10 brilliant novels about the meaning of life

1. Hermann Hesse - "The Glass Bead Game»

Before you - a book, without which the whole culture of postmodernism in Europe - in literature, cinema, theater. What is it - a brilliant avant-garde novel, stylized surrealism, philosophy, or a brilliant philosophical essay, stylized surreal novel? Perhaps now it is not important. The important thing - coming years and decades, and exquisite, painful and esoteric "The Glass Bead Game" is still no end. For this is the game that is played ...

2. Richard Bach - "Illusions»

"The fact that you now hold this book in your hands - not just a coincidence; maybe in all of these adventures there is something about what you can remember yourself. "
A certain driver who makes a living by flying a plane, meets "colleague". Between them, friendships, and soon the pilot learns that his new friend Shimoda is not a simple person ... It turns out that "work miracles" is not difficult - it is able to any person unless and want to believe that. For many, the book will be truly a guiding light to the world the knowledge of themselves and their capabilities. After all, the gift of flying everyone has.

3. Kurt Vonnegut - "Sirens of Titan»

The famous novel "The Sirens of Titan" - a classic example of the alloy fiction and tragicomedy.
If your world is not free by definition ... If your life obeys mathematical calculations ... if the humiliation was the norm, and human bones crunching under the wheels of the state machine is simply no one hears because of his routine ... And what is this "if"? Dystopia - or "prosperous society"? Everyone decides for himself, he is a slave - or a free man

! 4. William Golding - "Spire»

The novel "The Spire" by William Golding is, according to many critics, the culmination of his work both in terms of ideological content and artistic creativity. In this novel, which takes place in the English city of the XIV century, reality and myth intertwine even stronger than in the "Lord of the Flies." The "Spire" Golding, Nobel Laureate, during the life of a recognized classic of English literature, reiterates its call to the essence of human nature and the problem of evil.

5. Erlend Lu - «Doppler»

Roman master of modern Norwegian writer, author of "naive. Super "and other best-selling, favorite Russian reader.
Mr Doppler goes to live in the forest. It kills saber elk and supermarket barter its meat skimmed milk and raises its calf. He struggles with the poisonous arrows of children's pop culture, he carved out his own totem pole and resists attempts to teach him a visiting daughter Elvish ...

6. Salman Rushdie - "The earth beneath her feet»

In a complex, multifaceted novel by Salman Rushdie "Earth under her feet" (1999), for the first time translated into Russian, intertwined, implicated in the Hindu and Greek mythology, a few important for the author of the book topics: human fault to earth, with which he does all what he wants; "Bombay" theme developed in the novel "Midnight's Children" (1981) and "Shalimar the Clown" (2005); the theme of doubles and «alter ego»; reflections of the glory, contemporary music, life and death, and contacts with the other world.
The novel's characters, a boy and a girl in love with each other and rock music, are sent from India, first in Britain and then the United States, which have become extremely popular. But one day, the heroine of the book literally absorbs the earth, and the young man becomes Orpheus traveling to metaphysical journey for his Eurydice.

7. Somerset Maugham - "Six stories written from the first person»

Graceful, witty stories-anecdotes.
Heroes - the inhabitants of the high society of London "cheerful twenties", with all their strengths and weaknesses, small and large cranky whims
. Fashion and beauty salon hostess, literary lions and lionesses, Man About Town, "noble gentleman" - characters list goes on. However, each of them with pleasure Maugham takes off the mask of respectability external, and does it with his usual angry and well-aimed humor.

8. Maxim Gorky - "Foma Gordeyev»

His novel "Foma Gordeyev" No wonder Gorky devoted APChehovu.
In the center of the panorama of the late XIX century Russian province, according to the author, "an energetic healthy person seeking business in force, seeking spaciousness of its energy. He closely. Life presses him, he sees that there are no heroes in space, they dump down the little things like Hercules, winning the hydra, have fallen from the cloud of mosquitoes down. "
As entrepreneurs era "Cherry Orchard" Foma Gordeyev relates to new Russian. But Gordeeva, unlike fellow merchants, uncompromising search for the meaning of life push to the exit beyond the "business application" on a fatal space.

9. Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt - "Oscar and the Pink Lady»

Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt - a world celebrity, he is recognized as the most-read and played on the stage of the French author. It is trendy, brilliant and at the same time a profound writer, which concern fundamental questions of morality and the meaning of life, the theme of death and religion.
In each of the books included in his plan to "Cycle Unseen" - "Oscar and the Lady in Pink," "Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran" and "Children of Noah" - reveals the theme of man's relationship to one of the world religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism. Critics and audiences agree that before us the rare case when no reader can not remain indifferent.

10. Richard Yates - "Crying young hearts»

For the first time in Russian - the biggest, most mature novel American classic by Richard Yates, sophisticated stylist whose sophistication evident in the unique simplicity of the narrative, "one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century» (Sunday Telegraph), the author of "Lovers Liars" and "Easter Parade" "Cold harbor", "Breath of fate" and the celebrated "Revolutionary Road" - the novel, which served as the basis for the recently thundered Sam Mendes movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the lead roles (for the first time together after "Titanic"!). Under the pen Yeats heroes "Crying young hearts" - the poet Michael Davenport and his aristocratic wife, Lucy, heiress of a large fortune, which he fundamentally does not want to touch it, relying on his talent - live more than a dozen years, together and separately, consumed with passion that each to the other, to new people, but always - to the art ...