# 48: Aphra Behn, Oroonoko, or the Royal Slave
Aphra Behn’s personal background makes her an intriguing figure—especially considering how limiting a woman’s role was in the society. Behn’s protagonist Oroonoko, an African prince, falls in love with the beautiful Imoinda and eventual downfall to being sold into slavery. Some of the elements that are remarkable to me are the elements of proto-racism that are apparent throughout. One that springs to mind is Oroonoko’s description—Behn seems to purposefully emphasize how European looking her protagonist’s facial features are. This description seems to be intended to help make Oroonoko more appealing to her audience—to show his nobility, to make his story of tragic downfall have a bigger impact, which leaves her contemporaries’ perceptions of race open to speculation. 
# 47: Evelyn Waugh, A Handful of Dust
From a recommendation selling point of view, I think that if you like Downton Abbey, you would enjoy this book. In A Handful of Dust, Waugh deals with a myriad of complex issues—both cultural and personal. On the home front we are presented with a seemingly perfect family—Tony and Brenta Last—that starts to crumble apart in front of our eyes. In a larger sense, however, the novel deals with inheritance issues (big house, no money to keep it going), infidelity, characters obsessed with their own personal gain, England at the cusp of colonialism, and the breakdown of aristocracy. Some of my favorite elements in this novel deal with the very thing that makes up the English character (at least to me)—a husband that pretends to have an affair in order to help his wife safe face and conceal her own affair. At the same time, there are the kinds of characters that represent an almost exactly opposite of that, characters that are willing to do anything and everything to find their next meal without having to pay for it. This is change at its best; at its most destructive. The social mores and rules no longer apply. The old must yield to the new. The changes coming to the main characters, both on the microcosmic and macrocosmic lead to an ultimate destruction, both of character, of reputation, of personhood, and of aristocratic possession.
#46: Aesop, Fables
I’ve been reading Aesop’s Fables for as long as I can remember. His writing lends itself easily into reading appropriate for children, which is how I first came across it. The stories themselves are numerous, mostly short, and focusing on some type of a morality lesson. The animals in Aesop’s world are without fail capable of speech and the experiences they go through are intended to teach the readers lessons about morality, charity, generosity, moderation, kindness, to name a few. 
#45: Alan Moore and David Gibbons, The Watchmen
Before I even continue typing up my little review for this one, a confession is in order. The only other graphic novel I have ever read is Satrapi’sPersepolis. I have heard of the wonders of graphic novel classics many times over, but since I pride myself on my faster than average reading speed and thorough comprehension of the reading material, getting used to the format of graphic novels is somewhat of a daunting task. Even after finishingThe Watchmen, I am not confident in my graphic novel reading abilities.
My reluctance to get through the unfamiliar format was coupled with my general conviction that in order for superheroes of any kind to exist, some cliched words regarding the inefficiency and general uselessness of police forces have to be uttered. Then there is the other cliche of a post-apocalyptic world, wherein chaos rules and the general public needs rescuing.The Watchmen, while guilty of the aforementioned cliches, does not dwell on them extensively.
Enter our affable group of superheroes.They range from the super powerful to the super intelligent and the super insane. Besides finding favorites in this group and admiring their qualities, I enjoyed the narrative construction of the novel. Moore’s non-linear narrative allows the readers to go back and forth in the storyline, to follow the unfolding events while learning of the origins and past activities of the protagonists.
Overall, the dynamic pace of the story made me I enjoy it more than I thought I would.
#44: Edith Wharton,Ethan Frome
Ethan Fromeis not what Edith Wharton is famous for. There are other works for that. However,Ethan Fromeis a perfect example of Wharton’s skillful examination of human emotions and feelings. The characters in this novel do not merely experience emotions; they become obsessed with these emotions, their lives reduced to being shrouded by feelings and their lives rendered inescapable from them.
Ethan Frome, the protagonist of this novella, has married a woman, Zenobia, out of obligation and convenience. When Zeena’s cousin Mattie comes to visit the couple and care for Zeena, Ethan gets a glance of what his life could be like if he had married for love. Eventually, circumstances put the three into a stifling threesome, not giving any one of them a way to escape no matter how hard they try.
# 43: Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence 
Before discussing the novel itself, I am compelled to discuss my favorite details from Wharton’s personal life. Some of these details include the fact that Wharton’s first published book, unlike the rest of her work that made her famous, was a book on home decorating. Ever heard of the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses?” Wharton was born Edith Newbold Jones and her family was the “Joneses.”
Wharton’s background, coupled with  her tremendous talent of prose, has yielded the many works that are impeccably composed. Arguably, the novels achieve more when taken in the context of preserving the social history of her time. Besides narrating about the love triangle between Newland Archer, May Welland, and Countess Ellen Olenska, The Age of Innocence  gives us a glimpse into the rules and codes of conduct, the exclusivity of which would have prevented many of Wharton’s contemporaries from gaining entrance. As such, The Age of Innocence goes beyond its role of narrating about the lives its protagonists, and serves as chronicler of history. 
#42: Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
The short description of this novel would be “It’s about enlightenment” and that description would be quite apt in many ways. Siddhartha, the son of a successful Brahmin, is expected to continue in his father’s footsteps, but decides to pursue his own path towards enlightenment when he realizes that his father has nothing else to teach him. When a wandering group of Samanas passes through town, Siddhartha decides to join the group, along with his friend Govinda, against his father’s wishes. What follows is a long journey through life’s various positions and stations; Siddhartha goes from leading an incredibly lavish lifestyle to giving away all of his possessions and belongings. The various experiences that Siddhartha goes through finally get him to the place of enlightenment that he so sought from the beginning, driving across the final point that there is really no one way to achieve enlightenment. 
#41: John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men
Whenever asked about my favorite books, Steinbeck always makes his way into my mental lists. Naturally, I have started rationing out his books because there is only so much we have. If you’ve read other works by Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men will be comfortably familiar. Like Pastures of Heaven, its descriptive language is unparalleled. The storyline itself is incredibly simple yet complex. We meet the protagonists right away—the giant and childlike Lennie and his pal George. We soon learn that Lennie is mentally disabled and George has taken Lennie under his wing after making a promise to take care of him to Lennie’s Aunt Clara. Lennie loves holding soft things, like mice and rabbits, and requires a small rotation of “soft things” because he does not fully comprehend his own physical capacities and strength. 
Lennie and George have a common dream, which is soon shared by another ranch hand, Candy. The road to happiness for these men involves a small piece of land, where they will be able to harvest their own vegetables, instead of working for other ranchers. A few animals. Lennie wants rabbits. He is craving the companionship and the responsibility of taking care of rabbits. During his darker times, George complains about not being able to settle down in one place; about Lennie getting him in trouble. This is a cruel world. It has little regard for Lennie’s disabilities. It has little regard for anyone’s disabilities. 
#40: J.D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey
Franny and Zooey, consisting of a short story and a novella, revolves around the two youngest children of the Glass family, various members of which also appear in Salinger’s Nine Stories, Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters, and Seymour: An Introduction. The intricacies of Franny’s emotional breakdown are well documented in the first section of Franny and Zooey; the latter section relays the Glass family’s reactions to Franny’s quiet pain unravelling on the family couch. As readers, we bear witness to Mama Glass’s attempts to alternatively feed her chicken broth and get one of her other children to help the youngest. Zooey, the main recipient of Mama Glass’s protests, complaints, and guilt tripping, makes every attempt to fix the situation through dialogue, which often turn into diatribes, causing Franny more emotional pain. One of the most interesting concepts that Salinger introduces in the work is Zooey’s argument that their (Franny’s and Zooey’s) problems in the world stem from the special education that the two received from the eldest 2 siblings—Seymour and Buddy. Zooey believes that their incredible intelligence, specially cultivated by their brothers, has permanently disabled the both himself and Franny from experiencing joy or happiness. 
# 39: Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has been crossing my to-read piles for as long as I can remember; yet, I don’t know why it took me so long to finally get around to it. In short, this novel is amazing. Even as I was reading it, I could tell that it would be added to my mental list of “favorite books ever.”
Set in the dystopian world of Gilead, a totalitarian society that has replaced what was formerly the United States, The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of a woman, who has been assigned the role of a handmaid after the social restructuring of Gilead. In Gilead, handmaids are assigned to the families of high-ranking officials and are tasked with helping bring a child into the world. Our narrator, Offred (named after the Commander whose family she serves) finds herself in curious circumstances, with her Commander and his wife breaking to break the rules for her. Overall, an excellent read.