10 books you will have to puzzle over

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The answer to these works is not immediately revealed, but it pays for all the efforts spent.

1. "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco

A puzzle novel, an affair with a secret - these and other similar epithets come to mind after you finally finish reading a book and cover it all with your mind's eye. The medieval version of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, which began with a simple, albeit eerie, intrigue that the protagonists investigate, gradually turns into a truly magnificent hoax with elements of philosophy, theology and a twisted thriller.

The novel, debut for Umberto Eco, professor at the University of Bologna, was published in 1980. The author managed to convey in words the atmosphere of the Middle Ages in an amazingly realistic way. You, like other readers, will not let go of the feeling of the reality of what is happening in the book.

2. "Ulysses", James Joyce

The novel by the Irish writer James Joyce is rightly called by critics the pinnacle of modernist literature. The author describes a day in the life of Leopold Bloom, an ordinary city dweller, in the bustling Dublin. However, the author managed to fit into the narrative a huge number of philosophical, historical, literary and cultural allusions.

The composition of the novel has a clear analogy with Homer's Odyssey. If you look closely, you can find many similar characters surrounded by the protagonist Ulysses (the Latin form of the name Odysseus): Telemachus, Penelope and others. One time may not be enough to fully understand everything, but the result is worth reading again.

3. "The Classics Game" by Julio Cortazar

What the Argentine writer Julio Cortazar wrote would later be called a shining example of an anti-novel. The book has an extraordinary structure, the author himself offers at least two reading schemes. They are indicated in the text. The plot revolves around the reflections of the protagonist Horacio Oliveira about the meaning of his life and his relationship with others.

The novel will become an excellent warm-up for the intellect due to the complete immersion in the world of the heroes' thoughts, brightly and clearly written out by the author.

4. The Magus, John Fowles

The plot of the novel is seemingly simple: the main character, a poet and a typical representative of the English intelligentsia, flees from love and relationships to a distant Greek island. There he realizes his poetic mediocrity, but his acquaintance with Maurice Conchis, the owner of a luxurious villa, saves him from committing suicide. It is there that the events that determined the ending of the novel take place.

The book, called by critics baroque, has quite visible analogies with the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus, who descended into the kingdom of the dead for his beloved Eurydice. Fowles himself called his brainchild "a ragout about the essence of human existence" and believed that in the words he wrote there was no more meaning than in Rorschach spots.

5. "Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann

The philosophical novel of the German writer tells about urgent problems in the life of pre-war European society. The plot focuses on the lives of patients at a tuberculosis sanatorium high in the Alps. Despite a serious illness and the proximity of death, people there behave as if nothing had happened: they argue, make friends, love and lead an idle life, not thinking about the future.

In the novel, Thomas Mann examines from all sides the urge of people to evade responsibility in any way, to shift it onto others' shoulders and continue to indulge in carefree hedonism. We can say that the book has not lost a single drop of relevance over the past years.

6. "House of Leaves", Mark Danilevsky

This is the most famous work of the American writer, in which he freely experiments with everything: genres, forms, styles and narrative. In the center of the plot is the story of a blind old man, the author of a manuscript about an amateur film. His assistant, a young guy, is in charge of transcribing and publishing the manuscript. The papers deal with the terrible events that took place in the house of one family.

The texts of the two main characters (the first - the old man about the film, the second - the young assistant about the manuscript) are interspersed, but exist in parallel. This whole story is dizzy to such an extent that, after reading the last page and closing the book, you will not be able to resist many hours of meditation on the novel.

7. "Khazar Dictionary", Milorad Pavich

The first novel by the Serbian writer became a model of modern mythology. There is no plot in the usual sense of the word in the book. The dictionary consists of three parts - collections of stories about the characters that are mentioned in the novel. The first part, the Red Book, cites Christian sources about the Khazar people; the second, the Green Book, is Islamic; and the third, the Yellow Book, is Jewish. You can read in any order.

The main theme of the novel is the disputes of the Khazars (ancient Turkic people) about the choice of religion. Such an event did take place in the 8th – 9th centuries AD. As for the characters, they are completely fictional, but some analogies are begging for. The author himself believed that the plot idea of the novel about the Khazars could be applied to any small people.

8. "Shadow of the Wind", Carlos Ruiz Safon

Together with the main characters, you will plunge into the intricate, almost mystical world of Barcelona. Meetings with dangerous strangers, beautiful ladies and many, many secrets await you. As soon as you find the answer to one question and solve one puzzle, ten more, more complex and intricate ones, will appear in its place. Numerous enthusiastic reviews from readers confirm that it is impossible to tear yourself away from the book.

9. "The Woman in the Sands" by Kobo Abe

An amateur naturalist in search of rare butterflies finds himself in a strange village, where he meets a woman who is forced to clear her dwelling from the sand pouring from above every day. There is no way to get out, there is sand all around, it tightens, and the main character sinks deeper and deeper. For 46 days a man languishes as a prisoner in the house of an unusual woman. An attempt to escape did not lead to anything - the main character again found himself in that strange village inhabited by strange people. When he is given the opportunity to leave the tormentors, the man is in no hurry.

The novel by the Japanese writer evokes a lot of emotions - from indignation to indignation, but in the end it will make you think about a lot and, perhaps, even rethink your current existence and attitude to many things.

10. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

The British writer is knocking readers down with his third novel. There are several plot lines that, at first glance, are not connected by anything. Only at the end of the narrative comes the understanding that they are close to each other. Natives, adventurers and loving natures, hired killers and greedy corporations, retired writers, gangsters and people from the future are all different incarnations of the same soul.

This is an atlas of human nature with its thirst for the hunt and life itself. And this passionate relationship to being is the main strength of this amazing puzzle book.