Recommendations based on Collected Poemsby Philip Larkin

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  1. The Complete Poems 1927-1979

    by Elizabeth Bishop
    A lyrical exploration of life's moments, relationships, and nature.

    This study guide consists of approx. 36 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. This ... (Barnes & Noble)

  2. King Lear

    by William Shakespeare
    An aging king's descent into madness reveals the consequences of pride and vanity.

    Shakespeare’s King Lear challenges us with the magnitude, intensity, and sheer duration of the pain that it represents. Its figures harden their hearts, engage in violence, or try to alleviate the ... (Goodreads)

  3. To the Lighthouse

    by Virginia Woolf
    Exploration of the complexities of human relationships and family life.

    The novel is set in the Ramsays' summer home in the Hebrides , on the Isle of Skye . The section begins with Mrs Ramsay assuring her son James that they should be able to visit the lighthouse on the ... (Wikipedia)

  4. Collected Poems, 1909-1962

    by T.S. Eliot
    Exploration of the complexities of life and the human condition, through innovative and experimental verse.

    There is no more authoritative collection of the poetry that Eliot himself wished to preserve than this volume, published two years before his death in 1965., Poet, dramatist, critic, and editor, T. ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. The Collected Poems

    by Sylvia Plath
    A collection of poems that explore the complexities of life, death, love, and mental illness through vivid and haunting imagery.

    Pulitzer Prize winner Sylvia Plath’s complete poetic works, edited and introduced by Ted Hughes. By the time of her death on 11, February 1963, Sylvia Plath had written a large bulk of poetry. To my ... (Barnes & Noble)

  6. Beloved

    by Toni Morrison
    A haunting story of loss and resilience in the aftermath of slavery.

    Beloved begins in 1873 in Cincinnati, Ohio , where the protagonist Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman, has been living with her eighteen-year-old daughter Denver at 124 Bluestone Road. The book ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Cold Comfort Farm

    by Stella Gibbons
    A young woman moves to the countryside to bring order to the chaotic lives of her relatives.

    Following the death of her parents, the book's heroine, Flora Poste, finds she is possessed "of every art and grace save that of earning her own living". She decides to take advantage of the fact ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Last Orders

    by Graham Swift
    Four men take a journey to scatter their friend's ashes, reflecting on their past and present lives.

    The story makes much use of flashbacks to tell the convoluted story of the relationships between a group of war veterans who live in the same corner of London , the backbone of the story being the ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Don Quixote

    by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
    An aging knight's adventures and misadventures, filled with chivalry, honor, and satire.

    Don Quixote has become so entranced by reading chivalric romances that he determines to become a knight-errant himself. In the company of his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, his exploits blossom in ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Poetry of Robert Frost

    by Robert Frost
    Collection of masterfully crafted poems examining the beauty, challenges and complexities of life.

    A feast for lovers of American literature-the work of our greatest poet, redesigned and relaunched for a new generation of readers No poet is more emblematically American than Robert Frost. From "The ... (Barnes & Noble)

  11. Money

    by Martin Amis
    A satirical look at the power of money and the cut-throat world of 1980s high finance.

    Money tells the story of, and is narrated by, John Self, a successful director of adverts who is invited to New York City by Fielding Goodney, a film producer, to shoot his first film. Self is an ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Four Quartets

    by T.S. Eliot
    A poetic meditation on the journey of life and its cyclical nature.

    The Four Quartets is a series of four poems by T.S. Eliot, published individually from 1936 to 1942, and in book form in 1943; it was considered by Eliot himself to be his finest work. Each of the ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Third Policeman

    by Flann O'Brien
    A bizarre yet darkly funny tale of a man's descent into a surreal world of mischievous creatures and strange events.

    The Third Policeman is set in rural Ireland and is narrated by a dedicated amateur scholar of de Selby , a scientist and philosopher. , The narrator, whose name we never learn, is orphaned at a young ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Dubliners

    by James Joyce
    Collection of stories about everyday life in Dublin, exploring the Irish psyche.

    This work of art reflects life in Ireland at the turn of the last century, and by rejecting euphemism, reveals to the Irish their unromantic realities. Each of the 15 stories offers glimpses into the ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Waste Land and Other Poems

    by T.S. Eliot
    A collection of poems exploring themes of identity, mortality, and spiritual and psychological desolation.

    The Waste Land and Other Poems , by T. S. Eliot , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. The Remains of the Day

    by Kazuo Ishiguro
    A butler reflects on his past, grappling with the lost opportunities of a life devoted to service.

    The novel tells, in first-person narration , the story of Stevens, an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington (who is recently deceased, and whom Stevens ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Bleak House

    by Charles Dickens
    A social commentary on the English legal system, exploring themes of inequality, injustice and corruption.

    Bleak House opens in the twilight of foggy London, where fog grips the city most densely in the Court of Chancery. The obscure case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, in which an inheritance is gradually ... (Goodreads)

  18. Cat's Cradle

    by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
    A satirical exploration of human folly, exposing the dangers of unchecked science and technology.

    Told with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut's cult tale of global destruction preys on our deepest fears of witnessing Armageddon and, worse still, surviving it ... Dr Felix Hoenikker, ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Road Not Taken and Other Poems

    by Robert Frost
    Collection of poems exploring the power of choice, the passage of time, and the beauty of nature.

    "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I– I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." These deceptively simple lines from the title poem of this collection suggest Robert ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Secret History

    by Donna Tartt
    A small group of misfit college students uncover a sinister secret and their lives become entangled with dangerous consequences.

    Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the ... (Goodreads)

  21. In Our Time

    by Ernest Hemingway
    A collection of short stories exploring themes of war, nature, and human relationships.

    First published in 1925, earning Hemingway praise as a promising American writer. Contains several early Hemingway classics, including the famous Nick Adams stories. This volume introduces readers to ... (Goodreads)

  22. The Lady of Shalott

    by Alfred Tennyson
    A cursed lady lives in a tower, weaving a tapestry and watching the world through a mirror until she falls in love with a knight.

    The Lady of Shalott is the third book in Visions in Poetry, an award-winning series of classic poems illustrated by outstanding contemporary artists in stunning hardcover editions. Tennyson's ... (Goodreads)

  23. Signs Preceding the End of the World

    by Yuri Herrera
    A woman's journey crossing the Mexico-US border, reflecting on the power of language.

    Winner of the 2016 Best Translated Book Award for Fiction Signs Preceding the End of the World is one of the most arresting novels to be published in Spanish in the last ten years. Yuri Herrera does ... (Goodreads)

  24. Pale Fire

    by Vladimir Nabokov
    A darkly comic and philosophical exploration of art, sanity, and the nature of reality.

    Shade's poem digressively describes many aspects of his life. Canto 1 includes his early encounters with death and glimpses of what he takes to be the supernatural. Canto 2 is about his family and ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Ghost Road

    by Pat Barker
    A soldier’s journey to face the horrors of World War I, and his attempt to come to terms with his past.

    Prior, despite his new-found peace of mind and engagement to munitions worker Sarah, has been affected by the war and therefore does not have a lot of concern for his safety. Prior has been cured of ... (Wikipedia)

  26. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

    by James Joyce
    An exploration of a young man's struggle to find his identity and place in the world.

    The portrayal of Stephen Dedalus's Dublin childhood and youth, his quest for identity through art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and Ireland itself, is also an ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Complete Poems

    by John Keats
    A collection of Keats' poetry, showcasing his romantic and melancholic style, exploring themes of love, beauty, nature, and mortality.
  28. The Seagull

    by Anton Chekhov
    A tale of unrequited love and personal frustrations set in a rural Russian town.

    The play takes place on a country estate owned by Pyotr Sorin, a retired senior civil servant in failing health. He is the brother of the actress Irina Arkadin, who has just arrived at the estate for ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Brothers Karamazov

    by Fyodor Dostoevsky
    A philosophical exploration of morality, faith, and family dynamics among a group of brothers.

    The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich ... (Goodreads)

  30. Middlemarch

    by George Eliot
    A grand narrative of life in a small English town, exploring the lives of its inhabitants.

    Middlemarch centres on the lives of residents of Middlemarch, a fictitious Midlands town, from 1829 onwards – the years up to the 1832 Reform Act . The narrative is variably considered to consist of ... (Wikipedia)