Books like Sylvie and Bruno
12 books with a reading profile close to Sylvie and Bruno by Lewis Carroll. Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
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1
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, fantasy
Angela Carter’s 1979 collection reimagines traditional European folk tales, such as Bluebeard, Little Red Riding Hood, and Puss-in-Boots, through a sensory and gothic lens.
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2
The Master and Margarita
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, fantasy
The devil, naming himself Professor Woland, arrives in 1930s Moscow accompanied by a talking black cat and a violent retinue.
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3
Clevinger's trial (from 'Catch-22')
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, experimental
Joseph Heller’s standalone play, Clevinger’s Trial, adapts the eighth chapter of his novel Catch-22 into a rhythmic, one-act script.
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4
Amerika
by Franz Kafka
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, experimental
Karl Rossmann is a teenager banished by his parents to America after a scandal with a maid.
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5
Orlando
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, experimental
The narrative follows Orlando, a young Elizabethan nobleman who begins as a favorite of the court and lives for over three centuries without aging significantly.
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6
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, experimental
The poem recounts a sailor’s harrowing sea voyage that spirals into disaster after he shoots an albatross without provocation.
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7
Ojos de perro azul
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, experimental
This collection of short stories documents the early development of Gabriel García Márquez’s narrative style before his shift into Macondo.
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8
Winter's Tale
by Mark Helprin
Also deep · fantasy, experimental
Mark Helprin's novel is set in a mythic New York, where Peter Lake, an orphan raised by tugboat workers, becomes a master burglar.
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9
Howl and Other Poems
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, experimental
Published in 1956, this collection centers on the title poem, a frantic catalog of mid-century American struggle.
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10
My Name Is Red
by Orhan Pamuk
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, experimental
Set in 1591 Istanbul, the narrative centers on a clandestine royal commission to create a book celebrating the Sultan’s reign using European perspective and shading.
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11
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
by John Fowles
Also deep and open-ended · classic literature, experimental
Set in the 1860s in the coastal town of Lyme Regis, the narrative follows Charles Smithson, a gentleman naturalist engaged to the wealthy Ernestina Freeman.
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12
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Also deep · classic literature, fantasy
At a New Year’s feast in Camelot, a giant green stranger interrupts the festivities to challenge King Arthur’s knights to a lethal exchange of blows.
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