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diff --git a/_archive/awesome-books.md b/_archive/awesome-books.md index 5a190f6..1aac932 100644 --- a/_archive/awesome-books.md +++ b/_archive/awesome-books.md @@ -5,65 +5,74 @@ author: Wickramage Don Sadeep Madurange layout: post --- -This article contains a list of my favourite books. - ## Cloud Atlas This highly creative novel rekindled my love of fiction. Cloud Atlas is a -collection of six tales linked across time. As the novel unfolds, each story -riffles over the previous ones, like a pack of playing cards. +collection of six tales linked across time. As the book unfolds, the stories +riffle over one another like a pack of cards. David Mitchell brings the Cloud +Atlas world and the characters in it to life with beautiful, vivid +descriptions. The novel explores themes ranging from social to spiritual, +including the struggle for freedom against oppression, interconnectedness, and +rebirth. ## Ender's Game -In this sci-fi novel, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a young boy, is drafted to lead a -squad of young children in an offensive against an alien race. It's a complex -story that touches upon various political and philosophical issues. Those -perceived as gifted by others (and alienated for it) will likely connect with -Ender. +In this sci-fi novel, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, an 11-year-old boy, is drafted to +lead a squad of young children in an offensive against an alien race. Ender's +Game is a complex story that explores themes of war, leadership, and the +challenges gifted individuals must face as they navigate a lonely life marked +by envy, alienation, and, sometimes, much-needed friendship. ## Flowers for Algernon -This novel, written as a series of progress reports, tells the story of Charlie -Gordon, a developmentally disabled man who acquires superhuman cognitive -abilities through an experimental medical procedure. For some reason, I felt a -deep connection with Charlie. If I had to pick a favourite book on this list, -that would be this. +This novel, written as a series of progress reports, tells the tragic story of +Charlie Gordon, a developmentally disabled man who acquires superhuman +cognitive abilities through an experimental medical procedure. Charlie's birth +family abandons him because he is not smart enough; his friends abandon him +because he is too smart. In the end, to spare everyone's feelings, Charlie must +end up in the Warren Home.<sup><a href="#footnote-1">1</a></sup> This is my +favourite book in the list. ## Dead Souls -Nikolai Gogol is one of the most original authors I've read. Dead Souls is the -story of Ivanovich Chichikov, a traveling merchant who trades dead serfs. -Instead of simply describing them, Gogol develops realistic characters in -minute detail by employing theatrical clashes between them. +Dead Souls is the story of Ivanovich Chichikov, a traveling merchant who trades +dead serfs. Gogol's writing style is similar to Dostoyevsky's. Considering how +Gogol's work predates Dostoyevsky's, Gogol is one of the most original authors +I've read. Instead of simply describing them, Gogol develops realistic +characters in minute detail by employing theatrical clashes between them. ## The Overcoat Gogol's The Overcoat is one of the finest short stories I've read. Akaky -Akakievich, an impoverished government clerk, must buy a new overcoat. I -recommend reading Gogol before Dostoyevsky. What Gogol invented, Dostoyevsky -perfected. +Akakievich, an impoverished government clerk, buys a new overcoat. I recommend +reading Gogol before Dostoyevsky. What Gogol invented, Dostoyevsky perfected. ## Demons After reading Demons, a story about an attempted revolution, I realized that -Dostoevsky’s reputation is well-deserved. Dostoyevsky was a great observer of -the human psyche. The depth with which he depicts his characters is -unparalleled. Demons is a book that anyone aspiring to bring about change -through revolution must read. +Dostoyevsky’s reputation is well-deserved. Dostoyevsky was a great observer of +human nature. He depicts characters in profound detail. Dostoyevsky's writing +can feel long and meandering at times. However, as character development goes, +Dostoyevsky wastes no stroke of the brush. Demons is a book that anyone +aspiring to bring about change through revolution, especially in the name of +someone else's ideals, must read. ## The Outsider -Camus's quote, "In our society, any man who doesn't cry at his mother's funeral -is liable to be condemned to death," summarizes the book quite well. To -appreciate the philosophical elements of this absurdist novel, you may also -want to check out The Myth of Sisyphus. +Camus's own quote, "In our society, any man who doesn't cry at his mother's +funeral is liable to be condemned to death," summarizes the book quite well. +The book is about the philosophy of the absurd: the contention between our +propensity to seek meaning in a seemingly silent and indifferent universe. To +appreciate the philosophical elements of this novel, check out The Myth of +Sisyphus. ## Frankenstein -I'm not sure why I found this story so charming. Perhaps it's a deep-felt -empathy for Victor Frankenstein. Maybe it's the rustic descriptions of places -I'd never seen. After reading the book, I traveled Frankenstein's trail from -Germany through Lucerne, Geneva, and Scotland. +I first got to know the Frankenstein story through its popular derivatives. The +book changed my impression of the story from one about a familiar monster to +one about a poignant genius deserving empathy. Mary Shelley's intricate writing +style is singularly captivating. In this list, Frankenstein is the most +beautifully written book. ## Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde @@ -87,3 +96,13 @@ Another one of Gogol's brilliant short stories. Presented in the form of Aksenty Ivanovich's diary, the story documents the government clerk's descent into madness. His obsession with social status and self-aggrandizement leads him on a trajectory of envy, wounded pride, and outright insanity. + +<div class="footnotes" role="doc-endnotes"> + <ol> + <li> + <a href="https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/f/flowers-for-algernon/about-flowers-for-algernon" + class="external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Cliff's Notes </a> + </li> + </ol> +</div> + |