugh
1945
Around 405 pages

I am starting to have abandonment issues with how many authors we are saying goodbye to lately, leaving us with only Henry Green for company. This was actually the first Evelyn Waugh novel I ever read, back when I thought he was a woman. Then I read this and realized no woman would write her female characters that way. I still enjoyed the novel though.

Our protagonist is Charles Ryder, a soldier who is ordered with his battalion to the country estate Brideshead. Charles recalls his youth, when he spent time with the Flyte family who own Brideshead. Charles was friends with the generous alcholic Sebastian Flyte, who was reminiscent of the uncle in The Razor's Edge. He falls for Sebastian's sister, Julia, but their relationship is complicated by many factors, including religion, social class, and timing.

This is the best we have seen from Waugh, which is impressive as a novelist. Not everybody continues to improve the more they write. We've certainly seen many authors here peak too soon. By now, Waugh has full mastery of his comic timing and sly wit. He also infuses the entire story with a melancholic perspective that is impressive given we are only in 1945 and the world hasn't processed what happened.

Another author bites the Handful of Dust! HA

Official Waugh ranking:

1. Brideshead Revisited
2. A Handful of Dust
3. Vile Bodies
4. The Decline and Fall

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

In letters, Waugh refers to the novel a number of times as his magnum opus, then in 1950 he wrote to Graham Greene that "I re-read Brideshead Revisited and was appalled." As a writer, that sounds about right.

In 2005, Alabama Representative Gerald Allen proposed a bill that would prohibit the use of public funds for the "purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle."  Just shut up already.

An adaptation is planned starring Andrew Garfield and Joe Alwyn.

UP NEXT: Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

439. Arcanum 17

Arcanum 17
Andre Breton
1944
Around 185 pages

The entire world in 1944 was upside down, so let's get a surrealist to lend some clarity to the situation. Honestly, I had a hard time following this one, which is nearly always the case with surrealist novels. 

Breton wrote this during a trip to Quebec in the weeks following D-Day. There isn't really much of a plot, or if there was, I didn't get it. Mostly, Breton is philosophizing and creating a chapbook about the War. 

This is a novel that poetry lovers will enjoy. I took one poetry class in college and had to present one poem every session. Novels like this trigger my PTSD. I wish Breton had told a more coherent story, but I guess it was difficult to make sense of anything during this time.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

By the end of World War II, Breton chose to embrace anarchy whole heartedly.

UP NEXT: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

438. Christ Stopped at Eboli

Christ Stopped at Eboli
Carlo Levi
1945
Around 280 pages

I remember I had a very difficult time finding the movie adaptation for my 1001 movie blog. The book version also wasn't available online, so I had to rely on a pdf version online. Way to be consistent, Christ Stopped at Eboli. 

Having already seen the movie, I already had a grasp on the misery that I would find between these pages. Carlo Levi was a doctor, writer, and painter who was exiled to southern Italy by Mussolini due to his anti fascist beliefs. Which is kinda weak as far as banishments go, it's like if I was banished to Maryland. Anyway, Levi is welcomed into the region with open arms, but the villages in the area are extremely poor. Carlo is moved by the poverty he witnesses and the indifference of the Italian government when it comes to providing basic needs to their people.

The condition of the villagers is really shocking and is the result of a multitude of factors, including neglect and the utter ineptitude of anybody who has adopted a leadership position. Ironically, many of the townspeople have photos of Roosevelt or American money as decorations. 

I can't speak for a Mr. Christ, but it's certainly clear that Mussolini didn't give a fuck what was going on in southern Italy. So good for Carlo Levi for shedding a light on people who need it.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Levi gave the town Aliano the invented name 'Gagliano' (based on the local pronunciation of Aliano).

UP NEXT: Arcanum 17 by Andre Breton

437. The Bridge on the Drina

The Bridge on the Drina
Ivo Andrić
1945
Around 320 pages

I like the idea of telling a story from an unexpected perspective. I still often think of a poem I read, The Dream of the Rood, which told the Crucifixion story from the point of view of the cross. So I thought a story mostly about a bridge would be intriguing. Then within the first 50 pages we get one of the most horrifying execution scenes I have ever read. Maybe it was a little too intriguing.

The River Drina forms the border between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The bridge was constructed during the Ottoman Empire, and is partially destroyed during World War I. For the most part, it sits there as a quiet witness to all the shenanigans that take place on the border.

I am not weirdly obsessed with bridges, which seems to be an affliction that more commonly occurs in men. The historical context was interesting, but I was disturbed by what I read. I guess reading about Balkan history isn't the time to get squeamish. 

Because it is so sweeping in its scope, we don't really getting into the mires of character motivations and nuances, which is what I enjoy most. So not really my thing, and it was pretty gross.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Andrić had been Yugoslavia's ambassador to Germany from 1939 to 1941, and was arrested by the Germans in 1941.

Andrić wrote this while under house arrest.

UP NEXT: Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi

436. Animal Farm

Animal Farm
George Orwell
1945
Around 140 pages

This is one of those novels that nearly everybody has read. If you haven't you were probably one of those cool people in high school who didn't do their homework, and I have no idea what you are doing here. When I read this in tenth grade, I lamented how our capitalist society is constantly brainwashing us through the public school system. So if you are reading this Mrs. Burkett, I was on to you.

The animals of Manor Farm stage a revolt, with the pigs in the charge. This is already hitting a little close to home. Of course, absolute power corrupts absolutely. In Orwell's later essay, "Why I Write," he wrote that Animal Farm was his attempt to "to fuse political purpose and artistic purpose into one whole."

By now I am quite familiar with the formula of a political novel. Usually it involves a hot intellectual guy leading a union and our leading lady falling in love with him. Then we get long speeches where the author makes all the points he wants the novel to make. This is obviously a much more creative approach. 

Orwell is an amazing writer, I don't know many authors that could have pulled this off without pushing too hard. He is improving with every novel and clearly gearing up to pen his upcoming masterpiece 1984. A must read diss track to the Soviet Union.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Time magazine chose the book as one of the 100 best English-language novels (1923 to 2005).

Orwell suggested the name Union des républiques socialistes animales for the French translation, which abbreviates to URSA, the Latin word for "bear", a symbol of Russia. Damn son.

The manuscript was initially rejected by a number of British and American publishers because of the countries' wartime alliance with the Soviet Union.

UP NEXT: The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andric

435. Cannery Row

Cannery Row
John Steinbeck
1945
Around 210 pages

Now back to our favorite wet blanket, John Steinbeck. I do enjoy his non fiction but as a novelist I find him to be rather dull and depressing. Let's get the ranking over with, as he is another one who has loved me and is leaving me:

1. Of Mice and Mice
2. Grapes of Wrath
3. Cannery Row

So let's get to the worst of the bunch! Mack and his friends want  to do something nice for their friend Doc, who I just took for granted was the Doc from West Side Story. They decide to throw him a party and the results are devastating, which is the case with most parties. There are colorful characters on Cannery Row, and by that I mean a lot of misery people with no money. There's also a mysterious "Chinaman," so Steinbeck salutes us on his way out with some racism.

I never really click with Steinbeck's characters, and I felt like I was reading The Cat in the Hat because of poor Doc and the ill-conceived attempts to repay him for his generosity. Definitely the most skippable novel in Steinbeck's repertoire. 

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

The actual location Steinbeck that the novel was based on, Ocean View Avenue in Monterey, was later renamed "Cannery Row" in honor of the book.

Adapted in 1982. 

UP NEXT: Animal Farm by George Orwell

434. The Pursuit of Love

The Pursuit of Love
Nancy Mitford
1945
Around 200 pages

I accidentally committed the cardinal sin of book nerdiness by reading Love in a Cold Climate first, despite the fact that LICC is a sequel to this novel. It's the D.H. Lawrence nightmare all over again. All I can do now is repent.

Fanny lives with her Aunt Emily and Uncle Davey, and often hangs with her cousins, the Radletts. The Radlett sisters, Linda and Louisa, are both anxious to get married, and story is based on Fanny's observations of the Radlett's sisters love lives. 

This had the comfortable feeling of a Jane Austen novel, although it was a bit spicier than the usual Austen fare. We're still not at full spice level, but I'll have to wait for Sarah Waters for that. A charming novel that managed to be a bit mournful at the same time.

It will be a long time before we get another woman on the List, so enjoy this while you can!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Carrie Bradshaw was shown reading this novel in Sex and the City 2, which is the only good thing about that movie.

Seen in Wes Anderson's film Hotel Chevalier.

Adapted into a miniseries in 2021.

UP NEXT: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

433. Loving

Loving
Henry Green
1945
Around 225 pages

We have another Henry Green novel with vague title, guaranteed to fade from my memory after a few weeks. He's like the guy at the party that you always end up talking to because you are both awkward, but you have nothing to talk to him about. 

The Tennants have amscrayed from their Irish country house during World War II, leaving their servants to play the Game of Thrones. Well, that's dramatizing it slightly, but they do wage their own private battles with each other while the fate of the world hangs in balance in the background.

Another Green novel where the premise is interesting and the writing is just kind of meh. I like the idea of a novel being mostly dialogue, but nobody was saying anything too insightful. Realistic, true, but not very engaging.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Included in TIME's 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.

UP NEXT: The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

432. Transit

Transit
Anna Seghers
1944

Around 290 pages

I know I'm a broken record, but it's really been a hot minute since we've had a female author. Now that Virginia Woolf is, er, unavailable, I can only imagine this trend will continue. Oh well, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. This is another good novel to capture the current mood of waiting, always waiting.

Our narrator has escaped from a concentration camp and is now trying to get out of France. His friend Paul asks him to deliver a letter to a man named Weidel in Paris, but the narrator learns that Weidel has committed suicide. With no way of getting out because bureaucracy is a nightmare, the narrator takes Weidel's identity to get his papers, which becomes morally dubious when he starts to fall for Weidel's widow. That actually sounds like the set up for a romantic comedy. You know, except for the Nazis.

I might be incorrect about this, but this feels like one of the first World War II novels to reference the concentration camps specifically, and even now we aren't really dwelling on it. This was still a moving story and Anna Seghers is undeniably a bad ass, having escaped Nazi controlled Germany to get to France. 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to film in 2018.

UP NEXT: Loving by Henry Green