Russia is one of the most reading countries in the world. The rich literary history boldly offers readers a huge selection of books. In the age of cinema and computer technology, books and books are on the same level with the latest inventions. Books are everywhere: in cinema, computer games, performances, productions, electronic media and electronic libraries. Today weâll talk about the ten most famous works that each of us has already seen on the TV screen more than once, but which we must get to know in paper form.
Next 10 books to read.
Chekhov's stories
Remembering the Russian classics, it is impossible to ignore Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. For his short life (the author lived only 44 years), he managed to write such subtle and ironic works that are still relevant today. It would be deceptive to speak of a humorous note, which is precisely how Chekhov's stories are positioned, since in each of his short stories a deep dramatic meaning is hidden. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov in the stories included the most ordinary feelings, the most ordinary people, and this is what he is so clear to the reader.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov wrote short stories that became the immortal classics of our time, and bitter irony. The most famous of them are: âWard No. 6â, âA Man in a Caseâ, âA House with a Mezzanineâ, âMenâ, âDuelâ and many others.
The stories of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov are always about people who live next to us. And although the heroes of his humorous stories are more than a century old, they are always reflected in the people around us. Short sketches about touching characters in Chekhov's stories end funny and sad, sad and ridiculous. Young love, loneliness and misunderstanding, madness and greed - these are everyday feelings that each of us experienced at least once in our lives. Therefore, Chekhov is easy to read and so difficult for them to read.
Of course, in addition to the school curriculum, every adult reading with pleasure will plunge into the closed world of Belikov, the boring life of Professor Nikolai Stepanovich and the ridiculous case of Andrei Efimich Ragin. All this is funny and sad, but, most importantly - not indifferent. There is no single answer, no predictable ending.
"To Kill a Mockingbird"
One of the most famous works of American writer Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird," is a worldwide bestseller. The novel captures from the first page. Written in 1959, it touches on topics relevant to the United States at that time. This is a purely American story, which in the first person is the main character, a six-year-old girl. Such a sore subject as racism and violence, as well as the great American depression, are reflected in the novel by acute pain and controversy. But despite heart-rending themes, the work is permeated with warmth and love, sincerity of friendship and awareness of true compassion.
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, a work that many people know from the movie of the same name, shot in 1962 by director Robot Mulligan. The film really turned out to be unique, as evidenced by three Oscars.
The protagonist of the novel is a lawyer who alone brings up two children. It is these children who become the "eyes" of the whole American era and simple human formation. Their growing up, awareness of life through the prism of the protagonist, decent and honest, reveals the most moving and the main thing in the novel. At the same time, the work is filled to the brim with events, names, and actions. This is what catches the reader, which makes him immerse himself in the novel with his whole body, with all his soul.
In the United States, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is part of the school curriculum, and for good reason. This is something that everyone should read, these are feelings that will always be relevant.
Call of the Ancestors
Jack London lived an amazing life filled with adventurous events and vivid impressions. He began adult life early and left early. Jack London, The Call of the Ancestors, is one of the most often made films in the States.
In addition to the world famous Mark Eden and White Fang, London has written a science fiction novel called Call of the Ancestors, where the plot is generally similar to his stories of that time. The "food" for this piercing novel was the "gold rush" of 1887 in America, in which Jack set off with all the fervor of his adventurous nature. It was in Canada that he found his main characters - dogs - endowing them with a soul. This story is very keenly experienced by the reader.
The protagonist of the story âCall of the Ancestorsâ by Jack London is a dog named Beck, the story about him is full of exciting events. Despite the fantastic plot, the work is interesting not only for children, but also for adults. It is worth reading to become kinder, to become stronger and believe in yourself.
"Big hopes"
Charles Dickens is one of the most famous English writers. He began his career as a reporter, and obviously talented in him early enough turned him into one of the most popular writers in England. We are known to Dickens from the novels Oliver Twist and David Copperfield, which were read by all Russian and Soviet youth.
The novel "Great Expectations" Charles Dickens wrote already in adulthood, which, undoubtedly, influenced his popularity, since the author was already quite famous in his country.
The plot of the novel is dedicated to the life of the boy Pip, who, after the death of his parents, is brought up in rather difficult conditions, in the family of his sister and her husband. The work takes place during the time of the writer himself, in the middle of the 19th century. The storyâs very bright and eventful storyline forces the reader to live with interest the life and passions of the protagonist, his fears, disappointments in love and the test of wealth and deprivation. Pipaâs bold and curious nature takes us to the jungle of human prejudices, vices and arrogance of the English estates of the prim reality of that time. Charles Dickens' Great Expectations is a novel with crazy energy, a florid storyline and a dramatic, but at the same time, happy ending. It is not for nothing that this novel of the great writer was filmed ten times, and today we can enjoy the amazing work of directors both in 1917 and 2016.
Throughout the novel, you can notice the similarity of the main character with his immediate creator. It was in this novel that Charles Dickens invested a piece of his heart, his feelings, his inner boy. Of course, this novel deserves the highest mark and is included in the list of great works that everyone must read.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude"
The sad title of the book by Gabriel GarcĂa MĂĄrquez is by no means as clear as the work itself. The author wrote a novel in 18 months, creating the world's best-selling book and one of the most complex works of magical realism in Colombian literature. This book is certainly one of the most widely read books in the world.
Starting to read the novel, you need to be ready to draw in your imagination a parallel world in which people live who have their own unique history. Moreover, getting confused in the names of the main characters, and there are more than twenty of them in the novel, is quite difficult. Events take place in a fictional village, where for hundreds of years frightening loneliness has enveloped an entire generation of the main family of the novel. The philosophical meaning and purpose of the work is so strong that, having plunged into the fairy-tale world of each hero and, having felt this thread of a series of sad fate, the reader involuntarily becomes sad in his empathy.
The family tree of the family around which the plot of the work revolves is presented.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude", in the events of which the novel immerses us in real and figurative meaning, leaves a sad and confused aftertaste. Behind the big name lies the tragedy of the soul of the character of the novel, its dramatic life and destiny. And despite the presence in the novel of love, pure and bright experiences, even this does not save the whole world of the lonely hearts of a fictional village. Who is this novel for? Probably, first of all, it is for your soul, for your inner loneliness, alone with whom we spend most of our lives.
Moby Dick or White Whale
Another complex novel by American writer Herman Melville became known throughout the world for numerous adaptations. The most memorable of them - "In the heart of the sea" with Chris Hemsworth in the title role. In general, the work is exciting and interesting, it can be read as an encyclopedia about white whales.
The novel takes place at sea during a whale hunt. For many Americans, whaling in the United States of the 19th century was the main type of earnings; whales were exterminated for the purpose of extracting fuel when oil was not processed so actively. A very realistic, one might even say, adventure plot. Readers are distracted by biblical insets and numerous parallel stories. It was these biblical retreats conceived by the author that greatly corrupted the glory of an interesting novel. Initially, many critics significantly downgraded the book.
However, Herman Melville's Moby Dick or White Whale has become an American bestseller and is read with great pleasure in the modern world. The author himself was a sailor, and his believable, vibrant, emotional essays about the sea do not leave anyone indifferent. In addition, the story itself, as well as the prototypes of the characters in the novel, are quite realistic, because much has been taken from the authorâs real life.
"Gone With the Wind"
Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell is endless. This cult novel drove crazy millions of women around the world. The work was based on the fate of the wayward beauty Scarlett and her 12 years of life. The action takes place during and after the American Civil War of 1861, but the plot covers not only the American tragedy of that time, but also the social confrontation of England and Ireland in the 19th century.
Courage, pride, coquetry and love for the life of the main character captivate and fall in love with her reader. The crazy story of love, justice and kindness of the main characters is what will be relevant at any time.
The work was filmed by film producer David Selznik and received 8 Academy Award. It was a resounding success, but what can I say if, after almost a hundred years, all the women stick to the screen when they show Gone With the Wind.
Of course, Margaret Mitchellâs novel is part of the most widely read books of the last century.
"The Brothers Karamazov"
Fedor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky is the most famous of the mystical Russian authors. One of his most famous novels is The Brothers Karamazov. These are four volumes on the fate of four men, on the Russian character, on love and betrayal. All human passions are collected in this ingenious work of Dostoevsky.
In the plot of the work, there are several serious topics. For Russia of the 19th century, love, money and, of course, religion were not alien. Three sons of one father have different characters. We can talk about the dramatic fullness of each of the characters for a very long time. It is not surprising that the novel was criticized and sharply analyzed, but the author himself could no longer participate in this, he died a few months after publication. Disputes about the characters of the main characters are still ongoing, one of the most interesting observations is that in each of the brothers Dostoevsky himself was embodied in different years of his formation as a person.
Against the background of the events of the novel, the hectic life of his heroes, the tragedy that befell the father of the Karamazovs becomes completely unexpected - they kill him. And here the detective trail is included in the plot, the result of which for many readers will be surprising.
The Brothers Karamazov by F. M. Dostoevsky is a complex work, it is voluminous, with rather tedious religious reasoning. Rather, it is a tragic story that covers not only the Karamazov family, but also the simple population of the city where events are developing. "The Brothers Karamazov" was filmed 17 times by different directors in different countries.
"Master and Margarita"
Listing 10 books that are worth reading, one can not say about Bulgakov, whose whole life, like his works, was shrouded in mysticism, secrets and magic. His main work, The Master and Margarita, is one of the most mysterious, ironic, and fantastic. Few people are not familiar with this masterpiece of Russian classics. Today, based on the novel, they not only make films, but also deliver stunning performances and musicals.
This is not to say that this is a simple work. Its plot is understandable enough, but the fantastic atmosphere permeating the whole novel with its strange characters and allegories is not always clear to the ordinary reader. Moreover, the most interesting thing is that the writer did not complete the novel during his life, since he burned the previous versions of it, the widow of Bulgakov had to restore the work. This story is long in life, as the author wrote a novel throughout his writing career.
Today, the novel was taken apart in parts and quotes, with the mere mention of "Anechka, who poured oil," everything becomes clear. Hippo cat also forever entered the life of all lovers of literature.
Bulgakovâs best books, such as The White Guard and Dogâs Heart, are also on the list of the world's most famous works. One cannot love literature and not read Bulgakov.
"The Master and Margarita" is on the list of the most famous books in the world.
"The burden of human passions"
The list of 10 books that should be read, of course, should include Somerset Maugham's work "The Burden of Human Passion." Speaking of world best sellers, books that we have known from school and childhood, one cannot ignore this brilliant work. The British classic Somerset Maugham left us a worldwide bestseller.
The main character of the book Philip has much in common with the author of the novel. His life, described in a work from childhood to adulthood and becoming, bears all the hardships of spiritual growth that a person goes through throughout his life. The main character is very burdened by his childhood injury - a crippled leg, which is the cause of ridicule and bullying. Overcoming this emotional trauma is Philip's main struggle in his life.
A very subtle detail related to the religiosity of a boy brought up in a priestâs family â the destruction of established canons and the heroâs arrival atheism â cannot be ignored. The work is so strong, exciting from the first pages, that makes the reader worry and sympathize with Philip, but the main thing is to think.
These are 10 books that are worth reading to every educated, curious person. All of these works were written in past centuries. They are completely different in presentation, genre and philosophy. They are united not only by world fame and modern relevance, they are all brilliant, written by geniuses in different parts of the world on topics that everyone understands. The works are taken for the soul and introduced into the stunning world of human destinies, in each of which it is so easy to find yourself.