11 offbeat books about big true love worth reading

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

These are not just romance novels, they are true classics. Stories of desperate passion and pure platonic relationships. There are books with a happy ending in the style of "and they lived happily ever after." There are truly tragic stories in which love brings only sorrows, hardships and trials to the heroes. Eternal stories about the most important feeling between a man and a woman. Many of the works presented in the selection were filmed and became films "of all time".

#1. Boris Pasternak "Doctor Zhivago" (1957)

An incredibly complex novel by Pasternak, filled with symbolism and written in such a rich and complex language. Many researchers of the writer's work believe that this is an autobiographical work. Despite the fact that both the events and the characters have very little to do with the author's life, the book can be called a "spiritual biography."

The red line in the book is the theme of reflections on the future of the country and the fate of the generation to which the author belonged. The described historical events become an important part of the fate of two lovers. Their life paths sometimes intersect, then diverge, as if forever. The heartbreaking love story of the two main characters does not end with a happy ending, but demonstrates feelings of immense depth, over which time has no power.

The war separates the lovers and the main character, seized by despair from separation from his beloved, writes the following lines:

Doctor Zhivago won the Nobel Prize. The book is simply a must-read.

# 2. Theodore Dreiser "Jenny Gerhardt" (1911)

Many critics call this book "the best American novel you've ever read." This is a sad love story of the main character Jenny from a poor family and the rich man Lester Kane. It also touches upon the topic of society's attitude to the love affair of people from different classes.

# 3. Leo Tolstoy "Anna Karenina" (1877)

No collection of books about love simply can do without this novel! "Anna Karenina" is included in the school curriculum and this is a book that we all know, and many have even read. This is an amazing novel about great love. Only an example of true pure love is shown by no means in the passionate relationship between Karenina and Vronsky, but in the family of Kitty and Levin. The deep feelings of these particular heroes, two true halves, become an example of the ideal connection of a man and a woman. And yes, there are many literary masterpieces included in the school curriculum.

#4. Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence (1920)

The incredibly poignant love story described in this novel by the author made her the first woman to receive a Pulitzer Prize. The book tells about the lawyer Newland Archer. The hero, right on the eve of his wedding, falls in love with his bride's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenskaya. This makes the woman the center for all kinds of attacks and dirty gossip. The novel shook the foundations of New York's high society at the time. On the basis of the book, Martin Scorsese directed the movie of the same name.

#5. Alexander Kuprin "Garnet Bracelet" (1910)

The novel was written by Kuprin based on real events. A sad story filled with sad poetry. The book tells about the hero's unrequited love for a married lady, which in the end leads him to commit suicide.

# 6. Françoise Sagan "Hello, sadness!" (1954)

This book became the writing debut of a young Frenchwoman and created a real sensation in society at that time. A serious and sad story about how the main character destroys the relationship between her father and his beloved woman. The girl does this out of selfishness and banal boredom. Deep love ends up in nothing.

# 7. Boris Vian "Foam of the Days" (1946)

Critics of the author traditionally attribute him to the post-war French avant-garde, and his style is defined as intellectual kitsch. "Foam of days" is just that rare case when intellectual prose is also funny. Boris Vian himself described this rather trivial love story as: "A man falls in love with a woman, and she falls ill and dies." Nevertheless, this is one of the most heartfelt love novels.

#eight. Stefan Zweig's Letter from a Stranger (1922)

This is a very unusual novel that reveals the author from a completely new perspective. The beautiful psychological novel "A Letter from a Stranger" opens up new facets of Stefan Zweig's boundless talent. The plot revolves around a famous writer who receives a love letter from a woman whose face he does not even remember. Their meeting was so fleeting and episodic for the hero, but she left a deep mark on the woman. For her, he became the center of the universe and the meaning of being.

#nine. Frances Scott Fitzgerald, Tender is the Night (1934)

The novel is an amazingly subtle and deeply psychological story. She is largely autobiographical. Fitzgerald put all the pain and suffering that he experienced with his wife into his heartbreaking story. This is a story about the moral degradation of a successful talented doctor. The book is about the downside of luxury and the American dream come true. The main theme of which is, of course, love.

#ten. Orhan Pamuk "Museum of Innocence" (2008)

The novel by a Turkish writer tells the story of a young businessman Kemal. The young man has a wedding on his nose and then he suddenly meets his true love. Kemal does not want to offend his bride, who is also dear to him, and he hides his engagement from his beloved. The lady of the heart finds out about this and leaves. A man goes crazy and does not find a place for himself anywhere. He keeps things of his beloved, even cigarette butts with the remains of her lipstick. A love story as deep as the world, where pain is unbearable, and happiness is limitless.

#eleven. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell (1936)

Gone With the Wind is Margaret Mitchell's only work and the work of her entire life. The novel became a bestseller. A poignant story about the civil war between the North and the South, when the whole world around was collapsing, but something new and beautiful could not but be born instead. This is a real hymn to life. At every age in this book you can find something new for yourself. The unexpected ending spawned many followers who wanted to continue the story. But the images created by Margaret could not be fully recreated by anyone. The novel brought the author a Pulitzer Prize. We always remember the immortal phrase that invariably helps to get through a very difficult day: "I'll think about it tomorrow."

If you are interested in the world of beauty that literature opens up to us, read our article 9 books written in the 18-19th century, which are read by modern readers.