Influential Novels

Explore the most influential novels that shaped literature and culture. Discover timeless classics and groundbreaking works that continue to inspire readers worldwide.

Siddhartha Cover
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Siddhartha

by Hermann Hesse

The classic novel of a quest for knowledge that has delighted, inspired, and influenced generations of readers, writers, and thinkers—a perennial favorite for graduation gifts. Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Though set in a place and time far removed from the Germany of 1922, the year of the book’s debut, the novel is infused with the sensibilities of Hermann Hesse’s time, synthesizing disparate philosophies–Eastern religions, Jungian archetypes, Western individualism–into a unique vision of life as expressed through one man’s search for meaning. It is the story of the quest of Siddhartha, a wealthy Indian Brahmin who casts off a life of privilege and comfort to seek spiritual fulfillment and wisdom. On his journey, Siddhartha encounters wandering ascetics, Buddhist monks, and successful merchants, as well as a courtesan named Kamala and a simple ferryman who has attained enlightenment. Traveling among these people and experiencing life’s vital passages–love, work, friendship, and fatherhood–Siddhartha discovers that true knowledge is guided from within.
The Brothers Karamazov Cover
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The Brothers Karamazov

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Dostoyevskys masterpiece introduces a world filled with greed, passion, depravity, and complex moral issues, as three brothers become involved in the brutal murder of their own father. This edition features an Afterword by bestselling author Sara Peretsky. Revised reissue.
Till We Have Faces Cover
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Till We Have Faces

by Clive Staples Lewis

This is the story of Orual, Psyche's embittered and ugly older sister, who posessively and harmfully loves Psyche. Much to Orual's frustration, Psyche is loved by Cupid, the god of love himself, setting the troubled Orual on a path of moral development.
Silence Cover
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Silence

by Shūsaku Endō

Translation, from the Japanese, of Chinmoku.
Item Not Found
ID: 1582431604
(Type: books)
Franny and Zooey Cover
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Franny and Zooey

 

No summary available.
The Lord of the Rings Cover
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The Lord of the Rings

by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

In time for the golden anniversary of the arrival of part one of Tolkien's epic masterpiece on these shore comes a spectacular new edition of "The Lord of the Rings." The text is fully correctedQunder the supervision of Christopher TolkienQto meet the author's exacting wishes, and includes two large-format fold-out maps, a ribbon placemarker, and exceptionally elegant packaging. 0-618-51765-0$100.00 / Houghton Mifflin
Item Not Found
ID: 0684830493
(Type: books)
Walden Two Cover
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Walden Two

by Burrhus Frederic Skinner

A Utopian community organized around behaviorist principles offers provocative alternatives to a society lacking direction.
Shantaram Cover
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Shantaram

 

No summary available.