Mikhail Lermontov
A Hero of Our Time: what to read next?
Books close in genre, era, author or reading level, to read in bilingual editions.
Stefan ZweigAmokAboard a liner home from Asia, a sleepless passenger approaches the narrator at night and asks him to keep a secret. A German doctor posted to a remote station in the Dutch East Indies, he tells of a European woman who came to demand an illegal operation. His refusal, dictated…Same genre
Oscar WildeThe Picture of Dorian GrayDorian Gray, a young man of exceptional beauty, sees his portrait age in his place while he keeps a flawless appearance. Influenced by Lord Henry, a cynical and provocative figure, he abandons himself to a life of boundless pleasure. But every act leaves a mark on his portrait,…Same genre
Stephen CraneThe Red Badge of CourageHenry Fleming, an inexperienced young soldier, goes to war with idealized notions of courage and glory. Confronted with the violence of combat, he doubts, flees, and struggles against his own fear. Gradually, he seeks to understand what it truly means to be brave. His inner…Same genre
Guy de MaupassantThe HorlaAlone in his Normandy house, a man keeps a journal of the disturbances that began when a Brazilian three-master sailed past. He sleeps badly, drinks from his carafe at night without remembering it, and becomes sure an invisible being lives beside him. His notes, methodical at…Same genre
Herman MelvilleMoby-DickIshmael, a sailor with no ties on land, signs on at Nantucket aboard the Pequod, a whaler under Captain Ahab. Maimed years earlier by a white sperm whale, Ahab has turned the hunt into an obsession to which he bends his whole crew. The ship works its way down the oceans,…Same genreSame era
Guy de MaupassantBoule de SuifDuring the war of 1870, ten travellers leave Rouen, occupied by the Prussians, in the same stagecoach: local notables, two nuns, a democrat and a prostitute nicknamed Boule de Suif. Held at an inn by a Prussian officer who sets his conditions, they discover what their…Same genre
Herman MelvilleBartleby, the ScrivenerA Wall Street lawyer hires a new copyist, Bartleby, silent and at first beyond reproach. Asked one day to do an ordinary task, the clerk answers that he would prefer not to, and repeats it to every later request. Settled in the office, demanding nothing and yielding nothing, he…Same genreSame era
Alexandre DumasThe Count of Monte CristoIn 1815 Edmond Dantès, a young first mate promised a command and a bride, is denounced on the day of his betrothal. Imprisoned without trial in the Château d'If, he meets the abbé Faria, who teaches him and tells of a hidden treasure. Under the name of the Count of Monte…Same genreSame era
Jules VerneTwenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeasIn 1866 an unexplained sea monster alarms the navies of the world; in July 1867 Professor Aronnax sails to hunt it down. A collision with the monster throws him overboard along with a Canadian harpooner, and his servant jumps in after him: all three are taken aboard the…Same genreSame era
Fyodor DostoevskyThe Brothers KaramazovFyodor Karamazov, a debauched father, is set against his eldest son Dmitri over an inheritance and the same woman. Around them Ivan, tormented by the problem of evil, and Alyosha, a novice at the monastery, take opposite paths, while the servant Smerdyakov looks on. When the…Same countrySame genre
Sabahattin AliMadonna in a Fur CoatAn unremarkable clerk, hired out of pity by a firm in Ankara, shares an office with Raif Efendi, a translator nobody knows anything about. When this man, old before his time, falls ill, he asks the young clerk to burn a black notebook, then lets him read it for one night. It…Same genre
Virginia WoolfMrs DallowayClarissa Dalloway, a woman of London high society, prepares a party while revisiting her memories and life choices. Over the course of the day, her thoughts intertwine with those of other characters, including Septimus, a former soldier scarred by the war. Their parallel yet…Same genre