“The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” A Portrait of Shunkin The story follows the blind musician Shunkin and her devoted servant Sasuke, who worships her despite […]
Japanese literature
The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
“A man’s happiness lies in conformity with the purpose of the universe.” Chapter 1: The Sailor’s Return Noboru, a 13-year-old boy, watches from his bedroom window as his […]
German literature
The Clown
“I am a clown, and I collect moments.” Chapter 1: The Fall Hans Schnier, a disillusioned clown, lies injured in his Bonn apartment after a drunken fall. As […]
German literature
Dog Years
“Memory likes to play hide-and-seek, to crawl away. It tends to hold forth, to dress up, often needlessly. Memory contradicts itself; pedant that it is, it will have […]
Russian literature
Matryona’s Home
“A village is not worth its salt without a righteous man.” Chapter 1: The Arrival The narrator, Ignatich, a former political prisoner, arrives in the remote village of […]
American literature
The Bell Jar
“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a […]
American literature
Cat’s Cradle
“Live by the foma* that make you brave and kind and healthy and happy.”(*Harmless untruths) Chapter 1-10: Introducing Jonah and the Hoenikker Legacy The narrator, John (or Jonah), […]
English literature
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
“What do you think spies are: priests, saints, and martyrs? They’re a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists, and drunkards, people who play cowboys […]