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The Misanthrope by Moliere
From April 2022: I just finished reading The Misanthrope (1666), a play by Moliere, translated by John Wood and David Coward. It was an engaging and fast-paced read centered on the character of Alceste, who, presumptuously dismissive of every form of duplicity and hypocrisy, is determined to speak truthfully regardless of social circumstances. Even though…
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Virgin Soil by Ivan Turgenev
Another book jot from April, 2021: I just finished reading Virgin Soil (1877) by Ivan Turgenev, translated by Constance Garnett. It was the last novel he published. Right away, the characters feel almost like real people. It’s as if the reader is making new acquaintances and getting to know the kind of people they are.…
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The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Book jot from April 2021: I just finished reading The Last of the Mohicans (1826) by James Fenimore Cooper. It’s one of his Leatherstocking Tales, and second in the internal chronology of the series, although it can be read as a stand-alone novel. A tale of adventure and action, it seems like a sort of…
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The Robbers by Friedrich Schiller
I finished reading The Robbers (translated by F. J. Lamport), a play by Friedrich Schiller originally published in 1781. It is Schiller’s first published play and part of the romantic Sturm und Drang literary movement. Everything is pretty much turned up to an 11! The dialogue is vivid, dramatic, and often philosophical. The plot follows…
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Pellucidar by Edgar Rice Burroughs
I recently finished reading Pellucidar (1915) by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the second novel in the Pellucidar series of seven books. As one would expect, it is a fast-paced story of action, adventure, and danger featuring characters defined by their sense of honor and allegiance to friendship. The main character, David Innes, returns to the world…
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The Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy
I finished reading The Well-Beloved by Thomas Hardy. This novel was first serialized in 1892 and published in book-form in 1897. Although it was his second to last novel written, it felt fresh and somewhat experimental to me as the reader and as if it had come from earlier in his literary career. The novel…
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R.U.R. by Karel Čapek
I just finished reading R.U.R., a three-act play written by Karel Čapek and published in 1920. Originally written in Czech, it was quickly translated into many languages. I read the translation done by Claudia Novack in 1989 and published by Penguin. The first English translation omitted significant lines from the play; as such, I recommend…
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At the Earth’s Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs
I recently finished reading At the Earth’s Core (1914) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This is the first of the Pellucidar novels, a series that went on to include seven books in which the protagonist David Innes and others explore a Hollow Earth setting. Reading this was a classic ERB experience. Action, adventure, creatively imagined creatures,…
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Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol
A book jot from February, 2021: I finished reading Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol, translated by Peter Constantine. This is an unusual book. It follows the titular character and his two sons, Cossacks from the historical past, in the 16th or 17th century. It reads almost like an epic folktale, with beautiful passages of descriptive…
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New Atlantis by Francis Bacon
I finished reading New Atlantis written by Francis Bacon and published after his death in 1626. It is regarded as an early example of a utopian novel. In it, a ship of sailors, lost at sea, stumbles upon an island nation. The narrator, one of the sailors, introduces the reader to the land of Bensalem,…