‘MAIGRET’S FIRST CASE’ by George Simenon.
I enjoy the smell and atmosphere, when Maigret, nursing a Pernod, is on surveillance in a small café.
‘LIFE AND FATE’ by Vasily Grossman.
The fear and boredom and horror generated by war; one passage was so excruciatingly sad I could hardly bring myself to read it.
‘MY UNCLE SILAS’ by H.E. Bates
I loved the earthiness of the portraits of Uncle Silas in his cottage and his jolly, devil-may-care attitude to living.
‘THE ARABIAN NIGHTS’
The colour and mystery of these fabulous tales created a lifelong fascination with the East. (Especially those editions illustrated by Edmund Dulac).
‘OLD GORIOT’ by Honoré Balzac
Pity and sorrow are aroused by this tale of an over-indulgent father brought to ruin by his selfish daughters.
‘A PATTERN OF ISLANDS’ by Sir Arthur Grimble.
These tales of high adventure in the South Seas are a rich mix of courage and comedy and spirits (both kinds).
‘ALONE IN BERLIN’ by Hans Fallada
This poignant tale elicits compassion and loathing and horror at the harrowing battle of ordinary decent folk against the armies of officious, vicious bullies unleashed in Nazi Germany.
‘MY MOTHER’S HOUSE’ by Colette
I was seduced by the charm and warmth as Colette recaptures her childhood and the affectionate portrait of her mother, the garden and pets.
‘KIDNAPPED’ by Robert Louis Stevenson
The ups and downs of friendship set in the beautiful Scottish landscape amongst the tough, terse people who inhabit it, is always a pleasure to read.
‘DAVID COPPERFIELD’ by Charles Dickens.
The rich cast of colourful characters induces compassion, sadness, contempt and humour and is never dull.
What an interesting selection Peter:-) I have to say I do now want to read 'Old Goriot' by Balzac! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for those Peter. There are many there that I haven't read and I'll look out for them. I don't know anything about Vasily Grossman, or which war he was engaged in, so i'll have to look him up. It occurred to me that novelists often seek to produce negative emotions - terror, sadness, loathing, contempt. Is that because negative emotions are pleasurable in a literary context? How far can you go with this?
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