In search of some books... (like the count of monte cristo)

[Virtua]

Hi, new here and was wondering if I could get some advice on which books to search for.

I am currently nearing the end of the count of monte cristo, and it is one of the most amazing books I have ever read to the extent that if someone were to claim "for one to die without reading this book is one of earth's greatest crimes", and I would merely reply "I must contradict you, for I can not imagine a heaven that does not have this book amidst it's libraries".

And so, I'm in search of books written (or at the very least, based) around the same time (or earlier, i have nothing but contempt for the modern world where schools seek to crush creativity as opposed to nurturing it)... I have searched for years for books that have such a pure grasp over the complexities of human emotion; revenge, love, hatred, forgiveness and an unfathomable contemplation of literature, and have found rare few, and would more than anything, appreciate any suggestions :)

(ones I've enjoyed would be; The tales of the Otori, The Power of One, Run Baby Run (first half only), and... I can count the only books that satisfied my imagination on my left hand with rare few passions asides from this to occupy me).

[Thatch]

I have searched for years for books that have such a pure grasp over the complexities of human emotion; revenge, love, hatred, forgiveness and an unfathomable contemplation of literature
War and Peace fits the profile nicely. It might fail on the revenge side as I don't remember anything like that in it (someone remind me if anything like revenge happened in War and Peace). But when it comes to human emotion it's filled to the brim!!! :)

[StayGolden]

...that if someone were to claim "for one to die without reading this book is one of earth's greatest crimes", and I would merely reply "I must contradict you, for I can not imagine a heaven that does not have this book amidst it's libraries".

:thumbs_up

As for your question, I'm afraid I can't help there. Sorry.

[PennKen2009]

how about Dumas' other things? Three Musketeers is full of revenge and love and all that emotion

[mtpspur]

And after Dumas try Rafael Sabatini (reads faster and doesn't detour off the main plot as much). Scaramouche would fill your revenge criteria though I enjoy Captain Blood more for around entertainment. Both authors write the best dialogue for their characters.

[playeru]

"I have searched for years for books that have such a pure grasp over the complexities of human emotion;"

When I read that I though Virginia Woolf.:yawnb: But I don't think that's what you're looking for. Hmmm...I don't know...Dostoevsky is pretty intense and has all you mention.

[PeterL]

i have nothing but contempt for the modern world where schools seek to crush creativity as opposed to nurturing it)...

Not as much as they did in before the Enlightenment.


I have searched for years for books that have such a pure grasp over the complexities of human emotion; revenge, love, hatred, forgiveness and an unfathomable contemplation of literature, and have found rare few, and would more than anything, appreciate any suggestions :)

(ones I've enjoyed would be; The tales of the Otori, The Power of One, Run Baby Run (first half only), and... I can count the only books that satisfied my imagination on my left hand with rare few passions asides from this to occupy me).

You might enjoy the Flashman books. They were ste in a later period, Victorian times, but they embody the essence of what it is to be human; and Fraser did a fine job at characterization and commenting on self-characteriaztion.

[aeroport]

Hi, new here and was wondering if I could get some advice on which books to search for.
Welcome. :)


I have searched for years for books that have such a pure grasp over the complexities of human emotion; revenge, love, hatred, forgiveness and an unfathomable contemplation of literature, and have found rare few, and would more than anything, appreciate any suggestions :)
Hamlet, Crime and Punishment, and probably most of Henry James's major works ("The Beast in the Jungle", "The Lesson of the Master" come to mind; Washington Square, The American, and The Portrait of a Lady if you want something a bit less "wordy").