The 10 Best Novellas in the History of Mankind
by Gordon Haber
Video: “How do peasants die?” On the life and death of Tolstoy, literary giant and crank.
Actually this is not intended to be a definitive list and it’s in no particular order, save for number 1, which you should read (or-read) immediately. Seriously. Read it now. I don’t even care if you forget to finish my post. Well, maybe I do care because I give myself a plug at the end. But read the story anyway.
1. Death of Ivan Illyich, Leo Tolstoy
The best novella ever, if not the high point of world literature.
2. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
When reading “The Trial” to his buddy Max Brod, Kafka laughed his ass off. Really. Read “The Metamorphosis” again and think of Kafka laughing.
3. What Kind of Day Did You Have, Saul Bellow
Immensely rewarding and bristling with life. A portrait of an aging “intellectual captain” and his clumsy, appealing mistress.
4. Bartleby the Scrivener, Herman Melville
Weird, brilliant, prescient and also surprisingly funny.
5. Death in Venice, Thomas Mann
Sublime creepiness.
6. Animal Farm, George Orwell
Many people will disagree about this one because they associate it with high school. Read it again.
7. The Gambler, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Ah, Fedya. If only you always wrote this short.
8. Notes from the Underground, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
See #7.
9. Daisy Miller, Henry James
Ah, Henry. If only you always wrote this short.
10. War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells
Wonderfully imaginative and a great read.
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Also: Novellas I Should Read Again
The Dead, James Joyce
I read this so long ago that I can’t remember a thing about it.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold and No One Writes to the Colonel, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Simultaneously fascinating and frightening.
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
The first time I read this (in my lonely apartment in Warsaw) I thought it was genius. The second time I picked it up, I couldn’t get past page 8.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
This one made a strong impression on me in high school and I am curious if it holds up.
Billy Budd, Herman Melville
I should probably read “Moby Dick” again too, although I probably won’t.
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Also also: Honorable Mentions
The Aspern Papers (fun), The Turn of the Screw (impenetrable but some swear by it), Henry James
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway
Ludicrous dialogue: “I fear both the Tigers of Detroit and the Indians of Cleveland.” But a good story nevertheless.
Goodbye Columbus, Philip Roth
Dissecting the foibles and petty snobbery of suburban Jews. It pissed off almost everyone in my parents’ generation, so I was almost obliged to love it.
Seize the Day is a good one and so is Him With His Foot in His Mouth (actually the collection of that name is my favorite book), Saul Bellow.
I wouldn’t presume to tack my own novellas on to this list, but I have a compulsion to plug them whenever possible.
Did I miss anything? Send me an email and let me know.