Books like

Books like Great Short Works of Herman Melville

12 books with a reading profile close to Great Short Works of Herman Melville by Herman Melville. Deep, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a demanding read.

1

The Tempest

by William Shakespeare

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

Prospero, the usurped Duke of Milan, lives in exile on a remote island with his daughter, Miranda.
2

Plays (37)

by William Shakespeare

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

This collection compiles the complete dramatic output of William Shakespeare as cataloged in high-eighteenth-century editions, containing thirty-seven distinct scripts categorized into comedies, histories, and tragedies.
3

Memorial do Convento

by José Saramago

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

In early eighteenth-century Portugal, King João V promises to build a convent in Mafra if his wife, Queen Maria Ana, gives him an heir.
4

Light in August

by William Faulkner

Also deep and open-ended · dense, literary

Set in 1930s Mississippi, the narrative follows three central figures: Lena Grove, a pregnant woman traveling barefoot from Alabama to find her child's father; Gail Hightower, a disgraced minister living in isolation; a…
5

Civakacintamani

by Tiruttakkatevar

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

This ninth-century Tamil epic follows the life of Civakan, a prince born in a cremation ground after his father’s kingdom is stolen by the treacherous minister Kattiyankaran.
6

Obras completas

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Also deep and thought-provoking · dense, literary

This 1841 collection compiles the literary output of Miguel de Cervantes, centering on the adventures of Alonso Quijano, a country gentleman who adopts the persona of Don Quixote.
7

Daniel Deronda

by George Eliot

Also deep and thought-provoking · dense, literary

George Eliot’s final novel follows two primary paths that eventually merge through the encounter of Gwendolen Harleth and Daniel Deronda.
8

Lord Jim

by Joseph Conrad

Also deep and open-ended · dense, literary

Jim, a young First Mate on the steamer Patna, abandons his ship and hundreds of sleeping pilgrims after a collision.
9

The Raven and Other Poems

by Edgar Allan Poe

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

This collection centers on the psychological collapse triggered by permanent loss and the finality of death.
10

Another Country

by James Baldwin

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

Set in mid-century Greenwich Village and Harlem, the narrative begins with the suicide of Rufus Scott, a Black jazz percussionist broken by poverty and a volatile interracial relationship.
11

Sentimental Education

by Gustave Flaubert

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

Frédéric Moreau moves to mid-nineteenth-century Paris with vague ambitions of artistic and social success.
12

Dubliners

by James Joyce

Also deep and contemplative · dense, literary

James Joyce’s collection of fifteen short stories chronicles the daily lives of middle-class Irish citizens at the turn of the twentieth century.

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