#158. "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

While women have been written about for centuries, they have often been presented as fodder for male authors. They're reduced to the ever elusive muse role where they are more an object than a person. Even the authors who create the most dynamic characters have some shortcoming when it comes to giving women the depth they deserve. It's a big reason that Kate Chopin's short but definitely not slight novel "The Awakening" was perceived as such a revelation upon release. What it lacked in typical romantic drama fare, it more than made up for in deep rooted passion, existing within the subtext of every line as characters searched for happiness in their lives. The results may not be high on showmanship, but those willing to sit with the final passages will find something provocative and lasting within the description. Chopin represented not what women were seen as but what they were.

#157. "The Neon Bible" by John Kennedy Toole

One of the most tragic stories of 20th century literature is John Kennedy Toole. While his eventual publications would suggest redemption, the fact that each of his two novels were released long after his passing only helps to reflect how everyone's voice is not fully appreciated within one's lifetime. A lot of his acclaim came with his second completed novel but first published "A Confederacy of Dunces." With an impeccable depiction of New Orleans subcultures, it was considered one of the essential novels of its time. It makes sense that interest would inspire his other novel to go to print, even if it feels very much like the work of a teenage author still finding his voice.

Toole wrote "The Neon Bible" when he was 19. While the prose within itself is above average for a writer, it's still reflective of someone trying to find their voice. In a lot of ways it pales in comparison to his later work, though that may just be attributed to how popular it became. Meanwhile, "The Neon Bible" is a work that ambitiously reflects the rebelliousness of a teenager taking shots at the world around him. The title refers to how neon signs can hypnotize people into believing that consumerism is a religion. With a crime story that develops with bittersweet revelations, the results capture Toole's attention to detail as he brings this world to life. However, his inexperience means that the fluidity of making the world feel lived in doesn't have quite the same ease nor does it land with as many memorable scenes. In a greater career, this would've been the start to something more prolific. Instead, it's a look into what could've been.

#156. "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

As the world becomes more interconnected, the search for authors reflecting a modern take becomes more desired. Near the top of the list has to be Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri whose career is dedicated to reflecting the experience of calling two very different places as home. In her award winning anthology "Interpreter of Maladies," she takes several perspectives that connect to the theme of being alive and longing for a sense of wholeness. While not every story takes place in a similar location or deals with uniform ideas, they all help to paint a compassionate view of Indian-American life as it relates to searching for balance in one's life. Whether it's a break-up that takes place during a blackout or a controversy surrounding a kind old woman who sweeps stairs, Lahiri knows how to get the reader invested in deceptively simple visions of everyday life. The results create one of the strongest anthologies and promising debuts for an author who has only continued to define her voice as time has gone on.

#155. "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift

A detail that may be lost to contemporary readers is how popular travelogue stories were in previous generations. There was a real artform to making foreign lands alluring on the page, creating something for those unable to visit them and inspire their imaginations. Nobody knew if they were being honest, but the writers with the purplest of prose could manipulate and turn their mentality into the embodiment of a culture that could not be refuted. There's been endless masterpieces in that genre, though it was also something bound to be held up to ridicule like "Don Quixote" with chivalrous knights in a former time. 

Alas, here comes Jonathan Swift. As one of the great satirists of early literature, his story "Gulliver's Travels" comes as forceful as a wrecking ball to the tropes. Unlike his other works, people have argued what his larger message is here and whether the satire is commenting on a certain text. Is this a commentary on Ireland's feelings towards England's colonization habits? Is this an attack on intellectualization as being useless? It sort of is all there, but so is a scatalogical undertone that makes the text simultaneously juvenile. Is Gulliver supposed to be aspirational or a complete buffoon? Nobody knows for sure, and it's arguably what makes it one of the defining satires of its era.

#154. "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

There's are many reasons to praise Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" that aren't apparent on the first page. Because of its writing style, the reader is introduced to the protagonist's interiority more than her surroundings. Because of this, the initial passages where she's praying to god are a bit more vague and don't fully convey the complexities of her life. Within the first page is a recounting of a sexual assault for a man who never fully disappears from the story. In some ways, it's a story of moving beyond the trauma of the past and learning to embrace life. This is a story rooted very much in early 20th century America from a perspective not often celebrated. Walker's introspection may be sidelined by practices of a segregated south, but this isn't a story of imprisonment. It's one of hope. 

#153. "Pet Semetary" by Stephen King

When asked what he thinks is among his scariest books, Stephen King has often pointed to "Pet Semetary." It's an early work in his career, and yet it's one that seems to capture his curiosity. What is it about dead pets that speaks to the master of horror? Why is this the novel among the few dozen masterpieces that has stuck in his mind? 

From a reader's standpoint, the answer becomes very clear very quickly. Before King was forced to overcomplicate his premises to keep from repeatinng, he was able to turn the simplest concepts into nightmare fuel. For most people, losing a pet is a devastating experience. Nobody wants to lose an innocent animal that brings up a sense of joy and innocence in one's lives. However, the idea of seeing the rotting corpse of that points to a mortality that is horrifying, especially for those younger and less jaded by the torments of time. What King achieves over the course of the novel is elevate the kooky premise into something that aches at the very soul of the characters as well as the reader. It's a discussion of mortality and decay that not only happens beyond the afterlife, but also in the moment.

#152. "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy

 

How does one follow a masterpiece like "War and Peace"? For Leo Tolstoy, it involved making a story nonetheless large in scope but more intimate in characterization. As one of the great works of realism, "Anna Karenina" paints a picture of two couples who seem similar at first but whose lives greatly divert as time goes on. Even the fact that the titular Anna is, by 19th century standards, reckless and unlikable, subverts expectations of this being a conventional romance novel. Instead, it's a larger commentary on Russian culture during a time where the classes were at odds with each other. Do the lavish have it better, or do the farmers who spend hours tending the fields? 

Somewhere in the text, Tolstoy adds the most unexpected element to this realist drama: spiritualism. The paralleled narrative creates a discussion of predeterminism as a larger context. Are good people destined for good lives? Will they receive good fortune simply for just behavior? The larger answer is: no. Nothing is promised in this life. For as banal as that premise may sound, Tolstoy stacks the reader's experience with theoretical moments that finds his characters navigating an incredible world full of small epiphanies. The reader may be frustrated with the larger sense of ambiguity in its theme, but that's not to say that the road there is playful and even humorous at times. For an author known for lofty tomes, "Anna Karenina" ranks among the most human tales ever conceived, and one that feels relevant even centuries later.