Novel Conversations

In this landmark fantasy novel, Tolkien introduces us to his richly imagined world of Middle Earth, where we meet a small creature named Bilbo Baggins, who reluctantly heeds the call of adventure to help reclaim a treasure from the dragon Smaug.

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This classic western novel tells the story of a Mattie Ross, a young girl who, with her unlikely companions, traverses the American West to avenge the death of her father.

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Herman Melville's landmark novel follows the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab as he seeks revenge on Moby Dick, the huge white wale which had previously maimed him, leading to a perilous and philosophical journey for the crew of the whaling ship The Pequod.

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A Tale of Two Cities is one of the most prolific fictional works to every be written in the English language. Its story explores the nature of sacrifice, revenge, and resurrection amongst several characters set around the French Revolution.

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Edith Wharton's 1920 novel is set in 1870s New York City, and explores the conflict between individual desire and cultural expectations in New York City's high society. This landmark jazz-age novel won Wharton the Pulitzer Prize in 1921, the first woman to recieve the award.

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The landmark debut novel of author James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man tells the story of young Stephen Dedalus's spiritual and intellectual awakening in turn-of-the-century Ireland. Its modernist stylings and use of strict realism would come to define Joyce as an author.

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Originally published alongside other famous Falkner works in an anthology titled "Go Down Moses", The Bear is about Issac "Ike" McCaslin, who trains to hunt and kill the legendary bear Old Ben.

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In Robert Louis Stevenson's seminal adventure novel "Treasure Island." The story follows young Jim Hawkins' journey aboard a pirate vessel, chasing hidden treasure and battling the fearsome Long John Silver. The novel's iconic pirate imagery, and rich and complex characters have made it a timeless classic in the adventure sub-genre.

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A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh is a satirical novel that follows the lives of members of London's wealthy elite. The focus of our story, Tony Last, his wife Brenda, and their son John Andrew, endure hardship and turmoil. By utilizing a satirical stance for the narrative, Waugh paints a farcical, tragic picture of 20th century religion and morality. The novel also famously features an alternate ending, setting a very different tone for the conclusion of the novel.

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