Gravity's Rainbow
1973 · 784 pages
In London in 1944 the army notices that an American officer's sexual conquests keep predicting where German rockets fall. What follows is the filthiest, funniest chase ever run across a ruined continent.
★ 8.7
The Books canon
Sourced and shelved.
Every book chosen by hand and annotated for why it matters.
Browse all 1,178 books or filter by subject, era, place, and author.
Browse all 1,178 books or filter by subject, era, place, and author.
The Consolation of Philosophy
524 · 154 pages
Awaiting execution, Boethius is visited by a woman called Philosophy, who explains why fortune's wheel turns and how God's foreknowledge still leaves you free. Medieval Europe read nothing more closely.
★ 7.4
Life is a Dream
1635 · 96 pages
Spanish Golden Age drama peaks here. King Basilio locks his newborn son in a tower to outrun a prophecy, then has him drugged, brought to court, and told it was a dream.
★ 7.0
On the Bondage of the Will
1525 · 328 pages
Erasmus said the will helps choose salvation. Luther answered that it is a beast ridden by God or Satan, never choosing its rider. Protestants have argued about grace on his terms ever since.
★ 6.8