If you have no time to read philosophical treatises in order to know life, read short stories, stories and novellas. They are also capable of changing consciousness.
Often you want to read something worthwhile, a book that will change your life and mind. But there is simply not enough time for the great works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. To this, any teacher of literature will say that the value is not in the number of pages. Many short books make more sense than the Meyer and L.L. James series. Here are 5 of the best short books that have become classics.
The planet of people. Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Is life a given or a gift? This is the question that these books make you think about. Among the stars, heavenly landscapes, mountains, seas and sands, the Planet of Humans is certainly one of the brightest luminaries in the Exupery universe. It is not for nothing that millions of readers, generation after generation, year after year, travel to the "Planet of People". The book includes several stories by the French writer, including lessons in fascinating geography, the history of the courage of the author's glorious comrades, as well as essays from the life of Exupery himself. The author perceives the plane as a "tool of knowledge" that helps him learn to "see with his heart."
Quotes from the book:
Working only for the sake of material wealth, we build our own prison. And we lock ourselves in loneliness, and all our riches are dust and ashes, they are powerless to provide us with something worth living for.
When in the garden, after a long search, they finally bring out a new rose, all the gardeners are excited. The rose is separated from others, vigilantly taken care of, cared for and cherished. But people grow up without a gardener. Little Mozart, like everyone else, will fall under the same monstrous press. And he will enjoy the vile music of low-grade taverns. Mozart is doomed.
Little Dorrit. Charles Dickens
If hope is gone, read Dickens. His characters have a harder life than any of us, but they still hope for the best. The plot is captivating and impressive. Dickens does not betray himself and his style in this novel either - drama convincingly and quite naturally coexists with humor and sarcasm. And the charm of the main character of the novel makes the reader empathize with her, and, together with Dorrit, wait for happy changes.
Quotes from the book:
Glossing was in full swing around, and not a single glimpse of lively, free thought spoiled the smoothly polished surface.
The Lord belonged to those greats of this world who do not need to be occupied with conversations, for they are always busy enough thinking about their own greatness.
I have the misfortune to be clever ...
The Catcher in the Rye. Jerome D. Salinger
A multi-generational handbook reminds us of what it's like to be a 16-year-old (18, 30, 45-year-old) rebel who finds it difficult to fit into the world - and this is the norm. And all because your head has not yet been filled with its dogmas by the system, and you are constantly asking questions that no one can answer. Not because the questions are stupid or difficult, but because no one ever even wants to think about them.
Quotes from the book:
- Does it happen to you that suddenly everything gets sick of it? - I ask. - You see, it happens to you that it seems to you that everything will fail to hell, if you don’t do something, are you scared?
But the best thing about the museum was that everything remained in place there ... Nothing changed. Only you yourself changed. And it's not like you get that much older right away. This is not the point. But you changed, that's all.
Necklace. Guy de Maupassant
The story is that people create problems for themselves - out of their own stupidity or following the ridiculous conventions of society. The main character married a petty official, but dreams of balls and social life. And suddenly she manages to get to one of the balls. But how to go there without jewelry - people will laugh at her. It is with this little stupidity to please society that the problems of her whole family begin. The ending of the novel is simply incredible.
Quotes from the book:
How changeable and capricious life is! How little is needed to save or destroy a person.
For women, there is neither caste nor breed - beauty, grace and charm replace them with birth rights and family privileges. Their characteristic tact, flexible mind and taste are the only hierarchy that equates the daughters of the people with the most noble ladies.
Outsider. Albert Camus
The debut story of the French writer conquered the world and became an example of existential prose. It is seen as Camus's creative manifesto on how to achieve absolute spiritual freedom. The existence of each person is presented as a series of accidents that do not at all depend on the will of the person himself, even if he is trying to change something.
Camus himself was once asked to express the idea of the story. He, in his characteristic paradoxical manner, which will not be understood by those who have not read the story, replied: "In our society, anyone who does not cry at a funeral risks being sentenced to death."
Quotes from the book:
Everyone knows what misery is. You are defenseless in front of him.
So, I was considered reasonable. But I could not understand why what is considered a virtue in an ordinary person turns out to be crushing evidence against the accused.