# 32: Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
The tremendous popularity of The Little Prince does not come as a surprise to anyone that has read it. The narrator’s encounter with the Little Prince in the Saharan desert after his plane crashes sends him back into his own childhood. The narrator’s friendship with the Prince makes him realize that he has lost his own childhood sense of wonder and fascination with the mundane. I have always loved the way this novella forces its readers to yearn to discover their own inner children and examine their own lives to find the fruitless obsessions. I highly recommend this one; you will never look at stars the same way. 
# 31: Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go
This novel is difficult to review for fear of giving away its main premise. The narrator, Kathy H. begins her story by declaring that she has been a carer for eleven years, since she was 20. The reader soon realizes that she operates in a world full of carers and donors, and the protagonist is particularly good at her job as a carer. Soon we learn about Kathy’s close friends, Ruth and Tommy, as well as their upbringing in Hailsham, a seemingly regular British boarding school, where the teachers are called guardians and where students are encouraged to pursue their artistic abilities. Mysteries abound Hailsham, and the bonds that Kathy establishes during her schooling will be with her for the rest of her life. As Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy try to look for answers, they discover the truth; a particular fact that changes their lives forever yet prevents them from doing anything to change the outcome of things. This novel is technically a science fiction, and its exploration of what constitutes humanity is haunting and heartbreaking at the same time. Ishiguro’s writing style is very engaging—I greatly enjoyed this title and highly recommend it. 
 
#30: Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar 
Plath’s protagonist, Esther Greenwood, describes herself as being trapped under a bell jar, struggling to breathe. Her narrative begins with a unique opportunity to travel to New York and work for a prestigious magazine, but fails to feel excitement. Her outlook on life worsens when returns home at the commencement of her internship, and starts to evaluate her options. Esther’s conflicted feelings are partially due to the societal expectations of her. She recognizes the potential of marrying Buddy Willard, but is pushed by her mentors, such as Jay Cee and Philomena Guinea to seek something beyond a marriage and use her talents, but fails to figure out which path she would like to choose. Esther’s struggles are often evocative of Plath’s own, making this novel even more fascinating and heartbreaking. 
#29: Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
This is the story of Christopher John Francis Boone. Christopher is an Autistic 15 year old that finds comfort in Math, order, and familiarity. Christopher’s orderly life is disturbed when he finds the dead body of the neighbor’s dog, and decides that just like one of his heroes, Sherlock Holmes, he is going to investigate the murder and figure out who killed the dog. Christopher’s investigation reveals much more than he ever thought he would find out and forces him to have to deal with the breakdown of the order that he so craves. The book is sprinkled with Christopher’s idiosyncrasies, such as numbering the chapters of the book with prime numbers, or the occasional reflection on what he should and should not put in his book in order to make it interesting (descriptions: good. Long explanations of Math problems: bad), as well as phrases like “do sex,” which make the protagonist more endearing and believable. 
# 28: Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
This novel seems to progress on two levels—seemingly, it is a novel about the lives of the characters, and is most focused on the lives of Tereza and Tomas. The setting of the novel is Prague, 1968 and the political turmoil taking place, along with the relationship of the protagonists allows the author to speculate at length about the humankind, bring up philosophical conundrums and leave open ended questions that the reader struggles to find answers for. There seems to be an underlying theme of “What happens if people start doing whatever they want?”—a theme that the novel circles back to several times throughout its run. The characters of the novel are often unnecessarily cruel to each other, yet this cruelty is very believable, especially given the setting of the novel. Within the space of the novel Kundera also discusses love, sex, Communism, Beethoven, Nietzsche, and this combination makes the novel a bit of a challenge to get through, but leaves the reader very satisfied.  
# 26: Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” begins what is arguably Jane Austen’s masterpiece. Originally entitled First Impressions, Austen explores love, prejudice, class relations, gossip, morality and a number of issues through the various adventures of the Bennett sisters. Under the guidance of their mother the Bennett sisters are sent to navigate the upper-middle class and upper class British society, where everything is a game and the winners are rewarded with rich husbands and good fortunes. In the case of the Bennett family this is particularly important, as the family funds are not enough to finance the marriages and lives of all five sisters. This is a society where women cannot stand easily on their own and earn a good living, but Elizabeth Bennett is remarkable in managing to marry Darcy for whom she has a great deal of affection, but is also able to maintain her own independence and earn her husband’s appreciation and respect. I absolutely love this novel and highly recommend it. 
# 25: Kate Chopin, The AwakeningEven though this novel allowed Chopin to support her family, the novel is very much about a woman that struggles with her own artistic expression and freedom. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist of the novel, breaks through her traditional married life and discovers self-expression through art. She struggles to maintain her independence, and her desire to be able to live for herself and go against the societal conventions ultimately bring on her demise. The novel is set in Louisiana in the 19th century, and Chopin’s ability to create a society and help her readers enter the setting of this world is simply remarkable. 
# 24: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby 
I have a love-hate relationship with The Great Gatsby. I love the Modernists, and Fitzgerald is one of my favorites, but I hate that liking The Great Gatsby has become the “it” thing to do. I’ve met a lot of people who don’t usually spend a lot of time reading books (I’m related to someone like this. And I remember reading an interview with Lauren Conrad where she cited this as a favorite book) yet claim to be fans of this book. I understand that it has its appeal in terms of a glamorous society and times, but I think liking The Great Gatsby should be more contingent upon the greatness of the book itself, the greatness of the author (which would require reading at least another book by him), and not upon dressing up as a flapper for Halloween. But I digress.
One of the reasons behind my love for Fitzgerald is the fact that he manages to capture and record a moment in history and society. This novel, published in 1925, revolves around Americans living during the “roaring twenties,” a generation of people often characterized as “the lost generation.” The scars of World War I are still inherent within the society. What does this society, whose collective conscious still contains traces of the horror of modern warfare, do? Absolutely whatever they might wish. This is the society captured by The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald’s ability to capture this society is aided by his own cyclical self-destructive behavior. Meaningless affairs are the norm. Money becomes a determining factor in establishing relationships. But most importantly, consequences are rarely taken into account. Still, this is a great read. 
#23: Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre is not one of my favorites (mostly because it does not yield multiple fruitful readings), but it is definitely worth a read. At times frustrating and cruel, Jane Eyre narrates the life story of Jane, a poor orphan that often has no one but herself to rely on. She suffers through many injustices in life, but rarely ever gives up her hopes for a better future and eventually has her happy ending. Jane’s journey gives Bronte an opportunity to discuss lack of support system and class struggles.