Alexandros Papadiamantis (1851-1911) was one of the most influential Greek authors, and also an eccentric, reclusive man who wrote about the lives of the poor. One of his best-known novels is The Murderess, a strange, but spellbinding offering. It is a dark fairy-tale-like story about a far-off community in Greece that is in a constant state of want and sorrow. At its centre is an ageing woman called Old Hadoula or Frankissa or Frankojannou, whose family is also mired in poverty and who increasingly sees all the little girls around her as a liability instead of living and breathing human beings. Papadiamantis paired a Greek pastoral fable with a disturbing character study, and the result is one horrifying, but riveting read.
I have never before participated in the Classics Club spins, but as I have recently joined the Club with this list of 50 classic books, I thought it would be a great idea to start my challenge with a spin. The rules are: go to your blog; pick twenty books that you listed as “to read” for the Classics Club challenge; and post the list, numbered 1-20, on your blog by 17th May 2026. The number will be announced on that day, and the challenge is to read the book that falls under the announced number by 5th of July 2026.
So, here is my list:
The Masterpiece by Émile Zola
The Illustrious House of Ramires by Eça de Queirós
The Village of Stepanchikovo by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers by Eça de Queirós
Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
Roderick Hudson by Henry James
Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham
Jezebel’s Daughter by Wilkie Collins
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams by Lady Sarashina
New Grub Street by George Gissing
A Time to Love and a Time to Die by Erich Maria Remarque
The Village by Ivan Bunin
The Song of the World by Jean Giono
Virgin Soil by Ivan Turgenev
The Comedians by Graham Greene
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
Salka Valka by Halldór Laxness
The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
📜 Only time will tell if I am too ambitious with this list. Are you participating? With what classic books?
I have read a number of NYRB classics recently, and decided to compile this list, ranking my favourite and least favourite NYRB classics I have read so far from this series dedicated to publishing both fiction and non-fiction, unearthing forgotten or overlooked books and drawing attention to various gems of world literature. I put books into three star-rated categories, but their placements within each category are pretty much without any particular order. I excluded Russian titles, many of which I read in the original language, and such major works as Proust’s Swann’s Way and Dante’s The Divine Comedy (which are also available through this series).
🟥 5 – 4½ stars
The Seven Madmenby Robert Arlt The Stronghold by Dino Buzzati Stonerby John Williams Don’t Look Now& Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier The Liarby Martin Hansen
Grand Hotel by Vicki Baum The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig Havocby Tom Kristensen The Gate by Natsume Soseki
The New York Storiesby Edith Wharton A Visit to Don Otavio by Sybille Bedford Skylark by Dezso Kosztolanyi The Other by Thomas Tryon
“He regarded life as a rather odd club of which he had accidentally become a member and from which one could be expelled without reasons having to be supplied”(Cees Nooteboom, translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon [1980/92]).
This novel centres on a man who drifts through life aimlessly as though in a haze, writing horoscopes and dealing in art for a living, albeit possessing money. Preoccupied with control, or rather the lack of it, Inni Wintrop lets events in his life happen to him, rather than actively trying to change something, while his guiding forces in life inexplicably become two very strange men – apathetic recluse Arnold Taads, and his son, distant and mysterious Philip Taads. Intensely philosophical, witty and sharp, the novel illuminates life as seen through our routines, mirages, actions, inactions and the influence of others.
I would like to wish all my followers a very Happy New Year! ✨ – let the year 2024 bring only joy, happiness and the fulfilment of all your wishes! Below is my list of 7 best books I read in 2023 (the best books I tend to read happen to be classics, and I am excluding non-fiction, graphic novels and short story collections).
I. My Ántonia [1918]
by Willa Cather – ★★★★★
This touching coming-of-age story by Willa Cather (Death Comes for the Archbishop, A Lost Lady) centres on Jim Burden’s friendship with one immigrant girl, free-spirited Ántonia Shimerda in Nebraska. Cather’s elegant prose simply enchants, and Jim’s distinctive voice is unforgettable, with each chapter brimming with soulfulness as it tells of immigrants’ hardships and sacrifices made through the years. It is a deeply nostalgic look at a life passed, as well as a sweeping expose of rural life in the late 19th and early 20th century America.
II. Go Tell It On The Mountain [1953]
by James Baldwin – ★★★★★
James Baldwin’s debut is a staggering book that focuses largely on John Grimes, step-son of the minister at the Pentecostal church in Harlem. John tries to make sense of his upbringing, environment and above all – all the expectations placed on him by others. This is a multi-dimensional and at times multi-perspective novel which also reveals issues of sexuality, racism and attempts at fitting in while remaining true to oneself. Baldwin’s prose cuts like a knife and yet remains touchingly lyrical throughout as the story recounts the accumulated heartbreak.
On the Edge of Reason re-issue is newly out from New Directions
What classic story first comes to your mind when you think of a satire on the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie or ruling majority? George Orwell’s Animal Farm? J. B. Priestley’s An Inspector Calls? Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People? Charles Dickens’s Little Dorrit? Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth? French literature has a long tradition of such stories, so, perhaps, some story byMolière, Honoré de Balzac, Émile Zola, or Guy de Maupassant? The choice is numerous, but, whatever it is, chances are it would not be Miroslav Krleža’s novel On the Edge of Reason(1938). And, yet – it should be. This novel by one of the greatest Croatian writers of the twentieth century should be on everyone’s lips when evoking stories about the challenge to that prevailing social order that curbs individual freedoms and rights, leading to injustice.
Prolific and versatile author Miroslav Krleža (1893 – 1981), who wrote novels, essays, poems, plays and short stories, was aptly placed to tackle the theme. His stark criticism of the ruling elite’s egoism, greed and the perpetration of social injustice in his fiction is the reflection of his country’s turbulent political history and his own innate desire to challenge the status quo. While being an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army, Krleža once unsuccessfully deflected to the Serbian Army, and his embittered experience as a soldier on the frontlines during the World War I culminated in his powerful anti-war writings, including a short story collection titled Croatian God Mars (1922). After the World War I, Krleža emerged as a talented writer promoting socialism, and because of his leftist views, his books, publications and left-wing magazine Plamen had been banned in the inter-war period. In 1939, Krleža was expelled from the country’s Communist Party as his opinions on art contrasted with the social realist principles, and this further cemented his independent, “anti-establishment” public image.
I have finally completed my challenge of reading 50 booksset in different parts of the world! I began this challenge almost with the start of my blog in 2018 and my last review of Maryse Condé’s book marked the end of this exciting challenge. Below are my book results categorised in the following sections: Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Asia, North America,The Caribbean, South America and Oceania. Please note that the books below correspond to plot locations and not to the authors’ countries of origin.
Thoughts on Papyrus 