Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
The overall verdict is: 
22/05/2011 19:37:19 - Reviewed by Sam Boren Reast - Categories: Pre 20th Century Classic,Fiction | | The author, Nikolai Gogol, wrote Dead Souls during a period of self-imposed exile from his native homeland, Russia. The novel, published in 1842, is a satirical criticism, appreciation of and commentary on life in the country its creator had left behind.
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The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The overall verdict is: 
20/05/2011 10:21:56 - Reviewed by MariaRodriguez - Categories: Genre | | The Bell Jar is a gripping novel written by Sylvia Plath in 1961. It is the only novel that Sylvia Plath wrote as she was mainly a poet. It is a book detailing events in the life of a girl called Esther Greenwood who has just finished her junior year of college. The Bell Jar is a sort of twisted coming of age story, in which the reader can experience first-hand how Esther, who is slowly going mad, sees the world. The novel is largely autobiographical, as Sylvia Plath, like Esther, got an intern...
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Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
The overall verdict is:
18/05/2011 20:10:45 - Reviewed by dghadimi - Categories: Genre,Travel,Fiction | | Gulliver’s Travels is an outstanding literary masterpiece from one of Ireland’s most celebrated authors, Jonathan Swift. Gulliver’s Travels is a novel narrating Gulliver’s travels to various locations. The genre of the novel can be classified as satire due to the political relevance regarding the situation in Ireland towards the end of the 17 th century. Gulliver’s Travels is divided into four large parts. In each section Gulliver travels to a different island and has completely different exper...
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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
The overall verdict is:
18/05/2011 11:33:55 - Reviewed by laura.laatikainen - Categories: Genre,Pre 20th Century Classic | | Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is without doubt one of the most famous and influential novels of English literature. As it was published in 1847, the story of Jane Eyre combines the situation of social classes at the time and a breathtaking love story. It has primarily been classified as a romantic novel.
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A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The overall verdict is:
17/05/2011 17:44:41 - Reviewed by JHaidoulis - Categories: Modern Classic,Science Fiction,Fiction | | A Clockwork Orange is one of the most famous and controversial British novels. Published in 1962 and written by Anthony Burgess in a time of social revolution and anti-war protests, it turns out to be a shocking novel whose main theme is psychology and paranoia about the world to come.
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A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The overall verdict is:
17/05/2011 17:25:48 - Reviewed by emclaughlin - Categories: Genre | | Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange is a book which plays about with the idea of, or lack of, free will and social discipline, order and propriety. The book was first published in 1962 and written about a future society, very different to the one we currently live in. It is very brutal in its description of pain, gore and rape, which is also shown in a disturbing manner in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 screen adaptation.
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Fiesta by Ernest Hemingway
The overall verdict is:
17/05/2011 11:38:44 - Reviewed by TheresaSouthwood - Categories: Genre,Modern Classic,Romance,Humour | | Fiesta is a novel written in 1926 by Ernest Hemingway who is one of the best known American modernists of the period. One of the main themes that is emphasized in the novel is that the post WW1 generation was a ’lost generation’.
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Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The overall verdict is:
20/04/2010 15:01:59 - Reviewed by Martin Monakhov - Categories: Modern Classic,War,Fiction | | Half of a Yellow Sun is a widely-acclaimed and best-selling novel written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of another best-selling novel called Purple Hibiscus . The title represents the foundation of Biafra , one of the main topics of the book, and was the symbol represented on the state’s flag. Half of a Yellow Sun is a moving story of the lives of characters who come from different social backgrounds, yet are united when war strikes. Set in Nigeria , the book perfectly describes the setti...
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The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
The overall verdict is:
20/04/2010 14:52:05 - Reviewed by TheresaSouthwood - Categories: Romance,Other,Fiction | | The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a philosophical, political novel and a love story written by Milan Kundera in 1984. The novel is about the lives of a man called Tomas and two women called Tereza and Sabina in the Prague Spring (a period of political liberation) during the Czechoslovak communist period and the Soviet Union ’s invasion in 1968.
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Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The overall verdict is:
20/04/2010 14:51:37 - Reviewed by Fraser Olender - Categories: Modern Classic,Fantasy,Travel,Fiction | | Life of Pi is a refreshing novel about modern society. All values and everything we take for granted is questioned. Written by Yann Martel in 2002, it was an instant success, sealing Martel’s literary reputation.
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The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The overall verdict is:
20/04/2010 14:48:36 - Reviewed by Martingelnner - Categories: Fantasy,Horror,Troubled times,Science Fiction,Friends/Family,Travel,Other,Fiction | | The Road , by Cormac McCarthy, is a fictional novel set in post-apocalyptic America, depicting the journey of a man and his young son towards the coast.
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When We Were Orphans by Kazou Ishiguro
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20/04/2010 14:47:20 - Reviewed by TaroKili - Categories: War,Action/Suspense,Troubled times,Crime/Mystery,Fiction | | When We Were Orphans is a novel by Kazou Ishiguro, author of Remains of the Day and winner of many prestigious literary prizes. It is a novel set alternately in London and Shanghai in the period between the First and Second World Wars. This is essentially a crime novel, told from the perspective of Christopher Banks, a successful detective.
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Under The Greenwood Tree by Thomas Hardy
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20/04/2010 14:44:51 - Reviewed by LornaWoollard - Categories: Modern Classic,Romance,Pre 20th Century Classic,Fiction | | This classic book is one of Thomas Hardy’s well-known novels. Based upon romance, this story provides much suspense throughout and keeps the reader captive with every page. The relevance of the greenwood tree is via the changes in season, implying change to the novel and its characters.
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The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
The overall verdict is:
20/04/2010 14:44:44 - Reviewed by Mara Galeano Cararro - Categories: Romance,Action/Suspense,Fiction | | The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a work of fiction by Mohsin Hamid. This is the story of a young man named Changez, as he narrates it to a complete stranger at a Lahore café. After inviting an American on business to his table Changez begins to tell him how he had embraced the West and how it had betrayed him. The whole novel is a descriptive narrative, only occasionally referring back to their present situation sitting in the café, to mention the atmosphere and images that surround them. Change...
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