My Favorite Books
Jeffrey Archer, a well-known novelist and playwright in the UK , has spent a very famous and much admired 45-year-long writing career creating bestsellers such as Not A Penny More , Not A Penny Less, Kane and Abel and Paths of Glory. Here he lists his all-time favorite reads.
Sredni Vashtar
BY SAKI (H. H. MUNRO) ,Dover Publications ,150
I put Munro's short stories equal with R. K. Narayan's. They are my favorite short-story writers. Both write beautifully, but they are also pretty good stories. It’s that rare combination of both. This book is a gem(佳作),as is Narayan's Malgudi Days.
The Count of Monte Cristo
BY ALEXANDRE DUMAS, Rupa Publications , ₹ 295
This is a masterpiece. It’s too long by modern standards? of course. If Dumas was around today, he'd write books of 400 pages. With no television, no other distraction, he wrote books of 1,500 pages. And the surprising thing is that he wrote The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers in the same year! You couldn't do that today!
Reunion
BY FRED UHLMAN,Farrar ,Strausand Giroux ,₹ 864
A wonderful insight into two young Germans---one Jewish, one aristocratic — in 1939, when they're both at school. This is a very fine book, which would help anyone understand the problems the Jews were facing in the late 1930s.
A Tale of Two Cities
BY CHARLES DICKENS, Penguin Classics , ₹ 250
I think this is probably a book I have reread the most number of times. I love the idea of him (Dr Manette)sacrificing his life for something bigger and more glorious than himself. Quaintly old-fashioned in the modern world—I love it. This was Dickens' most successful book, possibly because it was story, story, story, and impossible to put clown!
1. Who does "I" refer to in the text?
A.Alexandre Dumas. | B.Fred Uhlman. |
C.Charles Dickens. | D.Jeffrey Archer. |
2. Which of the following is concerned with the Jews?
A.Reunion. | B.A Tale of Two Cities. |
C.Sredni Vashtar. | D.The Count of Monte Cristo. |
3. How much will you pay if you buy Charles Dickens' most successful book?
A.₹ 150. | B.₹ 295. | C.₹ 864. | D.₹ 250. |