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The Secret History
Donna Tartt Ā· 1992
<b><b><b><b>ONE OF <i>TIME MAGAZINE</i>'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME ⢠</b>INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER ⢠A contemporary literary classic and "a<b>n accomplished psychological thriller ... absolutely chilling" (<i>Village Voice</i>)</b>, f<b>rom the Pulitzer Prizeāwinning author of <i>The Goldfinch.<br><br></i></b></b></b>One of <i>The Atlantic</i>ās Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years</b><br><br>Under the influence of a charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at a New England college discover a way of thought and life a world away from their banal contemporaries. But their search for the transcendent leads them down a dangerous path, beyond human constructs of morality.<br><br><b>āA remarkably powerful novel [and] a ferociously well-paced entertainment . . . Forceful, cerebral, and impeccably controlled.ā ā<i>The New York Times</i></b>

Animal Farm
George Orwell Ā· 1996
<b>George Orwell's timeless and timely allegorical novelāa scathing satire on a downtrodden societyās blind march towards totalitarianism.<br><br>SOON TO BE A NETFLIX FILM!<br><br></b><i>āAll animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.ā</i><br><br>A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever pennedāa razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible. <br><br> When <i>Animal Farm</i> was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwellās masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.

Lie with Me
Philippe Besson Ā· 2020
āI remember the movement of his hips pressing against the pinball machine. This one sentence had me in its grip until the end. Two young men find each other, always fearing that life itself might be the villain standing in their way. A stunning and heart-gripping tale.ā āAndrĆ© Aciman, author of Call Me by Your Name<br/><br/>A New York Times Book Review Editorās Choice<br/><br/>The critically acclaimed, internationally beloved novel by Philippe Bessonāāthis yearās Call Me By Your Nameā (Vulture) with raves in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal,NPR, Vanity Fair, Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Outāabout an affair between two teenage boys in 1984 France, translated with subtle beauty and haunting lyricism by the iconic and internationally acclaimed actress and writer Molly Ringwald.<br/><br/>In this āsexy, pure, and radiant storyā (Out), Philippe chances upon a young man outside a hotel in Bordeaux who bears a striking resemblance to his first love. What follows is a look back at the relationship heās never forgotten, a hidden affair with a boy named Thomas during their last year of high school. Thomas is the son of a farmer; Philippe the son of a school principal. At school, they donāt acknowledge each other. But they steal time to meet in secret, carrying on a passionate, world-altering affair.<br/><br/>Despite the intensity of their attraction, from the beginning Thomas knows how it will end: āBecause you will leave and we will stay,ā he says. Philippe becomes a writer and travels the world, though as this ātender, sensuous novelā (The New York Times Book Review) shows, he never lets go of the relationship that shaped him, and every story heās ever told.<br/><br/>āBeautifully translated by Ringwaldā (NPR), this is āPhilippe Bessonās book of a lifetime...an elegiac tale of first, hidden loveā (The New Yorker).
stopped halfways

Yellowface
Kuang Rebecca F. Ā· 2024
Athena Liu is a literary darling and June Hayward is literally nobody.<br/><br/>White lies<br/>When Athena dies in a freak accident, June steals her unpublished manuscript and publishes it as her own under the ambiguous name Juniper Song.<br/><br/>Dark humour<br/>But as evidence threatens Juneās stolen success, she will discover exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.<br/><br/>Deadly consequencesā¦<br/>What happens next is entirely everyone elseās fault.<br/><br/>With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface grapples with questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation, as well as the terrifying alienation of social media. R.F. Kuangās novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara Ā· 2016
<b><i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER ⢠A stunning āportrait of the enduring grace of friendshipā (<i>NPR</i>) about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century.<br></b><br><b><b><b><b><b><b><b>NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST <b><b><b>ā¢</b></b></b></b> MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST <b>⢠<b><b><b><b><b> WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE</b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b><br><br><i>A Little Life</i> follows four college classmatesābroke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambitionāas they move to New York in search of fame and fortune. While their relationships, which are tinged by addiction, success, and pride, deepen over the decades, the men are held together by their devotion to the brilliant, enigmatic Jude, a man scarred by an unspeakable childhood trauma. A hymn to brotherly bonds and a masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Hanya Yanagiharaās stunning novel is about the families we are born into, and those that we make for ourselves.
finished

My Policeman
Bethan Roberts Ā· 2014
Inspired by the life of E.M. Forster and his relationship with his long-time companion Bob Buckingham and his wife, this is an exquisitely told, tragic tale of thwarted love<br/>It is in 1950s' Brighton that Marion first catches sight of Tom. He teaches her to swim in the shadow of the pier and Marion is smittenādetermined her love will be enough for them both. A few years later in Brighton Museum Patrick meets Tom. Patrick is besotted with Tom and opens his eyes to a glamorous, sophisticated new world. Tom is their policeman, and in this age it is safer for him to marry Marion. The two lovers must share him, until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed.
