Interesting classic Russian literature. The best works of classical world literature that are worth reading for the soul

Closer to mid-February, it seems that even love vibes are in the air. And if you have not felt this mood yet, the gray sky and the cold wind spoil all the romance - will help you the best classic about love!

Antoine Francois Prevost, The Story of the Chevalier de Grieux and Manon Lescaut (1731)

This story takes place in the scenery of Regency France after death. Louis XIV. The story is told on behalf of a seventeen-year-old boy, a graduate of the Faculty of Philosophy in northern France. Having successfully passed the exams, he is going to return to his father's house, but by chance he meets an attractive and mysterious girl. This is Manon Lesko, who was brought to the city by her parents to give to the monastery. Cupid's arrow pierces the heart of the young gentleman, and he, forgetting everything, persuades Manon to run away with him. Thus begins the eternal and beautiful love story of the Chevalier de Grieux and Manon Lescaut, which will inspire entire generations of readers, writers, artists, musicians, directors.

The author of the love story is the Abbé Prevost, whose life was tossed between monastic seclusion and secular society. His fate is complex, interesting, his love for a girl of a different faith - forbidden and passionate - formed the basis of a fascinating and scandalous (for its era) book.

"Manon Lescaut" is the first novel where, against the background of a reliable image of material and everyday realities, a subtle and penetrating psychological picture heroes. The fresh, winged prose of Abbé Prevost is unlike all previous French literature.

This story, which tells about several years in the life of de Grieux, during which the young man, impulsive, sensitive, thirsty for love and freedom, manages to turn into a man with great experience and difficult fate. The beautiful Manon also grows up: her spontaneity and frivolity is replaced by a depth of feelings and a wise outlook on life.

“Despite the cruelest fate, I found my happiness in her eyes and in firm confidence in her feelings. Truly I have lost everything that other people honor and cherish; but I owned the heart of Manon, the only good that I honored.

A novel about pure and eternal love that arises from the air, but the strength and purity of this feeling is enough to change the characters and their destinies. But will this power be enough to change the life around?

Emily Bronte "Wuthering Heights" (1847)

Debuting in the same year, each of the Bronte sisters presented their novel to the world: Charlotte - "Jane Eyre", Emily - "Wuthering Heights", Ann - "Agnes Grey". Charlotte's novel made a sensation (he, like any book of the most famous Bronte, could be in this top), but after the death of the sisters, it was recognized that Wuthering Heights is one of the best works that time.

The most mystical and reserved of the sisters, Emily Bronte, has created a poignant novel about madness and hatred, about strength and love. Contemporaries considered him too rude, but they could not help but fall under his magical influence.

The story of generations of two families unfolds against the picturesque backdrop of the Yorkshire fields, where the mad wind and inhuman passions rule. Central characters- freedom-loving Catherine and impulsive Heathcliff, obsessed with each other. Their complex characters social status, exceptional destinies - all together form a canon love story. But this book is more than just an early Victorian love story. According to modernist Virginia Woolf, "The idea that the manifestations of human nature are based on forces that elevate it and raise it to the foot of greatness, and puts Emily Bronte's novel in a special, prominent place in a number of similar novels."

Thanks to Wuthering Heights, the beautiful fields of Yorkshire became a nature reserve, and we inherited, for example, such masterpieces as film of the same name with Juliette Binoche, the popular ballad "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" performed by Celine Dion, as well as touching quotes:

What doesn't remind you of her? I can’t even look under my feet, so that her face does not appear here on the floor slabs! It is in every cloud, in every tree - it fills the air at night, during the day it appears in the outlines of objects - her image is everywhere around me! The most ordinary faces, male and female, my own features, all tease me with semblance. The whole world is a terrible freak show, where everything reminds me that she existed and that I lost her.

Leo Tolstoy "Anna Karenina" (1877)

Exists famous legend about how it was discussed in the circle of writers that there are no good love stories in literature. Tolstoy started up at these words and accepted the challenge, saying that he would write a good love novel in three months. And he did write. True, for four years.

But that, as they say, is history. And Anna Karenina is a novel that is included in the school curriculum. Such school reading. And so, every decent graduate at the exit learns that "all happy families similar to each other…”, and in the Oblonsky house "everything is mixed..."

Meanwhile, "Anna Karenina" is real great book about great love. Today it is generally accepted (thanks, including to the cinema) that this is a novel about the pure and passionate love of Karenina and Vronsky, which became Anna's salvation from her boring tyrant husband and her own death.

But for the author himself, this is, first of all, a family novel, a novel about love, which, having connected the two halves, develops into something more: a family, children. This, according to Tolstoy, is the main purpose of a woman. Because there is nothing more important, and most importantly, more difficult than raising a child, maintaining a real strong family. This idea in the novel is personified by the union of Levin and Kitty. This family, which Tolstoy wrote off in many ways from his union with Sofya Andreevna, becomes a reflection of the ideal union of a man and a woman.

The Karenins, on the other hand, are an “unhappy family,” and Tolstoy devoted his book to an analysis of the causes of this misfortune. However, the author does not indulge in moralizing, accusing the sinful Anna of destroying a decent family. Leo Tolstoy, "an expert on human souls", creates a complex work, where there are no right and wrong. There is a society that affects the heroes, there are heroes who choose their own path, and there are feelings that the heroes do not always understand, but which they give themselves to in full.

On this I round off my literary analysis because much has already been written about this and better. I will just express my thought: be sure to re-read the texts from school curriculum. And not only from school.

Reshad Nuri Gyuntekin "King - songbird" (1922)

The question of which works from Turkish literature have become world classics can be confusing. The novel "The Songbird" deserves such recognition. Reshad Nuri Guntekin wrote this book at the age of 33, it became one of his first novels. These circumstances make us even more surprised at the skill with which the writer portrayed the psychology of a young woman, social problems provincial Turkey.

Fragrant and original book captures from the first lines. These are diary entries of the beautiful Feride, who remembers her life and her love. When this book first came to me (and it was during my puberty), the tattered cover showed off "Chalikushu - a singing bird." Even now this translation of the name seems to me more colorful and sonorous. Chalykushu is the nickname of the restless Feride. As the heroine writes in her diary: “... my real name, Feride, became official and was used very rarely, like a festive outfit. I liked the name Chalykush, it even helped me out. As soon as someone complained about my tricks, I just shrugged my shoulders, as if saying: “I have nothing to do with it ... What do you want from Chalykushu? ..”.

Chalykushu lost her parents early. She is sent to be raised by relatives, where she falls in love with her aunt's son, Kamran. Their relationship is not easy, but young people are drawn to each other. Suddenly, Feride learns that her chosen one is already in love with another. In feelings, the impulsive Chalykushu fluttered out of the family nest towards real life, which met her with a hurricane of events ...

I remember how, after reading a book, I wrote quotes in my diary, realizing every word. It is interesting that you change over time, but the book remains the same poignant, touching and naive. But it seems that in our 21st century independent women, gadgets and social networks A little naivete doesn't hurt:

“A person lives and is tied by invisible threads to the people who surround him. Separation sets in, the threads stretch and break like the strings of a violin, making dull sounds. And every time the threads break at the heart, a person experiences the most acute pain.

David Herbert Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928)

Provocative, scandalous, frank. Banned for over thirty years after first publication. The hardened English bourgeoisie did not tolerate description sex scenes and "immoral" behavior main character. In 1960, a high-profile trial took place, during which the novel "Lady Chatterley's Lover" was rehabilitated and allowed for publication when the author was no longer alive.

Today, the novel and its storyline hardly seem so provocative to us. Young Constance marries the Baronet Chatterley. After their marriage, Clifford Chatterley is sent to Flanders, where he receives multiple wounds during the battle. He is permanently paralyzed from the waist down. married life Connie (as her husband affectionately calls her) has changed, but she continues to love her husband, caring for him. However, Clifford understands that it is hard for a young girl to spend all her nights alone. He allows her to have a lover, the main thing is that the candidate is worthy.

“If a man has no brains, he is a fool; if there is no heart, he is a villain; if there is no bile, he is a rag. If a man is not able to explode, like a tightly stretched spring, there is no masculine nature in him. This is not a man, but a good boy.

During one of the walks in the forest, Connie meets a new gamekeeper. It is he who will teach the girl not only the art of love, but also awaken real deep feelings in her.

David Herbert Lawrence - classic English Literature, author at least famous books"Sons and Lovers", "Women in Love", "Rainbow", he also wrote essays, poems, plays, travel prose. He created three versions of Lady Chatterley's Lover. The last version, which satisfied the author, was published. This novel brought him fame, but Lawrence's liberalism and the proclamation of freedom moral choice the person sung in the novel could be appreciated only many years later.

Margaret Mitchell Gone with the Wind (1936)

Aphorism "When a woman can't cry, it's scary", and the very image of a strong woman belongs to the pen of the American writer Margaret Mitchell, who became famous thanks to the only novel. There is hardly a person who has not heard about the bestseller Gone with the Wind.

Gone with the Wind is the story of a civil war between the northern and southern states of America in the 60s, during which cities and destinies collapsed, but something new and beautiful could not but be born. This is the story of the growing up of young Scarlett O'Hara, who is forced to take responsibility for the family, learn to manage her feelings and achieve simple female happiness.

This is that successful love story when, in addition to the main and rather superficial theme, it gives something else. The book grows with the reader: open in different time, it will be perceived each time in a new way. One thing remains unchanged in it: the anthem of love, life and humanity. And the unexpected and open ending inspired several writers to create a continuation of the love story, the most famous of which are Scarlett by Alexander Ripley or Rhett Butler's People by Donald McCaig.

Boris Pasternak "Doctor Zhivago" (1957)

A complex symbolist novel by Pasternak, written in no less complex and rich language. A number of researchers point to the autobiographical nature of the work, but the events or characters described bear little resemblance to the real life of the author. Nevertheless, this is a kind of "spiritual autobiography", which Pasternak characterized as follows: “I am currently writing a long novel in prose about a man who constitutes a kind of resultant between Blok and me (and Mayakovsky and Yesenin, perhaps). He will die in 1929. From him there will be a book of poems, which is one of the chapters of the second part. The time embraced by the novel is 1903-1945.

The main theme of the novel is reflections on the future of the country and the fate of the generation to which the author belonged. Historical events play an important role for the heroes of the novel, it is the whirlpool of a complex political situation that determines their lives.

The main characters of the book are the doctor and poet Yuri Zhivago and Lara Antipova, the hero's beloved. Throughout the novel, their paths accidentally crossed and separated, seemingly forever. What really captivates in this novel is the inexplicable and immense love that the characters carried through their whole lives.

The culmination of this love story is a few winter days in the snow-covered estate of Varykino. It is here that the main explanations of the characters take place, here Zhivago writes his best poems dedicated to Lara. But even in this abandoned house, they can not hide from the noise of war. Larisa is forced to leave in order to save the life of herself and her children. And Zhivago, going mad with loss, writes in his notebook:

From the threshold a man looks

Not recognizing at home.

Her departure was like an escape

There are signs of destruction everywhere.

Chaos is everywhere in the rooms.

He measures ruin

Doesn't notice because of tears

And a migraine attack.

There is some noise in my ears in the morning.

Is he in memory or dreaming?

And why does he mind

All the thought of the sea climbs? ..

"Doctor Zhivago" is a novel marked by Nobel Prize, a novel whose fate, like the fate of the author, turned out to be tragic, a novel that is still alive today, like the memory of Boris Pasternak, is a must-read.

John Fowles "The French Lieutenant's Mistress" (1969)

One of Fowles' masterpieces, which is a shaky interweaving of postmodernism, realism, the Victorian novel, psychology, allusions to Dickens, Hardy and other contemporaries. A novel that is central work English literature of the 20th century, is considered one of the main books about love.

The canvas of the story, like any plot of a love story, looks simple and predictable. But Fowles is a postmodernist, influenced by existentialism and passionate about historical sciences, created a mystical and deep love story from this story.

An aristocrat, a wealthy young man named Charles Smithson, along with his chosen one, meet Sarah Woodruff on the seashore - once "the mistress of the French lieutenant", and now - a maid who avoids people. Sarah appears reclusive, but Charles manages to connect with her. During one of the walks, Sara opens up to the hero, talking about her life.

“Even your own past does not seem to you to be something real - you dress it up, try to whitewash or denigrate it, you edit it, patch it up somehow ... In a word, turn it into fiction and put away on the shelf - this is your book, your novelized autobiography. We are all running from reality. This is the main distinguishing feature homo sapiens".

A difficult but special relationship is established between the characters, which will develop into a strong and fatal feeling.

The variability of the endings of the novel is not only one of the main techniques postmodern literature, but also reflects the idea that in love, as in life, everything is possible.

And for lovers acting Meryl Streep: A 1981 film of the same name directed by Karel Reisch starring Jeremy Irons and Meryl Streep. The film, which received several film awards, has become a classic. But watching it, like any film based on a literary work, is better after reading the book itself.

Colin McCullough "The Thorn Birds" (1977)

Colleen McCullough has written more than ten novels in her life, the historical cycle "Lords of Rome", a series of detective stories. But she was able to occupy a prominent place in Australian literature and thanks to just one novel - "The Thorn Birds".

Seven parts of a fascinating story of a large family. Several generations of the Cleary clan who move to Australia to settle here and from simple poor farmers to become a prominent and successful family. The central characters of this saga are Maggie Cleary and Ralph de Bricassar. Their story, which unites all the chapters of the novel, tells about eternal struggle duty and feeling, reason and passion. What will the heroes choose? Or will they have to stand on opposite sides and defend their choice?

Each of the parts of the novel is dedicated to one of the members of the Cleary family and subsequent generations. For fifty years, during which the action of the novel takes place, not only the surrounding reality changes, but also life ideals. So Maggie's daughter - Fia, whose story opens in the last part of the book, no longer seeks to create a family, to continue her kind. So the fate of the Cleary family is in jeopardy.

The Thorn Birds is a finely crafted, filigree work about life itself. Colin McCullough managed to reflect complex overflows human soul, longing for the love that lives in every woman, passionate nature and inner strength men. Perfect long reading winter evenings under a blanket or hot days on the summer veranda.

“There is a legend about a bird that sings only once in its entire life, but it is the most beautiful in the world. One day she leaves her nest and flies to look for a thorn bush and will not rest until she finds it. Among the thorny branches she sings a song and throws herself at the longest, sharpest thorn. And, rising above the inexpressible torment, it sings so, dying, that both the lark and the nightingale would envy this jubilant song. The only, incomparable song, and it comes at the cost of life. But the whole world freezes, listening, and God himself smiles in heaven. For all the best is bought only at the cost of great suffering ... At least, so the legend says.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez Love in the Time of Plague (1985)

I wonder when it appeared famous expression that love is a disease? However, it is this truth that becomes the impetus for understanding the work of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which proclaims that "... the symptoms of love and the plague are the same". And the most important thought of this novel is contained in another quote: "If you meet your true love, then she will not get away from you - not in a week, not in a month, not in a year.

This happened to the heroes of the novel "Love in the Time of Plague", the plot of which revolves around a girl named Fermina Daza. In her youth, Florentino Arisa was in love with her, but, considering his love only a temporary hobby, she marries Juvenal Urbino. Urbino's profession is a doctor, and his life's work is the fight against cholera. However, Fermina and Florentino are destined to be together. When Urbino dies, the feelings of longtime lovers flare up with new force, painted in more mature and deep tones.

“How the classic teaches”, “I’ll go read the classics” - these turns can be heard in everyday speech. However, it is unlikely that we are fully aware of which writers have the right to enter the golden fund. belles-lettres, and what this phenomenon is in general - a classic of world literature. This article will answer such questions.

Terminology issues

It is rather difficult to outline the concept of the classical, because this definition is used in the most different meanings. For an ordinary native speaker, it is akin to an ideal, a standard, something to strive for. However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, in relation to literature, the scope of these parameters is mobile and varies depending on a particular era. So, for Corneille and Racine, the classics of world literature are primarily works of the times of Antiquity, while the Middle Ages did not welcome them at all. And in early XIX centuries, there were even lovers to assert that all the best in Russia has already been written. Agree: fans of Pushkin, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, such hypotheses seem extremely ridiculous.

Another point of view

Also, "classical literature" is sometimes understood as works that were created before modernism. Although now such a view can be considered somewhat outdated, since the novels of Kafka, Joyce and Proust, the canvases of Dali and Malevich have long passed into the category of the golden fund of art, weeding out less talented contemporaries.

At the same time, despite historical modifications, the classics of world literature remain timeless, universal and talented. Even after hundreds of years, humanity turns to the works of Shakespeare, Goethe or Pushkin, interpreting them in various discourses. This becomes possible due to the depth of their content, relevance to one and all.

So, to sum it up: what does it include? classic literature? whose works are still read today.

Are classical and "high" literature the same thing?

The division of literature into three "floors" - high, fiction and mass - appeared relatively recently. More precisely, when entertaining books began to be created specifically for the average reader. The classics of world literature largely correspond to the "high" works. They are intellectual, require considerable work on the part of the reader, his experience. However, the term "classical" is also applied to samples of the so-called mass literature, though in a slightly different meaning. An example of this is the detective stories of Agatha Christie and the fantasy of Tolkien. When their fans claim that this is a classic of world literature, they mean that "Ten Little Indians" or "The Lord of the Rings" served as a successful model for subsequent writers who worked within these genres. It is difficult to judge to what extent these works will remain in the memory of readers; literary criticism does not give an exact answer to this question.

List of world classics

It has already become traditional to rank books that are required reading for those who want to be considered truly an educated person. Open such lists of creations of ancient Greek and Roman authors: Homer ("Iliad"), Aeschylus ("Prometheus chained") and Virgil ("Aeneid"). These works have the unconditional right to bear the honorary title of "classic of world literature". became the cradle of the work of J. Chaucer and F. Villon, as well as an infinite number of literary monuments without an author.

The Renaissance gave us creators eternal images- Shakespeare and Cervantes. However, one must also remember Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Francois Rabelais and some others. The 17th century was marked by baroque (Pedro Calderon, Gongora) and classic (Racine, Corneille, Molière) art. Then came the enrichment of literature with the names of Voltaire, Rousseau, Goethe and Schiller.

The 19th century opens the romantic work of Byron, Scott, Hoffmann, Hugo, Poe. Somewhere in the middle of the century, romanticism is replaced by the novels of Stendhal, Balzac, Dickens.

The turn of the century is distinguished by the appearance of the first modernist movements- symbolism (Verlaine, Rimbaud, Wilde), naturalism (Zola) and impressionism At the same time, the so-called new drama (Ibsen, Shaw, Maeterlinck) is gaining popularity, seeking to completely rethink outdated dramatic techniques. The 20th century enriched literature with the modernist novel (Kafka, Proust and Joyce mentioned), a large number of avant-garde movements Surrealism, Dadaism, Expressionism. The second half of the last century was marked by the work of Brecht, Camus, Hemingway and Marquez. One can also talk about contemporary postmodern works that have become classics (Pavic, Suskind).

Russian classic writers

Russian classics is, of course, a separate conversation. The XIX and XX centuries discovered the names of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Fet, Goncharov, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Blok, Gorky, Yesenin, Bulgakov, Sholokhov ... Classics of Russian and world literature are formed from their works.

The works of the classics are like good wine - they are aged and tested by time and huge amount readers. Many of these books are universal: they heal the soul, seek answers to eternal questions life, entertain, relax, cheer up, make you think and give an invaluable opportunity to gain a unique life experience.

Russian classics

The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov

A brilliant masterpiece of world classical literature. An unusual meaningful mystical novel, exposing human sins and vices. Intertwined in it eternal themes the struggle between good and evil, death and immortality, as well as an incredible line of love that began with a chance meeting of people created for each other.

"Eugene Onegin", Alexander Pushkin

Good work for those who choose classic for self-development. A novel in verse in which two characters are opposed: a satiated bored young man Eugene Onegin and a pure naive girl Tatyana Larina, who followed a sincere feeling. A story about the growing up and development of one personality and the inner emptiness of another.

Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy

Married Anna Karenina falls in love with the young officer Vronsky. He reciprocates her. But the environment turns away from the "fallen woman." The desperate attempts of the lovers to reunite against the backdrop of the customs and customs of the nobility of that time were unsuccessful.

"Doctor Zhivago", Boris Pasternak

The history of the generation of the early 20th century, which was part of new era with faith in big changes. However, the trials that they had to endure (civil and first World War, revolution), brought only disappointment and broken hopes. But, in spite of everything, people have gained invaluable experience. The book is full of reflections on the fate of people and the state.

"12 chairs", Evgeny Petrov, Ilya Ilf

A story about two adventurers looking for diamonds hidden in the chairs of Madame Petukhova's living room. The novel-feuilleton is incredibly fascinating, imbued with sharp humor and inexhaustible optimism. It will provide some exciting evenings for those who have not yet read the book, and will cheer up those who have taken it up again.

Heart of a Dog, Mikhail Bulgakov

Professor Preobrazhensky explores methods of rejuvenation. One day, he brings a homeless dog Sharik from the street and gives him a pituitary transplant of the deceased Klim Chugunkin, a drunkard and a hooligan. Instead of a kind, docile animal, a creature with an absolutely disgusting character and habits is obtained. The novel demonstrates the history of the relationship between the intelligentsia and the "new breed" of man.

"The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of a Soldier Ivan Chonkin", Vladimir Voinovich

A wonderful choice of work to read on vacation, such a light anecdote novel. Before the start of the Great Patriotic War in a small village, a plane is landing due to a breakdown. There is no way to tow it, so the simple-minded and ridiculous guard Ivan Chonkin is assigned to him, who eventually transfers his place of service to the house of the postman Nyura ...

“The Dawns Here Are Quiet”, Boris Vasiliev

A tragic story about an unequal confrontation between five female anti-aircraft gunners and a detachment of German saboteurs consisting of 16 people. Dreams of the future and women's stories of loved ones create a stunning contrast with harsh reality war.

"Dowry", Alexander Ostrovsky

A play about a woman forced to link her fate with an inconspicuous, uninteresting and unloved person only because she does not have a dowry. The man, whom she loves and considers ideal, is only having fun with her, not having the intention of exchanging a rich bride for her.

"Garnet Bracelet", Alexander Kuprin

Having once seen Princess Vera in the box of the circus, Georgy Zheltkov fell in love with her without memory. He sent letters to her, hoping for nothing, since she was married. Love lasted for several years, until he decided to give her Garnet bracelet. A wonderful book that will suit those who are looking for something to read for the soul.

Foreign literature

The Thorn Birds, Colin McCullough

The epic story of a poor family who later became managers of a large Australian estate. The plot of the novel is based on strong, dramatic feelings between the main character Maggie and the Catholic priest Father Ralph. What will win love or religion? The work has become one of the most popular romance novels among admirers.

Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

A novel about a strong woman, Scarlett O'Hara, who shouldered the care of her family during the difficult years of the American Civil War. The book tells about incredible story love and demonstrates the evolution of the feelings of the main character against the backdrop of trials by war.

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

England 18th century. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, who have raised five daughters, are thinking about marrying the young ladies. Settled next door Mr Bingley perfectly suited for the role of the groom. In addition, he has many friends. The book is about how feelings are born, and how love helps to overcome pride and prejudice.

The Great Gatsby Francis Scott Fitzgerald

The book is set in America during the Jazz Age. The author shows reverse side notorious " american dream". In the center of the story is the story of the rich and spendthrift Gatsby, who is trying to return the woman he loves, who left him when he was just achieving success. Unfortunately, wealth never brought him happiness.

"A Little Sun in Cold Water" by Françoise Sagan

This excellent version of the work modern classics. The story of the affair of the Parisian journalist Gilles Lantier with married woman who left her husband. The work raises the theme of fatigue from life, what is commonly called depression. It seems that the relationship helped Giles overcome the illness. But is his lover happy?

Arc de Triomphe, Erich Maria Remarque

The German emigrant Ravik illegally lives and works as a surgeon in pre-war Paris. Returning home late, he notices a woman who is trying to throw herself off a bridge. So, a romance begins between an actress named Joan and a German refugee. Unusually beautiful, passionate and sad story love, full of philosophical reflections.

"Notre Dame Cathedral", Victor Hugo

This is a real classic historical novel describing medieval Paris. Incredible at the center of the story romantic story the hunchback bell ringer Quasimodo and the gypsy street dancer Esmeralda. However, the author positions the Notre Dame Cathedral itself as the main character of the novel, thereby drawing public attention to it.

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

Moments of summer, closed in bottles - this is dandelion wine. The book is woven from big and small stories that take place throughout the summer, everyday discoveries, the main of which is that we live, we feel, we breathe. The story itself is warm and unhurried. Brothers Douglas and Tom live in a provincial town and through them we see the world through the eyes of 12-year-old children.

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Way Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg

Evelyn, a middle-aged woman, has lost interest in life and eats depression with chocolate. Once a week, she has to visit her mother-in-law at the nursing home. There, Evelyn meets 86-year-old Ninny, who is full of love and zest for life. Each time, the old woman tells stories from her past, which helps Evelyn reconsider her worldview.

"Over the Cuckoo's Nest", Ken Kesey

The main character Randle recklessly chooses the latter between a prison and a mental hospital. Here he tries to change the established rules and teach other patients to enjoy the life. An elderly, sullen nurse resists the innovations of a free-spirited patient out of fear of losing power over staff and patients.

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In Russia, literature has its own direction, different from any other. The Russian soul is mysterious and incomprehensible. The genre reflects both Europe and Asia, therefore the best classical Russian works are unusual, amaze with sincerity and vitality.

The main thing actor- soul. For a person, the position in society, the amount of money is not important, it is important for him to find himself and his place in this life, to find truth and peace of mind.

The books of Russian literature are united by the traits of a writer who possesses the gift of the great Word, who has completely devoted himself to this art of literature. Best Classics saw life not flatly, but multifaceted. They wrote about the life of not random destinies, but expressing being in its most unique manifestations.

Russian classics are so different, with different destinies, but they are united by the fact that literature is recognized as a school of life, a way of studying and developing Russia.

Russian classical literature was created best writers from different corners Russia. It is very important where the author was born, because this determines his formation as a person, his development, and it also affects writing skills. Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoevsky were born in Moscow, Chernyshevsky in Saratov, Shchedrin in Tver. Poltava region in Ukraine is the birthplace of Gogol, Podolsk province - Nekrasov, Taganrog - Chekhov.

Three great classics, Tolstoy, Turgenev and Dostoevsky, were absolutely different people, had different fates, complex characters and great gifts. They did huge contribution in the development of literature, writing his best works, which still excite the hearts and souls of readers. Everyone should read these books.

Another important difference between the books of Russian classics is the ridicule of the shortcomings of a person and his way of life. Satire and humor are the main features of the works. However, many critics said that this was all slander. And only true connoisseurs saw how the characters are both comical and tragic at the same time. Books like this always touch my heart.

Here you can find the best works of classical literature. You can download Russian classic books for free or read online, which is very convenient.

We present to your attention 100 best books Russian classics. AT full list The books include the best and most memorable works of Russian writers. This literature known to everyone and recognized by critics from all over the world.

Of course, our list of top 100 books is just a small part that has collected best work great classics. It can be continued for a very long time.

One hundred books that everyone should read in order to understand not only how they used to live, what were the values, traditions, priorities in life, what they aspired to, but to find out in general how our world works, how bright and pure a soul can be and how valuable it is for a person, for the formation of his personality.

The top 100 list includes the best and most notable works Russian classics. The plot of many of them is known from the school bench. However, some books are difficult to understand in young age, this requires wisdom, which is acquired over the years.

Of course, the list is far from complete and can be continued indefinitely. Reading such literature is a pleasure. She not only teaches something, she radically changes lives, helps to realize simple things that we sometimes do not even notice.

We hope you enjoyed our list of classic Russian literature books. Perhaps you have already read something from it, but something not. A great occasion to make your personal list of books, your top books that you would like to read.

1. Emily Bronte "Wuthering Heights" (1847)
"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte is not just a golden classic of world literature, but a novel that turned the idea of romantic prose. Years and decades pass, but the story of the fatal passion of Heathcliff, the adopted son of the owner of the Wuthering Heights estate, for the owner's daughter Catherine does not lend itself to the passage of time. " Wuthering Pass"Many generations of women have already been read - they continue to be read even now. This book never gets old, just like true love never gets old...

2. Jane Austen "Pride and Prejudice" (1813)
The pride of a woman, practically impoverished and completely free - in her poverty, in her irony, in the strength of her character ... Is there anything equal to such pride? sincerity of male feelings and stop thinking about it. This is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The book, without which there would probably be no "psychological" novel, no "feminist" literature, or - simply - "elite" prose as such!

3. William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet (1597)
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy in 5 acts by William Shakespeare, which tells about the love of a young man and a girl from two ancient warring families - the Montagues and the Capulets.

4. Charlotte Bronte "Jane Eyre" (1847)
Jane Eyre, a modest but proud and independent orphan, takes a job as a governess on Mr. Rochester's estate. Having fallen in love with each other, Jane and Rochester are going to get married. Having become the bride of a loved one and having experienced unprecedented happiness, Jane retains her composure and independence. She continues to give lessons to his daughter and rejects the groom's luxurious gifts. But on the wedding day it opens terrible secret, which can destroy the dreams of lovers forever and completely changes everything in their lives.

5. Margaret Mitchell" gone With the Wind» (1936)
The novel by the American writer Margaret Mitchell (1900–1949) Gone with the Wind (1936) is a fascinating story, an acutely social work, the main problem of which is fate human values in the world of buying and selling. The book is set in one of the most difficult periods in US history and covers the years of the Civil War (1861-1865) and the subsequent Reconstruction.

6. Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient (1992)
Michael Ondaatje's novel subtly and poetically depicts the intertwining of four twisted destinies in an abandoned Italian villa at the end of World War II. And in the center of this intersection is the "English patient", a nameless, burnt beyond recognition man - a mystery and a challenge for those who pass by. Based on the novel "The English Patient", a famous film was made, in 1997 it was awarded the "Oscar" award in nine categories.

7. Daphne du Mourier "Rebecca" (1938)
A young woman serving as a companion to a wealthy American goes with her to the Cote d'Azur and accidentally meets a British aristocrat named Maximilian de, the owner of the amazingly beautiful Manderly estate. After a brief courtship, she agrees to marry him and return to Manderly together. Almost immediately, the newlywed realizes how difficult it will be for her to erase the image of his ex-wife, Rebecca, from her husband's memory. She died about a year ago, sailing on a yacht.

8. Boris Pasternak Doctor Zhivago (1957)
The action of the novel takes place at that difficult time, when all the trials fell to the lot of Russia at once: the First World War and the Civil War, the abdication of the tsar, the revolution. The novel by Boris Pasternak is about the fate of his generation, which became a witness, participant and victim of this madness. This is the story of young people who entered the twentieth century with hopes of great change that would bring happiness to all, and how their hopes were dashed. This is a story about moral experience and deep reflections on the fate of the country. “In terms of content, clarity, absorption in my favorite work, the life of recent years is almost a continuous holiday of the soul for me.

9. David Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928)
Novel by David Lawrence, first published in 1928. The publication of the novel caused big scandal, associated with numerous explicit descriptions of scenes of a sexual nature and was at one time banned in different countries. The novel has been filmed many times. The author created three versions of the novel and recognized the last of them as final. The novel describes the classic love triangle: young beautiful wife, a disabled husband and a surly, even somewhat spiteful forester who looks after the estate. In addition, the novel also touches on social (husband, lady and forester come from different classes) and sexual aspects ( detailed descriptions the awakening of sexual attraction to the forester in Constance and their love scenes).

10. Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy (1874)
Having inherited a rich farm from her uncle, the young Bathsheba Everdeen energetically gets down to business, gaining workers for herself. She also takes the bankrupt farmer Gabriel Oak, an experienced and honest man. Gabriel at one time asked for her hand, but failed. Now her neighbor, a wealthy farmer William Boldwood, is offering her a hand and a heart, but the wayward Bathsheba does not yet agree to become a wife, asking herself time to think. The meeting with the narcissistic handsome sergeant Frank Troy becomes fatal for Bathsheba.

11. Alan Jay Lerner, My Fair Lady (1956)
The novel tells about the poor girl Eliza Doolittle - an ignoramus and a mess, from which Professor Higgins, after arguing with friends, decides to make " beautiful lady“is the epitome of style and courtesy. And he succeeds! And, of course, Higgins himself falls head over heels in love with the fruit of his efforts.

12 Cecil Scott Forester The African Queen (1935)
A novel about the journey of the boat "African Queen" along the rivers of colonial Africa in the 1st World War.

13. Francis Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby (1925)
The action of the novel takes place in New York, on Long Island, in the twenties of the XX century: following the chaos of the First World War, American society entered an unprecedented period of prosperity: in the “roaring 20s”, the US economy was developing rapidly. At the same time, Prohibition made many bootleggers millionaires and gave a significant boost to organized crime. Admiring the rich and their charm, Fitzgerald at the same time denounces the unrestrained materialism and lack of morality of America at that time.

14. Jane Austen "Sense and Sensibility" (1811)
At the center of the novel is the fate of the Dashwood sisters. Marianne, the embodiment of sensibility, falls passionately in love with a charming but frivolous gentleman, and her sensible sister Elinor chooses a completely reliable young man as the object of her affection. What is the key to happiness - sensitivity or feeling? You can answer this question by reading Jane Austen's novel.

15. Arthur Laurents "The Way We Were" (1972)
Young radical Kathy dreams of becoming a writer. But day and night she is preoccupied with the injustice of this world. Cathy devotes all her time to rallies and demonstrations, which causes the warm support of some of her friends, and constant ridicule from others. But quite unexpectedly for herself, the original Katie realizes that she is in love with the first handsome man of the Hubble school. She is ugly and feels miserable. But years later, in 1945, they meet and love breaks out between them. More different people impossible to imagine. Breakup is inevitable. But while they are together, their happiness is endless.

16. Leo Tolstoy "War and Peace" (1865)
The carefree life of representatives of the elite of society in the early 19th century: luxury, balls, ceremonial receptions, in honor of the tradition of "highly cultured" France. But all this ends with the beginning of the war. What the Russian nobles used to admire was now condemned. Russian peasants go to war as cannon fodder to ensure an idle and carefree life for the nobility. Leo Tolstoy will talk about difficult relationship between the main characters of the novel: Andrei Bolkonsky and Natalia Rostova ...

17. Daphne Du Maurier French Bay (1942)
In the novel French Bay, the beautiful Dona St. Columbus, on the threshold of her thirtieth birthday, clearly realizes the emptiness and worthlessness of high society life and, obeying an impulse, leaves London for the secluded castle of Navron on the coast of Cornwall. There she meets the elusive leader of the pirates, whom everyone calls simply the Frenchman, and with him - both her love and her own, albeit short-lived, happiness.

18. Jane Austen's Persuasion/Reason (1818)
The Elliot family, mired in debt, is forced to rent out their family estate. The tenant is Admiral Croft's family. Ann, who does not want to go to Bath with her family, leaves for a few months to stay with Mary, her younger sister, who lives just a few miles away. At this time, the brother-in-law, Captain Frederick Wentworth, comes to the admiral, with whom Ann was in love in her youth, and she refused to marry him, having listened to "reasons of reason". Eight years have passed, Frederick Wentworth has money and connections, and he becomes an enviable and profitable party. Everyone expects Frederick's imminent matchmaking with one of Ann's cousins, Louise. But he again gives his preference to Ann.

19. Kingsley Amis "Look for a mate" (1960)
Bored in a small position in the library, John Lewis is "bored" in the family. Makes itself known monotony family life and abstinence. So he would have gone into all serious trouble, and here also the position “fatter” looms, and his wife frivolously advises to charm the wife of the chairman of the library council.

20. George Eliot "Daniel Deronda" (1876)
Daniel Deronda - Foster-son Sir Hugh Mullinger - saves a Jewish girl who has arrived in England from suicide. Friendship develops between young people. Daniel tries to help Mira find her family. Deronda is secretly in love with Gwendolen and unexpectedly finds out about her upcoming marriage.

What did you read from this list? What did you think of it?