Nikolai Gogol
The Overcoat · The Nose: what to read next?
Books close in genre, era, author or reading level, to read in bilingual editions.
Nikolai GogolDead SoulsChichikov arrives in a provincial town, charms everyone who matters, and calls on the landowners nearby. He offers them a peculiar bargain: to buy the serfs who have died since the last census but still stand on the registers and are taxed to their owners. From estate to estate…By the same authorSame genreSame era
Lewis CarrollAlice in WonderlandAlice, a curious young girl, follows a white rabbit and falls into a strange world where the rules of reality disappear. She meets absurd and unpredictable characters, each defying logic and common sense. As her adventures unfold, she must adapt to a constantly shifting…Same genreSame era
E. T. A. HoffmannThe Nutcracker and the Mouse KingOn Christmas Eve, little Marie finds among the presents a wooden nutcracker, which she takes under her protection when her brother Fritz breaks three of its teeth. Left alone in the parlour, she sees the toys come to life and do battle with an army of mice led by a seven-headed…Same genreSame era
Natsume SōsekiBotchanAn unloved younger son, blunt to the point of rudeness, a young man from Tokyo takes a post as a mathematics teacher in a small town on Shikoku. His pupils put him to the test from his very first weeks, in class and then during his first night on duty at the school, and the…Same genre
Machado de AssisThe AlienistBack from Europe, Dr. Simão Bacamarte settles in the small town of Itaguaí, in Brazil, and later founds an asylum there, the Green House, to study madness scientifically. His criteria widen week by week: first a respected citizen, then so many residents that the asylum ends up…Same genre
Lewis CarrollThrough the Looking GlassAlice steps through a mirror and discovers a reversed world where everything operates according to strange, bewildering rules. She meets enigmatic characters who draw her into a series of trials and absurd games. In this universe structured like a game of chess, every move has…Same genreSame era
Oscar WildeThe Importance of Being EarnestTwo young men of high society lie to escape their obligations. Jack, a serious guardian in the country, has invented a younger brother whose name he takes when he goes to London to enjoy himself; Algernon has invented a sick friend, Bunbury, whom he claims to visit whenever a…Same genre
Honoré de BalzacThe Wild Ass's SkinRuined and resolved to die, young Raphaël de Valentin walks into an antique shop, where the dealer gives him a wild ass's skin covered with signs. The talisman grants every wish of its owner, but it shrinks with each wish, and its master's life shrinks with it. Rich overnight,…Same genreSame era
George OrwellAnimal FarmThe animals of Manor Farm drive out their master and set about running the farm themselves, under the banner of equality. The pigs, quickest to learn, take charge of organising the work and writing the rules. Little by little, the rules change, the memories fade, and the new…Same genre
Oscar WildeThe Canterville GhostThe Otis family, American and practical, buys an English manor said to have been haunted for three centuries. The ghost of Sir Simon multiplies apparitions, chains and bloodstains, without drawing from the newcomers the terror he expects. Humiliated by tenants who scrub away…Same genre
Jane AustenEmmaEmma Woodhouse, young, rich and sure of her judgement, has made a pastime of arranging the marriages around her. Convinced she is working for the happiness of others, she guides a friend of no fortune and reads everyone's intentions in her own way. Her arrangements slowly turn…Same genreSame era
Alphonse DaudetLetters from My WindmillSettled in an abandoned windmill in Provence, the narrator sends his Parisian readers stories of the country and its people. Among them are Monsieur Seguin's goat, the priest of Cucugnan, Corsican lighthouse keepers and an old couple forgotten in their village. The pieces move…Same genreSame era