The Literature Book

Description

From Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby to Shelley's Frankenstein, The Literature Book documents the greatest literature ever written. Featuring over 100 best-selling books, plays and poetry from all over the world, including Latin American and African fiction, The Literature Book encompasses celebrated masterpieces from the most renowned authors to have ever lived. Stunning images and inspirational quotes jump out from the pages, as detailed plot summaries and helpful context bring the timeless works of literature to life. The book also offers a deeper look into the famed fiction of Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde and more, as in-depth literary criticism and interesting authorial biographies give each work of literature a new meaning. In The Literature Book, the world's most iconic literature and greatest writers come together for a fascinating journey through time that is a must-have for any literature student or fan of fiction. 6 Contents......Page 8 10 INTRODUCTION......Page 12 20 Only the gods dwell forever in sunlight......Page 22 21 To nourish oneself on ancient virtue induces perseverance......Page 23 22 What is this crime I am planning, O Krishna?......Page 24 26 Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles......Page 28 34 How dreadful knowledge of the truth can be when there’s no help in truth!......Page 36 40 The gates of hell are open night and day; smooth the descent, and easy is the way......Page 42 42 Fate will unwind as it must......Page 44 44 So Scheherazade began…......Page 46 46 Since life is but a dream, why toil to no avail?......Page 48 47 Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams......Page 49 48 A man should suffer greatly for his Lord......Page 50 49 Tandaradei, sweetly sang the nightingale......Page 51 50 He who dares not follow love’s command errs greatly......Page 52 52 Let another’s wound be my warning......Page 54 54 Further reading......Page 56 62 I found myself within a shadowed forest......Page 64 66 We three will swear brotherhood and unity of aims and sentiments......Page 68 68 Turn over the leef and chese another tale......Page 70 72 Laughter’s the property of man. Live joyfully......Page 74 74 As it did to this flower, the doom of age will blight your beauty......Page 76 75 He that loves pleasure must for pleasure fall......Page 77 76 Every man is the child of his own deeds......Page 78 82 One man in his time plays many parts......Page 84 90 To esteem everything is to esteem nothing......Page 92 91 But at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near......Page 93 92 Sadly, I part from you; like a clam torn from its shell, I go, and autumn too......Page 94 93 None will hinder and none be hindered on the journey to the mountain of death......Page 95 94 I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York, of a good family......Page 96 96 If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others?......Page 98 98 I have courage enough to walk through hell barefoot......Page 100 100 There is nothing more difficult in love than expressing in writing what one does not feel......Page 102 102 Further reading......Page 104 110 Poetry is the breath and the finer spirit of all knowledge......Page 112 111 Nothing is more wonderful, nothing more fantastic than real life......Page 113 112 Man errs, till he has ceased to strive......Page 114 116 Once upon a time…......Page 118 118 For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?......Page 120 120 Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil......Page 122 122 All for one, one for all......Page 124 124 But happiness I never aimed for, it is a stranger to my soul......Page 126 125 Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes......Page 127 126 You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man......Page 128 128 I am no bird; and no net ensnares me......Page 130 132 I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!......Page 134 138 There is no folly of the beast of the Earth which is not infinitely outdone by the madness of men......Page 140 146 All partings foreshadow the great final one......Page 148 150 Further reading......Page 152 158 Boredom, quiet as the spider, was spinning its web in the shadowy places of her heart......Page 160 164 I too am a child of this land; I too grew up amid this scenery......Page 166 165 The poet is a kinsman in the clouds......Page 167 166 Not being heard is no reason for silence......Page 168 168 Curiouser and curiouser!......Page 170 172 Pain and suffering are always inevitable for a large intelligence and a deep heart......Page 174 178 To describe directly the life of humanity or even of a single nation, appears impossible......Page 180 182 It is a narrow mind which cannot look at a subject from various points of view......Page 184 184 We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones......Page 186 185 In Sweden all we do is to celebrate jubilees......Page 187 186 She is written in a foreign tongue......Page 188 188 Human beings can be awful cruel to one another......Page 190 190 He simply wanted to go down the mine again, to suffer and to struggle......Page 192 192 The evening sun was now ugly to her, like a great inflamed wound in the sky......Page 194 194 The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it......Page 196 195 There are things old and new which must not be contemplated by men’s eyes......Page 197 196 One of the dark places of the earth......Page 198 198 Further reading......Page 200 208 The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes......Page 210 209 I am a cat. As yet I have no name. I’ve no idea where I was born......Page 211 210 Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin......Page 212 212 Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori......Page 214 213 Ragtime literature which flouts traditional rhythms......Page 215 214 The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit......Page 216 222 When I was young I, too, had many dreams......Page 224 223 Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself......Page 225 224 Criticism marks the origin of progress and enlightenment......Page 226 228 Like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars......Page 230 234 The old world must crumble. Awake, wind of dawn!......Page 236 235 Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board......Page 237 236 Dead men are heavier than broken hearts......Page 238 238 It is such a secret place, the land of tears......Page 240 240 Further reading......Page 242 250 BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU......Page 252 256 I’m seventeen now, and sometimes I act like I’m about thirteen......Page 258 258 Death is a gang-boss aus Deutschland......Page 260 259 I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me......Page 261 260 Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul......Page 262 262 He leaves no stone unturned, and no maggot lonely......Page 264 263 It is impossible to touch eternity with one hand and life with the other......Page 265 264 He was beat—the root, the soul of beatific......Page 266 266 What is good among one people is an abomination with others......Page 268 270 Even wallpaper has a better memory than human beings......Page 272 272 I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.......Page 274 274 Nothing is lost if one has the courage to proclaim that all is lost and we must begin anew......Page 276 276 He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt......Page 278 277 Everyday miracles and the living past......Page 279 278 There’s got to be something wrong with us. To do what we did......Page 280 280 Ending at every moment but never ending its ending......Page 282 286 Further reading......Page 288 296 Our history is an aggregate of last moments......Page 298 298 You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel......Page 300 300 To understand just one life you have to swallow the world......Page 302 306 Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another......Page 308 310 Heaven and Earth were in turmoil......Page 312 311 You could not tell a story like this. A story like this you could only feel......Page 313 312 A historical vision, the outcome of a multicultural commitment......Page 314 313 I felt lethal, on the verge of frenzy......Page 315 314 Quietly they moved down the calm and sacred river......Page 316 318 It’s a very Greek idea, and a profound one. Beauty is terror......Page 320 319 What we see before us is just one tiny part of the world......Page 321 320 Perhaps only in a world of the blind will things be what they truly are......Page 322 322 English is an unfit medium for the truth of South Africa......Page 324 324 Every moment happens twice: inside and outside, and they are two different histories......Page 326 326 The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn’t one......Page 328 328 There was something his family wanted to forget......Page 330 330 It all stems from the same nightmare, the one we created together......Page 332 331 I regret that it takes a life to learn how to live......Page 333 332 Further reading......Page 334 340 GLOSSARY......Page 342 344 INDEX......Page 346 352 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 354