Short & Powerful
Novels and novellas under five hours — nothing wasted. These nine works are among the most concentrated literary achievements in any language. A Christmas Carol in one sitting. The Metamorphosis before dinner. Listen free on HearCandy.
A Christmas Carol
The most famous short novel in English. Dickens wrote it in six weeks in 1843 to pay his bills — and accidentally invented the modern concept of Christmas.
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Notes from the Underground
A bitter, brilliant, unreliable narrator argues with himself and the reader. Dostoyevsky’s 1864 novella invented the modern anti-hero and the entire tradition of existential fiction.
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Daisy Miller
An innocent American girl in Europe, misread by everyone around her. James’s 1878 novella is a perfect, economical study of cultural collision and social cruelty.
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Washington Square
A plain, rich heiress, a charming suitor, and a father who can’t believe his daughter is worth loving. James’s most emotionally direct novel — devastating.
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The Death of Ivan Ilyich
A bureaucrat dies slowly and realizes he has wasted his life. Tolstoy’s 1886 novella asks one question — have you actually lived? — and refuses to let you off the hook.
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The Time Machine
A Victorian inventor travels to the year 802,701 and finds humanity split into two species. Wells invented science fiction while writing a furious class-warfare allegory.
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The Turn of the Screw
Is the governess protecting the children from ghosts, or is she having a breakdown? James makes sure you can never be certain. Still unnerving after 125 years.
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The Awakening
A woman gradually realizes her domestic life is a cage. Chopin’s 1899 novella was so controversial it was banned. It’s now one of the most-taught American novels.
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The Metamorphosis
Gregor Samsa wakes up as a giant insect. Kafka’s 1915 novella is funny, grotesque, and completely serious — the perfect metaphor for alienation, family, and work.
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