What are some of the lesser-known must-read books that you would recommend?

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20 Answers

  1. George Gissing (Gissing). Martyrs of the Pen (New Grub Street).

    Maria Corelli. The tribulation of Satan.

    Mark Twain. The Mysterious Stranger (there are three versions of the manuscript, all translated into Russian).

    Mikhail Shevlyakov. Russian wits and their witticisms.

    The works of Pyotr Boborykin, the one who was highly regarded by Tolstoy.

    Books by Nikolai Grigoryevich Nikonov (Sverdlovsk). In our time, alas, his stories can be considered little-known.

  2. The novel “The Other Side” by the Austrian writer and artist Alfred Kubin. Unexpected, unlike anything else, and very tragic, even creepy. A novel by another 20th-century Austrian writer Hermann Broch, The Innocents. This book, in my opinion, is absolutely brilliant and provides one of the best analyses of human consciousness in the 20th century. These books aren't really that popular. You can also call it something else ))

  3. * “Rose of the World” by Daniil Andreev;

    * “Sacred Fire” by Bruce Sterling;

    * “Autumn in Beijing” by Boris Vian;

    * “Steel Bird” by Vasily Aksenov;

    * “The Diamond Age, or a Primer for Gentlewomen” by Neil Stevenson;

    * “The Mask” by Stanislav Lem;

    * “Counterpoint” by Aldous Huxley.

    I don't know how “must-read” they are, since this list consists of very different books, very different genres, and a fan of some narrow direction in literature is unlikely to like all of them, but at least one book, I think, anyone can pick up.

  4. The novel “The Star and the Cross”, Dmitry Likhanov was stunned by the revelation: “The darkness of the population is now much worse than in the enlightened nineteenth century. People are growing stupid fast before our eyes.”

  5. Of course, Dmitry Galkovsky's “Infinite Dead End”. The book is a hypertext-a branching system of notes – with reflections on what Russia is and what happened to us in the 20th century. It is a rare case when a book offers not just knowledge, but a whole system of coordinates, a kind of stereo points, with which you can completely differently assess what is happening to us now. Over time, it will definitely become a classic.

  6. Boris Raevsky “Duel with yourself”

    An amazing story about a boy, with the rare name of Julius, who could. He survived the siege of Leningrad, won the war. Now he wants to beat himself. Inspires you to achieve your goals. It is easy to read, because it was written for children.“Every victory begins with a victory over oneself.”

  7. “The road goes into the distance” by Brushtein. Quite a moralizing book, but without the cloying moralizing. I especially recommend it to schoolchildren. Although he read it for the first time as a father of the family.

  8. “Razor's Edge” by Yefremov. It was recommended to me by my TAU tutor, a smart guy who was a professor at voenmeh for a long time. The book is amazing-it has adventures, romance, and all sorts of clever interesting facts, and philosophical thoughts… In general, a very cool book, on my advice, 7 people read it and said thank you for the advice.

  9. Not everyone sees this author as a writer. For some, it may be quite well-known. Gerald Durrell. You can read everything from it. But I recommend the Bafut Hounds. Especially the scene of catching the rocky daman.

  10. I'll bet you a million that you won't read it, because it's “some kind of long”, “the words are incomprehensible” and “the author's last name is not fashionable, and nothing is clear from the title at all what the book is about”.

    But I will still write about it

    Chabua Amirejibi, �”Tutashkhia Date”

  11. Read The Tao of Physics and The Web of Life by Fridtjof Capra, books that can shake your worldview. I highly recommend it. The author's books incorporate knowledge from different areas of life, preaching a comprehensive, versatile approach to the subject of discussion. The books provide information on synergetics, quantum physics, philosophy, ecology, and much more.

  12. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. The book is a classic in the United States, but in Russia, unlike other books by the author (“About Mice and People”, for example) is almost unknown. The action seems to develop by analogy with the biblical story of Cain and Abel; the themes of immorality and love, guilt and forgiveness, and choice are raised. Even for me, a non-believer, the book made an indelible impression. In addition, Steinbeck forces the reader to plunge into the atmosphere of California in the early twentieth century, and this makes his book even more unforgettable. Read it, you won't regret it.

  13. Ruben David Gonzalez Golega's book “White on Black”. A book that won't make you look the same after reading it. It is as if you will see with your own eyes that there is a familiar world of inhabitants, and a world of people, for whom every day is only a struggle for survival. Their “parallel” world with us is narrow and unlit, their body is a prison forever, their means of survival is ingenuity, friendship and willpower, their fate is short, but their feelings and thirst to live and be loved are strong and like pressed into a diamond. Its edges are sometimes sharp and dangerous, and only a few in such houses have a happy chance to change their fate and be appreciated.

  14. I would recommend these books:
    Joe Meno “Turn it up”, Dmitry Deitch “Winter in Tel Aviv”, Irvine Welsh” Nightmares of the Marabou Stork”, Max Fry”Encyclopedia of Myths”.

  16. The book by Grigory Klimov “The Prince of this world”, there is something to think about.
    Oleg Volkov's book “Plunging into
    Darkness” is much more truthful than the previous one.
    Solzhenitsyn.

  17. The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
    A book by journalist Robert Caro about how New York was built. This is a book about urbanism, politics, and the will to power (on both counts, even slightly better than House of Cards*, written by a politician) and about the transformation of an idealist into a pragmatist and dictator, and about America and New York in particular at the beginning of the 20th century. Both Gordon Brown and Obama (“reading The Power Broker back when I was 22 years old and just being mesmerized, and I'm sure it helped to shape how I think about politics”) spoke respectfully about her, plus, of course, the Pulitzer Prize and a host of other awards. But it was not translated into Russian (this is a hefty volume), which is probably why it is little known. �

    *in the series, by the way, there is a reference to his book about Lyndon Johnson

  18. The Ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh,�

    Fear and Loathing of the 1972 Presidential Race by Hunter Thompson (here's a quick comment: the author is, of course, famous and sometimes fashionable, but the book is the opposite; I personally helped to better understand American politics from the inside and Americans in general)

  19. “Chemistry of love. A scientific view of love, sex, and attraction.” The book is written by Larry Young and Brian Alexander.

    I don't know how little-known it is, but it answered many of my questions. I advise everyone who is confused in themselves, like me.

  20. “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd

    “When God Was a Rabbit” by Sarah Winman

    “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy

    These are some of the best books that are not classic in their understanding, but at the same time raise many important topics in our society. In addition, they are written in excellent language.

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