“Like a condemned man, I live between the last minute and the next.” Chapter 1: Arrest and Imprisonment Cincinnatus C., the protagonist, is sentenced to death for the […]
Russian literature
The Nose
“The nose knows.” Part I One morning, the barber Ivan Yakovlevich discovers a nose in his breakfast bread. Horrified, he recognizes it as the nose of Collegiate Assessor […]
French literature
Zazie in the Metro
“Doukipudonktan?” — Raymond Queneau, Zazie in the Metro Chapter 1: Arrival in Paris Zazie, a precocious and foul-mouthed young girl, arrives in Paris to stay with her uncle […]
French literature
The Plague
“But what does it mean, the plague? It’s life, that’s all.” Part One The novel opens in the Algerian city of Oran, described as an ordinary, commercial town […]
French literature
The Stranger (L’Étranger)
“Mother died today. Or maybe yesterday, I don’t know.” Part One Meursault, a detached and indifferent French Algerian, receives news of his mother’s death and attends her funeral. […]
American literature
Catch-22
“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate […]
American literature
Breakfast of Champions
“We are healthy only to the extent that our ideas are humane.” Chapters 1-5 The novel introduces Kilgore Trout, a largely unknown science fiction writer whose works are […]
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), […]
American literature
Slaughterhouse-Five
“All this happened, more or less. The war parts, anyway, are pretty much true.” Chapter 1 The novel opens with the author’s meta-commentary, explaining his struggle to write […]