NUMBER: 2

Genre: Fiction; Origin: UK; Pages: 100

Satisfaction rating: 10.0

OVERVIEW:

The plot is an allegory in which animals play the roles of the Bolshevik revolutionaries and overthrow and oust the human owners of the farm, setting it up as a commune in which, at first, all animals are equal; soon disparities start to emerge between the different species or classes. The novel describes how a society’s ideologies can be changed and manipulated by individuals in positions of power.

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NUMBER: 9

Genre: Fiction; Origin: USA; Pages: 100

Satisfaction rating: 10.0

OVERVIEW:

While the powerlessness of the laboring class is a recurring theme in Steinbeck’s work of the late 1930s, he narrowed his focus when composing Of Mice and Men, creating an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness. But though the scope is narrow, the theme is universal; a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual’s existence meaningful.

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NUMBER: 14

Genre: Fiction; Origin: Poland; Pages: 100

Satisfaction rating: 6.5

OVERVIEW:

In Conrad’s haunting tale, Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological journey in search of the enigmatic Kurtz. Traveling to the heart of the African continent, he discovers how Kurtz has gained his position of power and influence over the local people. Marlow’s struggle to fathom his experience involves him in a radical questioning of not only his own nature and values but the nature and values of his society.

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NUMBER: 17

Genre: Fiction; Origin: Algeria; Pages: 100

Satisfaction rating: 7.0

OVERVIEW:

Meursault leads a bachelor life until he commits a random act of violence. His lack of emotion and failure to show remorse serve to increase his guilt in the eyes of the law. This novel explores the predicament of the individual who refuses to pretend and is prepared to face the indifference of the universe, courageously and alone.

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NUMBER: 21

Genre: Fiction; Origin: Czech Rep.; Pages: 80

Satisfaction rating: 9.5

OVERVIEW:

Gregor Samsa awakes one morning in his family’s apartment to find himself inexplicably transformed overnight into a gigantic insect. Gregor does not immediately recoil from his insect form, but instead chooses to lament the rain and general misery of the weather outside. Indeed, the narrative establishes the poor conditions as the cause of his bed-ridden state. Gregor works as a traveling salesman, and, as it is usual for traveling salesmen to move constantly from place to place, he is accustomed to waking up in unfamiliar surroundings and various circumstances.

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