“The world is ruled by signs and symbols, not by laws or strength.” Chapter 1: The Advertising Age The protagonist, Babylen Tatarsky, is a disillusioned Soviet intellectual turned […]
French literature
Things: A Story of the Sixties
“They had wanted happiness, and they had wanted things.” Chapter 1: The Illusion of Desire The novel opens with Jérôme and Sylvie, a young Parisian couple in their […]
American literature
American Psycho
“This is not an exit.” Part 1: Introductions and Excess The novel follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic investment banker in 1980s Manhattan. He obsesses over designer brands, […]
American literature
Underworld
“He speaks in your voice, American, and there’s a shine in his eye that’s halfway hopeful.” Prologue: The Triumph of Death (1951) The novel opens with the famous […]
American literature
White Noise
“The family is the cradle of the world’s misinformation.” Part 1: Waves and Radiation The novel opens with Jack Gladney, a professor of Hitler Studies at the College-on-the-Hill, […]
English literature
Money
“Money, it turned out, was exactly like sex. You thought of nothing else if you didn’t have it and thought of other things if you did.” Part One […]