A discerning critic's eclectic choice of literature

A Listmania! list by "steve472"
 
The Master and Margarita (Penguin Modern Classics)
1.  The Master and Margarita (Penguin Modern Classics) by Mikhail Bulgakov
The list author says:
  "The devil brings havoc to 1930's Moscow.  Extraordinary and compelling. It's important to get a good translation: I say, Go for the Pevear/Volokhonsky one in Penguin."
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Emma (Penguin Popular Classics)
2.  Emma (Penguin Popular Classics) by Jane Austen
The list author says:
  "I read a Janie once every 3-4 years.  She's the greatest of our 19th century novelists."
£2.00   Used & New from: £0.01
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
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A Wild Sheep Chase
3.  A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
The list author says:
  "Most people and bookshops seem to recommend his Wind-up Bird Chronicle. I prefer this one, which has a similar premise, but is shorter and better."
£5.59   Used & New from: £0.74
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
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Crabwalk
4.  Crabwalk by Günter Grass
The list author says:
  "Brave and beautifully written treatment of Germany's recent past and its effects on the present by the world's greatest living novelist."
£6.74   Used & New from: £0.01
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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The Beach
5.  The Beach by Alex Garland
The list author says:
  "Well-written thriller with a subtext: how the selfish are unable to form a community"
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4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (293 customer reviews)
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Strandloper (Harvill Panther)
6.  Strandloper (Harvill Panther) by Alan Garner
The list author says:
  "Outstanding poetic short novel by a writer better known for his children's stories. One of the best British books of the last 1/2 a century"
£6.74   Used & New from: £2.60
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
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Midnight In Sicily (Panther)
7.  Midnight In Sicily (Panther) by Peter Robb
The list author says:
  "Most travel books are driven by gimmicks and rustled up by people on the make who can't write.  Peter Robb writes beautifully and spent over a decade in southern Italy before putting pen to paper."
£6.99   Used & New from: £2.96
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
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Kiss Of The Spider Woman (Arena Books)
8.  Kiss Of The Spider Woman (Arena Books) by Manuel Puig
The list author says:
  "70's Argentina. One prisoner confronts the reality of dictatorship, another, a child molester, hides from it in the stories of old films which he beautifully evokes in conversations with his cellmate."
£6.29   Used & New from: £0.01
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Lord of the Flies
9.  Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The list author says:
  "At school this used to be compulsory forced reading, because it's about kids.  I hated it back then.  Only adults see Golding's true worth."
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4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (181 customer reviews) | 1 customer discussion
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GB84
10.  GB84 by David Peace
The list author says:
  "Relentless, staccato forced march through the violence and intrigues of the 1984 miners' strike."
£6.29   Used & New from: £0.01
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
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The Loser: A Novel (Phoenix Fiction)
11.  The Loser: A Novel (Phoenix Fiction) by Thomas Bernhard
The list author says:
  "Linguistically beautiful exploration of creative failure based on three concert pianists.  Bernhard deserves a wider audience in English; hopefully the translation does him justice."
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4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
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The Leopard
12.  The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
The list author says:
  "Rightly acclaimed masterpiece of and by the Sicilian aristocracy which took over 25 years to write."
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4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
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Trainspotting
13.  Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh
The list author says:
  "Scotland's greatest modern novel."
£5.59   Used & New from: £2.12
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews) | 1 customer discussion
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Pincher Martin
14.  Pincher Martin by William Golding
The list author says:
  "Golding had a lapidary genius: brilliant, hard and cold.  This is one of his finest-wrought gems."
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4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Crime and Punishment (Penguin Classics)
15.  Crime and Punishment (Penguin Classics) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The list author says:
  "Unputdownable despite its length and depth.  The McDuff translation (shown here) is a good one."
£6.29   Used & New from: £0.01
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (210 customer reviews) | 4 customer discussions
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Katz Und Maus
16.  Katz Und Maus by Gunter Grass
The list author says:
  "Well-written German is a beautiful language which always loses slightly in translation.  Read this in the original if you can, otherwise get the English version as a good second-best."
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Midnight's Children
17.  Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
The list author says:
  "It's his masterpiece.  Spectacular breadth of imagination."
£6.29   Used & New from: £0.01
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
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In Evil Hour (International Writers)
18.  In Evil Hour (International Writers) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The list author says:
  "García Márquez had a wonderful gift for observing the foibles of human behaviour which is dazzlingly visible in this tale of small-town scandal."
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3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Harper Perennial Modern Classics
19.  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Harper Perennial Modern Classics by Hunter S. Thompson
The list author says:
  "Worth buying for the first two pages alone."
£6.61   Used & New from: £0.24
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews) | 2 customer discussions
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The Moonstone (Penguin Popular Classics)
20.  The Moonstone (Penguin Popular Classics) by Wilkie Collins
The list author says:
  "The grandaddy of the English crime story and a 19th century classic.  Sufficiently well-written to keep you intrigued long after you've guessed who the culprit is."
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4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
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Following Story (Harvill Panther)
21.  Following Story (Harvill Panther) by Cees Nooteboom
The list author says:
  "Short but incredibly wonderful poetic novel.  Nooteboom, a Dutchman, is one of Europe's finest authors."
£5.99   Used & New from: £0.01
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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The History of Twentieth-century Russia: From Nicholas II to Putin
22.  The History of Twentieth-century Russia: From Nicholas II to Putin by Robert Service
The list author says:
  "Truth is stranger than fiction, and much more terrifying.  The mind-boggling scale of its transformation and the unimaginable tally of deaths, fascinate and horrify simultaneously."
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4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Blindness
23.  Blindness by Jose Saramago
The list author says:
  "Saramago justly won the Nobel prize for literature.  His recent work maintains his reputation as a writer of the highest standing."
£6.29   Used & New from: £1.96
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (58 customer reviews) | 1 customer discussion
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White Teeth
24.  White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The list author says:
  "Zadie Smith's kaleidoscope of modern London updates the English 19th century novel to the modern age.  It almost works, not quite completely, but enough to merit a strong vote of confidence."
£6.99   Used & New from: £0.01
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (226 customer reviews)
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Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Popular Classics)
25.  Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Popular Classics) by Jane Austen
The list author says:
  "I do like Janie, so here's another classic to round off the list."
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4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (230 customer reviews) | 1 customer discussion
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Customer Discussions about products in this list
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Trainspotting forum
Great book, try reading this 		1 24 days ago
The Master and Margarita forum
Whose translation is this, please? 		2 9 Oct 2011
Crime and Punishment (Penguin Popular Classics) forum
Which translation is best? 		0 9 Dec 2010
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Harper Perennial Modern Classics forum
help,hope someone knows the title of a sci fi book i want to read again 		1 23 Jul 2010
Crime and Punishment (Penguin Popular Classics) forum
Russian historical romance in the genre of The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons 		0 20 Apr 2010
Crime and Punishment (Penguin Popular Classics) forum
McDuff's translation. 		0 29 Jun 2009
Crime and Punishment (Penguin Popular Classics) forum
penguin popular classics 		0 19 Apr 2009
Lord of the Flies forum
I cant think of the name of this book.... 		1 7 Apr 2009
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Harper Perennial Modern Classics forum
Another superb read 		0 11 Jan 2009
 
   

About this Listmania!

 

Author
"steve472"
Qualifications: who's not just some student.
Last updated: 01/07/2005
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