“The world is full of things that don’t make sense. That’s why we have to make our own sense of it.” Chapter 1: The Murder The novel opens […]
Japanese literature
Grotesque
“People are grotesque. They pretend to be good, but inside they’re rotten.” Part One: The Sisters The novel begins with the unnamed narrator reflecting on her sister Yuriko’s […]
German literature
Berlin Alexanderplatz
“You must reckon with life, Franz Biberkopf, life is a reckoning.” Book One: The Punishment Begins Franz Biberkopf is released from Tegel prison after serving four years for […]
Russian literature
The Notes of a Psychopath
“I drink, therefore I am—or at least, I think I am.” Chapter 1: The Descent into Chaos The unnamed protagonist, a deeply troubled alcoholic, begins his erratic monologue, […]
Russian literature
The Overcoat
“Leave me alone! Why do you insult me?” Chapter 1: Akaky Akakievich and His Miserable Existence The story introduces Akaky Akakievich Bashmachkin, a low-ranking government clerk in St. […]
Russian literature
Poor Folk
“I am a poor man… my life has been a series of misfortunes.” Chapter 1 The novel opens with a letter from Makar Devushkin, a low-ranking government clerk, […]
Russian literature
The Double
“He was completely crushed, and at the same time he felt that he was right, that he had been insulted, that he had been treated unjustly, and that […]
French literature
Journey to the End of the Night
“Travel is useful, it exercises the imagination. All the rest is disappointment and fatigue. Our journey is entirely imaginary. That is its strength.” Part 1: War and Disillusionment […]