732) CAUSE FOR ALARM, Eric Ambler- This is a fun read. An English engineer out of work accepts a job working for a munitions manufacturer in Italy and gets involved in some nefarious dealings. Russian spies, German spies, murder, deceit, running from the law- this book has it all. An exhilarating page turner ( Read more... )

#731) TRANSIT, Anna Seghers- A tale of a young German male escaping Germany during WWII who finds himself stranded in Marseilles. The story takes on a near-"Catch-22" level of surrealism as the young man, and many others, struggle to get exit visas, transit visas, Stranger Visas, tickets, and all other manners of paperwork completed, all done by ( Read more... )

#730) THE VICTIM, Saul Bellow- Allbee thinks he is the victim of Leventhal's poor opinion of him. Leventhal has no memory whatsoever of doing anything to Allbee. Allbee takes Leventhal's denials as further game playing. The psychological games go on and on. Who, exactly, is the victim?
MUST I HAVE READ THIS BOOK BEFORE I DIED: Yes
730 down, 271 to

#729) THE GIRL WITH GREEN EYES, Edna O'Brien- The Country Girls from her previous novel move to the big city, find lovers, get into some trouble, live their lives. Not quite as compelling as the first book. Also, there is a third book which did not make this list ( Read more... )

#728) THE RAVISHING OF LOL V. STEIN, Marguerite Duras- One evening while dancing with her fiancee, Lola V Stein watches as an older woman walks onto the dance floor, catches her fiancee's eye, and then minutes later attracts his full attention, the two of them silently dancing the night way, literally to the rising of the morning sun. This, of ( Read more... )

#727) SURFACING, Margaret Atwood- This is an intense read. Woman returns to island home in the Canadian wilderness to find her lost father. She brings a boyfriend and another couple with her, and as she gets closer to finding answers, the relations between all four of them deteriorate. Powerful in so many ways ( Read more... )

#724) DUSKLANDS, J.M. Coetzee- Two short stories that could not be more different yet somehow work well together. The first about an historian studying the violence in the Vietnam War and the psychological effects it has on him. The second about a South African explorer interacting with indigenous people with horrible results. Both stories are ( Read more... )

#723) THE COUNTRY GIRLS, Edna O'Brien- The story of two Irish country girls. Fun, engaging, well written.
723 down, 278 to go
MUST I HAVE READ THIS BOOK BEFORE I DIED: No

#719) WISE BLOOD, Flannery O'Connor- War veteran returns home with nowhere to go, no one to live with, and decides to start his own religion. Vet runs into other self-starting cult leaders, befriends the daughter of a blind preacher, hooks up with a prostitute, and inspires another young disenfranchised male to follow him around town trying to ( Read more... )

#718) THE COLLECTOR, John Fowles- "A Confederacy of Dunces" meets "Silence of the Lambs", only not as violent. Butterfly collector ups his game and decides to collect more human specimens. Psychological, depressing, gripping, a page turning debut.
MUST I HAVE READ THIS BOOK BEFORE I DIED: Yes
718 down, 283 to go