June 2025

Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary
One of the high points of the novel.
Jules Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Lady of the Camellias
Composed prior to the Franco-Prussian War, this has a sympathetic portrayal of a German father and his rather French (in manner) son as they go on a seemingly insane adventure.
Henry James, Washington Square. My recent review: https://youtu.be/wPwQfo3hGng, La Délicatesse
Excellent James' novel that centers on a father who disastrously underestimate's his daughter's resolve.
Fyodor Dostoevsky:
The Gambler
Magnificent novel that centers on the rascally protagonist's interactions with a group of swindlers led by a Russian military man.
Notes from Underground
Highly contradictory morality tale that centers on an unsuccessful attempt to rescue a prostitute from her way of life.
Edith Wharton, Short Stories 1891-1910
Antonin Artaud, Selected Writings
Yukio Mishima, Sun and Steel
Outline of a dangerous personal philosophy rooted in muscularity and discipline.
Mikhail Bakhtin, Speech Genres and other late essays,
Stanley Fish, Is there a Text in this Class?