“He was driven by a desire to travel, but not just any travel—he sought something foreign and distant, a place where the extraordinary would shake him from the […]
Russian literature
The Gentleman from San Francisco
“The body was carried to Naples in the hold of the same steamer that had brought him to Capri, and there, in a cheap coffin, it was placed […]
Russian literature
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
“Ivan Ilyich’s life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible.” Chapter 1: The Announcement of Death The novel opens with colleagues of Ivan Ilyich, […]
French literature
The Suicide Shop
“Life is a gift. But what if you don’t want it?” Chapter 1: The Suicide Shop Opens The Tuvache family runs a peculiar shop in a dystopian, rain-soaked […]