There are certain novels that just feel incredibly familiar. Giants of literature, they’ve spawned so many adaptations and permeated Western culture so deeply, we can’t help but be aware of them.
However, is it possible you’ve never actually got round to reading these bona fide classics? Maybe you thought you had (but actually hadn’t), or perhaps they’ve just forever been on your to-read list? Quarantine is a great opportunity to finally tick a few of these greats off.
Here are 10 novels you should absolutely read during lockdown, if you haven’t already…
1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina is another Tolstoy classic, and is arguably a better read. Anna, a bored high-society lady, has an affair with cavalry officer Count Vronsky. Meanwhile, Konstantin Levin, a country landowner pines after his love Kitty. Set in Imperial Russia in the 1870s, it’s a gripping story of love, betrayal and the burden of society’s expectations.
2. 1984 by George Orwell
Telling of a dystopian future where the world is ravaged by war, protagonist Winston Smith lives in a totalitarian state governed by Big Brother. Propaganda rules supreme and the Thought Police brutally squash independence of any kind. Winston works for the ruling Party and harbours feelings of rebellion, which grow when he falls in love with Julia.
3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
At the centre is bold, brilliant Jo, who doesn’t want to be tied down by a husband, and dreams of being a writer. Even though the novel is set during and after the American Civil War, the themes of family, love and striving for independence still ring true today.
4. Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
It’s a thrilling and disturbing look into the mental state of St Petersburg student Raskolnikov, before and after he decides to kill a pawnbroker for money. Beforehand, he tries to justify the murder to himself, and after, descends into a spiral of guilt, shame and disgust. If you don’t believe Russian literature written in the 1860s can be impossible to put down, let Crime And Punishment prove you wrong.
5. The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Instead, it’s a dark tale of obsession, desire and revenge. Heathcliff is adopted into a wealthy family but is soon reduced to the status of servant and runs away when Cathy marries someone else. Years later, he returns to wreak his revenge.
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. Middlemarch by George Eliot
It tracks Dorothea, a young woman who marries a stuffy reverend and realises it might not be the big romantic love she envisioned. There’s also the tense relationship between the young doctor Tertius and Rosamond, which is at complete odds with the pleasant romance between Rosamond’s brother Fred and Mary.
The subtitle of Middlemarch is A Study Of Provincial Life, and that’s exactly what it is: a nuanced look at personal relationships, love and marriage in a time of political upheaval.
9. The Picture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Wilde grippingly considers whether beauty should be valued above all else. This is his only novel – he was seemingly more comfortable with plays – but it’s some of his most arresting writing.
10. One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
As well as a diving into interpersonal relationships in a unique and memorable way, One Hundred Years Of Solitude is an accidental lesson in the history of Colombia, many aspects of which – like colonialism – Marquez is hyper critical.
