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  Death In Venice

  Thomas Mann

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  "The experience of death is bound up with the experience of beauty."
  
  First published in 1912, Thomas Mann's Death in Venice is a masterful meditation on art, desire, and the fatal allure of beauty.
  
  Gustav von Aschenbach, an ageing but successful writer renowned for the solemn dignity and asceticism of his work, travels to Venice seeking artistic inspiration – the first indulgence the fastidiously restrained author has allowed himself. Through the languid Venetian atmosphere and the peacefully rocking gondolas, Aschenbach is lured away from his rigid self-discipline as he falls into a deep and obsessive love with a beautiful young Polish boy named Tadzio, even though they never meet.
  
  As his infatuation deepens and the city wilts under the shadow of disease, Aschenbach's pursuit of the unattainable leads him into a tragic spiral of longing and loss.
  Thomas Mann (1875–1955) was a renowned German novelist, short story writer, and essayist, celebrated for his exploration of complex themes, his profound psychological insight, and critique of bourgeois society.
  
  Born into a wealthy trading family, he studied law and economics before turning to writing and had his major breakthrough with Buddenbrooks, which depicts the decline of a bourgeois family. International acclaim came with the publication of The Magic Mountain (1924), a philosophical novel set in a sanatorium that explores themes such as life, death, time and ideological conflict. His other notable works include Death in Venice (1912) and Doktor Faustus (1947). In 1929, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature in recognition of his significant contributions to German literature.
  
  Mann was politically active against fascism, leading him to leave Germany in 1933 due to the rise of the Nazi regime. He lived in Switzerland and later in the United States during World War II. Despite the challenges, he continued to write and became a prominent voice against totalitarianism.

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  Hunchback of Notre-Dame The...

  Victor Hugo

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  Book 8: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame or Notre-Dame de Paris is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. - The story is set in Paris in 1482 during the reign of Louis XI. The gypsy Esmeralda (born as Agnes) captures the hearts of many men, including those of Captain Phoebus and Pierre Gringoire, but especially Quasimodo and his guardian Archdeacon Claude Frollo. Frollo is torn between his obsessive lust for Esmeralda and the rules of Notre Dame Cathedral. He orders Quasimodo to kidnap her, but Quasimodo is captured by Phoebus and his guards, who save Esmeralda. Gringoire, who attempted to help Esmeralda but was knocked out by Quasimodo, is about to be hanged by beggars when Esmeralda saves him by agreeing to marry him for four years.

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  The Call of the Wild

  Jack London

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  "The Call of the Wild, a timeless adventure novel by Jack London, was first published in 1903. This gripping tale takes readers on a journey through the rugged wilderness of the Yukon Territory during the Klondike Gold Rush.    The story revolves around Buck, a remarkable dog—a crossbreed between a St. Bernard and a Scotch shepherd. Buck's carefree life in Santa Clara County, California is abruptly disrupted when he is stolen and transported northward. His journey leads him to the bustling town of Skagway, Alaska, and eventually to Dawson City, Yukon. Here, during the late 1890s gold rush, strong sled dogs are in high demand.    As Buck adapts to his new life as part of a dog team delivery service, he discovers his primal instincts and learns to survive in the harsh Arctic environment. His bond with his last owner, John Thornton, takes him even further north, somewhere between Yukon and Alaska. Buck responds to "the call of the wild," shedding the comforts of civilization and embracing his true nature as a master of the wilderness 1.    This captivating novel has also been adapted into films, including the 2020 movie of the same name. In the film, Buck's adventures come to life on the big screen, with an impressive cast including Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, and Cara Gee."

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  War and Peace - Book 1: 1805...

  Leo Tolstoy

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  War and Peace is a literary work mixed with chapters on history and philosophy by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. It was first published serially, then published in its entirety in 1869. It is regarded as one of Tolstoy's finest literary achievements and remains an internationally praised classic of world literature.
  Book 1: 1805: "Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist I really believe he is Antichrist I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend, no longer my 'faithful slave,' as you call yourself! But how do you do? I see I have frightened you sit down and tell me all the news."

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  The Secret of Father Brown

  G. K. Chesterton

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  “You may think a crime horrible because you could never commit it. I think it horrible because I could commit it.” In “The Secret of Father Brown” G.K. Chesterton bookends eight classic Father Brown mysteries with a fascinating encounter between the detective-Priest and an admiring yet inquisitive American.The latter is keen to discover the truth behind Father Brown’s allegedly mystical ability to solve crime. The modest cleric is very keen to dispel any myths about his possessing “magical powers” and patiently explains to his inquirer what lies behind his “secret”.“You see, it was I who killed all those people”Once recovered from the initial shock of this revelation, and after the recounting of the eight mysteries, the American soon discovers the real meaning behind Father Brown’s cryptic confession. 
  Head Stories Audio presents "The Secret of Father Brown" by G.K. Chesterton. 
  Narrated by Simon Hester. With original music.

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  Les Misérables - Volume 3:...

  Victor Hugo

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  Victor-Marie Hugo (26 February 1802 - 22 May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, and dramatist of the Romantic movement. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote abundantly in an exceptional variety of genres: lyrics, satires, epics, philosophical poems, epigrams, novels, history, critical essays, political speeches, funeral orations, diaries, and letters public and private, as well as dramas in verse and prose.
  VOLUME 3: MARIUS: Paris has a child, and the forest has a bird; the bird is called the sparrow; the child is called the gamin. Couple these two ideas which contain, the one all the furnace, the other all the dawn; strike these two sparks together, Paris, childhood; there leaps out from them a little being. Homuncio, Plautus would say.

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