PVK article for Malayala Manorama Year Book 2011 on ’50 Classics One Should Read’
‘The classic’
The idea of the classic took shape in 18th century France, solidified in 19th century Germany and spread around the world through education systems that imitated German or European models.
A classic means one of the very best. While a variety of things can be termed classic – from civilizations and languages to designs and performances – the word is primarily used for individual works. The works could be musical compositions or poems or those of other genres. “Classic” is, however, used more often for works of imaginative literature. Being a derivative of an essentially early 19th century German idea there is a certain elitism and a suggestion of “high culture” associated with it. But, shorn of its lack of egalitarianism, it is still a useful idea and worthwhile ideal simply for its suggestion that a classic is a work of high quality and of enduring value and timeless appeal.
Note: The dates indicated are those of composition or first publication. Some are conjectural. (CE stands for Common Era and BCE for Before Common Era.)
1) ‘The Mahabharata’: (BCE 500 – CE 500) Tells the story of war between rival bands of brothers, the Pandavas and the Kauravas both of whom claim the land of Kuru. It also contains innumerable subplots, episodes and philosophical, ethical and religious digressions making it a Leviathan of an epic. The gambling contest in which Yudhistira loses Draupadi, the stories of Nala and Damayanthi and Krishna’s sermon to Arjun – considered by many to contain the quintessence of Hinduism – are among the most well know parts. At around 100,000 couplets it is the longest poem that has ever existed and is the mother of all epics.
2) ‘The Analects’ by Confucius (6th century BCE). The Chinese sage’s sayings and some of that of his disciples are collected here in 20 short books. Many deal with life in general, good conduct and right behaviour but some are on governance and justice. In content they share much with similar material from other parts of the world but their simplicity, pithiness of expression and universal relevance mark them out as special. Sample: Asked for one word that could be adopted as a “lifelong rule of conduct” the Master answered. “Is not Sympathy the word? Do not do to others what you would not like yourself.”
3) ‘The Odyssey’ by Homer: (Probably 8th century BCE). The second of the two epics attributed to Homer. While the Iliad has a martial flavour the Odyssey, which narrates the story of the wanderings of Odysseus after the battle of Troy, is more on social life, domesticity and love. The early books focus on his wife Penelope and son Telemachus and the attempts of Penelope to ward of a number of suitors. Odysseus adventures in various lands are described. After ten years he returns to his native land – Ithaca – but is not recognised. He slays the suitors and is re-established with his wife and countrymen.
4) ‘The Republic’ by Plato: (4th century BCE). This, the most famous of the dialogues of Plato, is in the form of a conversation between Socrates and a group of fellow Athenians. From a discussion on old age Socrates, with gentleness, intelligence and irony, directs the conversation to a sophisticated exploration of the question of justice. For this an ideal republic is described. It would have division of labour and be ruled by a set of philosopher-guardians. There would be no private property. The education of the guardians and the qualities and defects of different types of government are examined. Thoughts on immortality and reincarnation close the discussion.
5) ‘Oedipus Rex’ by Sophocles. (5th century BCE). Sophocles’ play has for its theme the story of Oedipus who inadvertently murdered his father and married his mother. The play focusses not on these horrendous deeds but on Oedipus’s discovery of these truths, until then hidden from all. A plague has devastated Thebes and the people of Thebes arrive to request Oedipus, their king, to rescue the country. Searching for the cause of the plague leads Oedipus, by degrees, to realise that a prophesy that the son of Laius, the earlier king, would murder his father has come true. Devastated, he puts out his eyes and leaves Thebes.
6) ‘The History’ by Herodotus (5th century BCE). Called “the Father of History” by Cicero Herodotus, born in Asia Minor, (modern day Turkey) travelled widely as a young man collecting information on the war between the Persians and the Greeks. The first six of its nine books describe the expansion of Persia under Cyrus and his successors. The rest is about how Xerses continued the Persians campaign and how the Greeks rallied against them. The defeat of the Greeks at Marathon is among the highlights of the book. Stating that he was only reporting what he had heard Herodotus recorded a range of matter, some historical others fantastic.
7) ‘The Poetics’ by Aristotle (4th century BCE). Plato banned poets from the ideal republic. Aristotle’s defence of imaginative literature takes the form of a treatise on poetry. The nature of poetry is examined. Aristotle then looks at tragedy in some detail. All art is imitation or mimesis. The medium, the manner and the subjects produce different kinds of art. Tragedy is the noblest of arts. It is in the form of an imitation of an action which is serious and complete and which results in a catharsis of the emotions of pity and fear. Much of the literary criticism of the West springs from this work.
8) ‘Fables of Aesop’ by Aesop (4th century BCE). A set of fables of timeless appeal, first written down in the 4th century BCE; they are attributed to Aesop, said to have been a slave who lived two centuries earlier. Each tale is brief, describes an incident and draws a moral from it that is both wise and practical. Asses, foxes, lions, monkeys, snakes and other animals figure in most of them, always with clear human qualities. Aesop himself appears in a few as do people who clearly represent human traits. ‘Aesop’s Fables’ have circulated in oral culture from ancient days and have inspired later writers to retell them.
9) ‘The Aeneid’ by Virgil (1st century BCE). Written partly to glorify the Emperor Augustus and partly to cement the greatness of Rome by hitching it to the tale of Greece, this poem is about the beginnings of the state of Rome and the role of Aeneas in founding it. Aeneas and a set of his followers flee Troy on its defeat and reach Carthage. After telling their story to Dido, the Queen of Carthage, they sail for Italy. Here Aeneas is welcomed by Latinus who offers him his daughter Lavinia’s hand. War with a rival Turnus follows in which, in single combat, Aeneas is victorious.
10) ‘The Sakuntala’ by Kalidasa (4th century CE). A tale from mythology, and an episode in the Mahabharata, is the matter of this classic play. It opens with dialogue between a stage manager and an actress and proceeds in seven acts to show the story of Sakuntala and Dushyanta. Dushyanta’s meets Sakuntala while hunting, is smitten and gets married to her. He gives her a ring and departs. Her longing for him, the curse of forgetfulness effected by Durvasa, the loss of the ring, her rejection by Dushyanta, the recovery of the ring and the subsequent recognition of his folly by Dushyanta form the matter of the play.
11) ‘Kadambari’ by Bana (7th century CE). The sophistication and beauty of Sanskrit poetry and drama are also available in the prose works of India’s classical period. Such was the profusion of stories in ancient India it was believed that India was the motherland of all stories. Bana’s Kadambari, completed by his son Bhushanabhatta, is a complicated, circular narrative that centres around the love of two romantically attached pairs – Kadambari and Chandrapida and Pundarika and Mahashveta – through many incarnations.. Multiple narrators, including a parrot, lyrical prose and romance make it a work that inspires wonder. All the rasas are delineated with skill and great charm.
12) ‘The Tale of Genji’ by Lady Shikubu Murasaki (CE 1001- 1015). From the aristocratic and cultured milieu of 10th century Japan comes this breathtaking story of a Prince and his loves and losses. The storyline – for most of the book about Genji and in the last part about one of his sons – is never very clear, but great care is taken in depicting his life and thoughts as he negotiates the vicissitudes of life. More than the story it is the gentle, subtle and sensitive style and treatment that makes this one of the great works of world literature. Regarded by some scholars as the first novel in world literature.
13) ‘Thousand and One Nights’(10th century CE?). This absolutely magical collection of stories is redolent of much of Asia, especially the cultures of India, Persia, and Arabia. King Shahryiar, distrusting all women, orders his vizier to get him a virgin every night and has her killed in the morning. The vizier’s daughter Sheharazade is the offering once. She survives by telling the king a story but not revealing the ending at dawn. She is allowed to live for a day. This continues for a 1001 nights when the King pardons her. Many wondrous tales make up the collection – among them those of Aladin, Ali Baba and Sindbad.
14) ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’ by Marco Polo (1298). First called ‘Il Milione’ the book is a travel record of a Venetian trader from Italy to China and back and covers the period between 1271 and 1295. The book was dictated by Polo, when he was jailed, to a fellow prisoner Rusticiano. Various versions exist, but the core narrative is about Polo’s journey to, sojourn at and return from the Mongol court of Kubla Khan. The descriptions of sights and people along the Silk Route and the Indian Ocean are, although fantastic and exaggerated at times, an invaluable source of information on many parts of Asia during that time.
15) ‘The Divine Comedy’ by Dante Alighieri (1314-21). This is considered the greatest work of the European Middle Ages. The poem narrates how Dante is guided by Virgil and later Beatrice, his beloved, through Hell, Purgatory and finally Heaven. The descent to hell through various levels culminates at the centre of the Earth where Satan is confined. Purgatory is a mountain on the other side where the sins of those who are finally saved are cleansed. From its top – the Garden of Eden – the elect go up to Heaven. Dante’s journey culminates with a joyous vision of the Trinity. The allegorical journey is from damnation to bliss.
16) ‘The Decameron’ by Giovanni Boccaccio (1348-53). To escape the plague a small group of aristocrats from Florence escape to the countryside. They tell each other stories to wile away the time. A 100 tales make up the collection. A variety of stories are told over ten days; those on all but the first and last days are united thematically. The originals probably came from a number of sources, but Boccaccio turns them into small and simple tales that are essentially plot-driven. In them can be found humour, irony, elegance, surprises and beauty and, above all, a tolerant and tender concern with the affairs of this world.
17) ‘In Praise of Folly’ by Desiderius Erasmus (1511). This satirical gem, written in Latin, during a stay by the Dutch author at the home of his English friend Sri Thomas More, is a refined, ironic examination of human folly. The book in the form of an oration “spoken by Folly in her own person”. She praises herself throughout the different sections – one on her birth and education, one on her achievements and attributes and one on her followers. Through this device Erasmus criticizes the men, manners, beliefs and practices of his time from the point of view of a Christian humanist concluding, ironically, that being wise is foolish.
18) ‘The Prince’ by Niccolo Machiavelli (1513). This clear, neatly organised and pithily rendered set of observations on statecraft and politics grew out of the author’s experience as a Florentine statesman who served the Medicis. The acquisition and retention of power and the duties of a prince are the main concerns. Each of its 26 chapters examines, with a cool objectivity that is sometimes mistaken for cynicism, some aspect of statecraft. The final chapter “An Exhortation to Liberate Italy from the Barbarians” gives an insight into the new thinking of the time that resulted in the birth of nationalism, a force that has shaped the modern world.
19) ‘Utopia’ by Sir Thomas More (1516). Coining a word meaning nowhere More describes an imaginary, ideal community. He set it in the New World and had a narrator Raphael Hythloday, a supposed companion of Amerigo Vespucci, describe it. Hythloday begins by demonstrating how it is impossible to be a good counsellor to a king, then talks about the founding of Utopia. He then speaks about some of the distinguishing features of Utopia – lack of private property, division of labour, a thorough egalitarianism, a democratic and paternalistic government and so on. More’s twin purposes of criticising his society and of sketching an alternative are beautifully served.
20) ‘Essays’ by Michel de Montaigne (1580). The personal essay was born out of the efforts of this cultured Frenchman. Starting with the intention of portraying himself “without sham or artifice” Montaigne went on to produce charming and witty pieces that have universal appeal. Some of the titles will indicate the starting point of his observations: Of Sorrow, Of Idleness, Of Sleep, Of Age, Of Vanity, Of Drunkenness, Of the Affection of Fathers to Their Children, Defence of Seneca and Plutarch, Of the Most Excellent Men and so on. Stoical, sceptical, epicurean, meditative and above all undogmatic and tolerant Montaigne’s literary introspections enhance our knowledge and understanding.
21) ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare (1603). A student in Paris, Hamlet returns home on hearing that his father the King has died. On arrival, he finds that his mother, Gerturde, has married his uncle Claudius. His father’s ghost tells him that he was murdered by Claudius and that he should take revenge. He feigns madness, repudiates his beloved Ophelia, kills her father by accident and outwits Claudius who tries to arrange his murder on a trip abroad. He returns and in a climatic scene kills and is killed by Laertes. Gertrude and Claudius are also killed. The dark, brooding Hamlet is said to anticipate modern man.
22) ‘Don Quixote’ by Miguel de Cervantes (1605-1615). Don Quixote, an ordinary man from La Mancha, has his head turned after reading a number of chivalric romances, gets a lady-love and a page and goes out in search of adventure on his horse Rosinante. Quixote’s vivid imagination turns windmills into giants, slaves into aristocrats and inns into castles. After a series of misadventures he is made to return home to live as a shepherd but dies shortly afterwards. Apart from providing superb entertainment, the novel is a serious examination into the nature of appearance and reality and the heart of man. Quintessentially Spanish yet universal in its appeal.
23) ‘King James Bible’ (1611). Also called ‘Authorized Version’. It was published on the orders of King James of England and came to be seen, at least in the English speaking world, as a work of surpassing beauty and grandeur. Its significance, going much beyond its religious use, is enormous. Simple, elegant and clear, the Authorised Version used an earlier translation by William Tyndale and the scholarship of Myles Coverdale, among others, in translating from the original Hebrew and Greek. A good number of expressions from this version entered the common language. Its literary influence is unmatched and can be felt in English even today.
24) ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ by Jonathan Swift (1726). This novel combines the everyday with the fantastic and is narrated by Lamuel Gulliver, a solid, practical, middle-class Englishman. It is simultaneously a gripping story of adventure and a searing satire on humanity. Each of the four parts of the book describes Gulliver’s visit to some strange land. Part I is about the land of the Lilliputs, men so small adults are only a few inches high. Part II describes a land of giants, Brobdingnag; Part III the flying island of Laputa; Part IV the Houyhnhnms, horses so rational and cultured that they scorn humans as ineducable and barbaric “Yahoos”.
25) ‘The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’ by Edward Gibbon (1776-88). This monumental work, in seven volumes, spans 13 centuries, from the time of Marcus Aurelius (CE 180) to the Fall of Constantinople (1453). In grand style Gibbon chronicles the decline while explaining why the greatest and most civilized empire the world had seen till then slowly disintegrated. The establishment of Christianity, the resulting enfeeblement of Roman culture, the barbarian attacks on Rome, the crusades and the final “triumph of barbarism and religion” are his themes. His vision of history, his witty, ironic and erudite style and his diagnosis of the causes of Rome’s decline were all deeply influential.
26) ‘Candide, or Optimism’ by Voltaire (1758). This short, racy and delightful narrative tells the story of Candide, a naive youth of Westphalia, his beloved Cunégonde, and their guide Pangloss teacher of “metaphysico-theologo-cosmolo-nigology” who believed that we lived in the best of all possible worlds. Candide, forced out of Westphalia, travels to various places in Europe the New World and Turkey, has the most bizarre of adventures and returns to live a peaceful life, observing that the secret of happiness is that “one must cultivate one’s garden”. Part utopian literature, part adventure story, part philosophical criticism and part satire Candide has proved to have enduring appeal.
27) ‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Jane Austen (1813). Set among the English middle classes of the 19th century the book opens thus: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a fortune must be in want of a wife”. It describes the trials and tribulations of the Bennets and the games people play in their quest for status and partners. With irony, subtle humour and sharp observations on society and human foibles Austen narrates the story of Elizabeth and Darcy and Jane and Bingley and three other Bennet girls. Pride, prejudice, malice and snobbery are all overcome as the deftly sketched novel closes.
28) ‘The Voyage of the Beagle’ by Charles Darwin (1839). It was while on a five-year voyage as a naturalist on the HMS Beagle that Darwin had a chance to see first hand the immense variety of life different parts of the world had. He made meticulous notes and collected specimens and data with zeal. In 21 chapters Darwin, methodically and in elegant prose that is a model of scientific exposition, described the sights he saw and the botanical, zoological and geological phenomena he observed. Two interesting sidelights: a description of Napoleon’s house on St Helena and kind remarks on the first Indians he saw, on the island of Mauritius.
29) ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ (1844-46) by Alexandre Dumas. Extravagantly conceived and dramatically narrated this colourful tale of injustice and revenge is one of the most popular of romantic tales. Edmond Dantès is unjustly imprisoned and spends 15 years in a horrible jail in Marseille. He escapes taking the place of a dead friend, Abbe Faria, in a sack that is buried at sea. He travels to Italy, gets hold of a treasure his dying friend had spoken of and spends the rest of his life taking revenge on the people who had sent him to jail and generously helping those who were kind to him.
30) ‘David Copperfield’ by Charles Dickens (1849-50). Young David’s idyllic life ends when his widowed mother remarries. A cruel step-father, the harshness of boarding school, the horrors of child labour in London and other misfortunes lead to a life of some success. Happiness still eludes him until he marries a second time and embarks on a literary career. A number of finely sketched characters – like Peggotty, Barkis, Micawber, and Uriah Heep – add to the richness of the novel. Acute social observation, an unerring eye for the comic and deep compassion for the miserable inform his story telling and give this thinly veiled autobiography perennial value.
31) ‘Moby Dick or The Whale by Herman Melville’ (1851). A depressive Ismael joins a whaler, the Pequod, to get over his condition. It is captained by Ahab, a man with an ivory leg, the result of an encounter with a white whale, Moby Dick. Ahab, and a crew of powerfully sketched individuals go whaling, but their real purpose is to kill the whale that crippled Ahab. With monomaniacal fury and demonical purposefulness Ahab sails the oceans looking for his prey. Moby Dick is finally sighted and chased for three days. But Capt Ahab, his ship and crew fall victims to Moby Dick and Ismael alone is saved.
32) ‘Madame Bovary’ by Gustave Flaubert (1857). Charles Bovary, a country doctor, has an affair with a patient’s daughter, Emma, and later marries her. She is quickly bored by provincial life, conditioned as she is by the romances she has read to find love and life unendingly exciting. She embarks on more than one adulterous relationship but never finds emotional fulfilment. Miserable and in debt she commits suicide. Unaware of his wife’s true nature Charles sinks into depressive mourning and dies leaving their child an orphan. The novel brilliantly captures the sordidness and mediocrity of French provisional life and details the lives of those trapped in it.
33) Les Misérables’ by Victor Hugo (1862). From the most famous of French Romantic poets comes this epic historical novel. Set in the early decades of the 19th century this sentimental work tells the story of Jean Valjean, a simple and honest peasant who is forced to steal to feed his hungry relatives. He is jailed and later released but his past continues to haunt him. With superhuman courage and perseverance he makes good but is often hounded by Javert, a policeman who knows about his criminal past. He escapes again and helps other victims of society until, at the close of the novel, he dies.
34) ‘War and Peace’ by Leo Tolstoy (1862-69). In scale and size, range and number of characters, breadth of vision and wealth of incidents few novels can match Tolstoy’s magnum opus. Set against the background of the Napoleonic wars between 1805 and 1812 it follows the fate of a host of characters many of whom are Russian aristocrats. Tolstoy’s views on history, the role of fate, and other inexplicable social forces in life shape the story more than do individual characters. Tolstoy seems to suggest that among all the tumult of history and war the simple things of life, like love and kindness, are the most significant.
35) ‘Alice in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carrol (1865). A Cambridge mathematician’s attempt to entertain a group of children produced this wonderful tale. Alice falls asleep and in a dream falls down a hole while following a White Rabbit. Many strange characters and adventures await her. She drinks a magic potion and, among other things, grows big and small inexplicably, nearly drowns in her tears, talks to a vanishing cat, attends a tea-party, is present at a trial and plays croquet with animals for mallets and balls. Just as she accuses everyone of being just a pack of cards she wakes up. “Nonsense” has been transmuted into art.
36) ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky (1866). Raskolnikov, a brooding, intellectually inclined student living in St Petersburg murders a moneylender more to test out his idea that the intellectual elite are not constrained by ordinary morals than for the money he takes from her. But the consequences of his action are far from what he had anticipated. The police are after him, but what troubles him are his own thoughts about the deed and his search for meaning in life. His confession and the conduct of Sonia, a prostitute he meets, leads him to moral redemption. Psychologically thrilling and philosophically profound; often considered the best novel ever.
37) ‘Boule de Suif’ by Guy de Maupassant (1880). A group of Frenchmen, trying to escape from German occupation by coach, are held up by a German officer. The group represent French society. One, crudely nicknamed “Ball of Fat” is a prostitute and is shunned by the others. But she is generous and the company warm to her. The officer will release them only if she sleeps with him. She refuses but her companions slowly pressure her into doing so. The group is released, but now her use is over Boule de Suif is once again treated with disdain and callousness. Superb naturalistic narration makes it a little gem.
38) ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’by Mark Twain (1884). Huck who has come into some money at the end of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer resists all attempts to “civilize” him by the kind Widow Douglas. His nasty father kidnaps him but Huck escapes and sets out on a life of adventure with Jim the runaway slave, both being fugitives. While sailing along the Mississipi they meet all kinds of people and have hair raising adventures especially after a couple of con-men join them. It turns out that Jim’s owner had freed him before she died and that Huck’s treasure is safe. He wants to resume his gypsy existence.
39) ‘The Golden Bough’ by J. G. Frazer (1890). Why was it that at Nemi in Italy there was a grove sacred to Diana where one could become a priest only by slaying one’s predecessor? Looking for a literary answer to this question Frazer roamed across the world in search of similar beliefs and myths and uncovered a fascinating set of beliefs and rituals. He describes patterns that hide among myriad customs and practices. Myth, folklore, witchcraft, taboos, legends and fable are examined. Ways of thinking embedded in these are unravelled and he looks to the day when men will supersede the stages of magic, religion and science.
40) ‘Tess of the D’Ubervilles’ by Thomas Hardy (1891). Tess, a innocent young girl, is sent to Alec D’Uberville an imposter in the hope of establishing a family connection. She is seduced and the baby dies. Working in a dairy for a living she falls in love with Angel Clare. They marry. Clare deserts her on learning of her past. Desperate and poor Tess has to accede to Alec who has re-entered her life. Clare returns and is willing to forgive her. In despair Tess murders Angel, is caught and hanged. A dark vision of the fragility and impotence of goodness and the implacability of fate informs the work.
41) Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad (1902). Marlowe, the narrator, tells a group of fellow sailors a strange tale. Once he had to go in search of Mr Kurtz, an ivory trader of great ability, who appeared to be lost. Captaining a ship for the first time, Marlow sailed up the Congo, away from civilization and into what seemed the heart of darkness. Deep in the interior, after witnessing scenes of incomprehensible barbarism, he meets Kurtz who dies uttering the words “The horror, the horror”. Sobered by the experience he returns, hands over a packet of letters to Kurtz’s beloved and ponders on his unnerving experience.
42) ‘Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka (1916). Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman, cannot get up one morning having turned into an insect. His parents, sister and supervisor turn up to find out why he refuses to come out of his room. They are shocked and disgusted to see his transformation and seem to blame him for it. Confined to his room and alienated from his people his circumstances deteriorate until he dies and is thrown out with the waste. The family go on a picnic and the future seems bright. Realistic prose is combined with telling black humour to paint a bleak, disturbing picture of modern life.
43) ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by Eric Maria Remarque (1929). Literature traditionally glorified war. One of the earliest and most moving novels to tell of the inhumanity, cruelty, waste and purposelessness of war is this powerful German work. It tells the story of Paul Baumer and his friends who enroll in the army and are thrust into the hellish trenches of the First World War. The horror of war reduces everyone to animals trying their best to survive. A spell of leave produces no relief; Paul’s mother is dying of cancer. Paul returns to the front and after many more agonising experiences dies on the day that peace breaks out.
44) ‘The Outsider’ by Albert Camus (1942). When Meursault, the young narrator of the story, receives a telegram stating that his mother is dead he appears to react unemotionally. He goes to the funeral, attends office, spends time with a girl-friend, talks to his neighbours and engages in other activities with cool detachment. He murders a man, almost by accident, but does not defend himself. The prosecutors take him to be cold-blooded and he is condemned. None see him as honest and unhypocritical. As he awaits death he reflects on his mother’s death and his life and recognises and accepts “the benign indifference of the universe”.
45. ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell (1945). The animals in Manor Farm, inspired by the teachings of Old Major, overthrow their human exploiters, establish a just society, rename their home Animal Farm and adopt a philosophy called Animalism to guide them. All the animals work hard to make a success of their society. Napoleon and Snowball, both pigs, take on leadership roles but quarrel. Snowball is exiled and the principles of animalism are corrupted till all the old evils reappear, but in officially sanctioned forms. The cardinal principal of animalism “All animals are equal” is modified with the addition “but some animals are more equal than others.”
46) ‘Waiting for Godot’ by Samuel Beckett (1953). Minimalist yet profoundly eloquent this play shows two vagabonds, Vladimir and Estragon or Didi and Gogo as they call themselves, waiting for one mysterious Godot. Who he is and when or why he will come are not known but they are sure that things will be better once that happens. Meanwhile they pass the time as best they can; in absurd conversation or watching the antics of a passing master-slave pair called Pozzo and Lucy. Every known rule of dramaturgy is broken but this searing search for meaning, cry of loneliness and celebration of fellowship touches the heart.
47) ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe (1958). Set in Nigeria in the 19th century this novel tells the story of Okonkwo. Okonkwo is strong, proud, resourceful, a model farmer and a dignified and respected tribesman. Exiled from his village, for breaking a taboo, he tries to start life anew at his mother’s village. Tension enters his life as a group of white missionaries try to win converts. Enraged at an act of sacrilege and the humiliation of his people Okonkwo kills a government emissary. He then kills himself rather than succumb to the white man. The experience of an entire culture distilled in one short, powerful book.
48) ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967). A rambling, magical narrative that tells the story, over a long span of time, of a small town in South America called Macondo and the most important family there – the Buendias. The fortunes of the two are interlinked. Strange and eccentric members of the clan play a part in the growth of the town. A civil war in the country, the setting up of a banana plantation in Macondo, a strike there and the crushing of the strikers are important events against which characters and events drift in and out. Inevitably, the town and the family collapse together.
49) ‘The Name of the Rose’ by Umberto Eco (1980). It’s 1327, and a learned monk Roger of Baskerville arrives at an abbey in Italy to participate in a religious conclave and to solve a murder mystery. Scholar, philosopher and a canny reader of signs he encounters a set of strong monks; several with motive and means. But he is steadfast and identifies the criminal. The crime is linked to the library and the only copy of a book with such subversive potential that some people are willing to kill to preserve its secret existence. Theology, philosophy, history and semiotics are the unlikely components of this thrilling detective story.
50) ‘Midnight’s Children’ by Salman Rushdie (1981). Saleem Sinai and a thousand other children are born on the midnight of August 14 as India becomes free. Saleem tells their stories in what is a sprawling, labyrinthine and magical narrative. He can communicate telepathically with all other midnight’s children. His story, inextricably linked to that of Siva, another midnight’s child and one with whom he was switched at birth by a nurse, is narrated against the background of much of the 20th century and the whole of the Indian subcontinent. Loosely allegorical but rich in its allusions and suggestiveness this award winner is Rushdie’s magnum opus.
Prof P. Vijaya Kumar / PVK
profpvk@gmail.com
PVK's Book mark 