I would like a list of philospohical novels to read... any suggestions? What ones did you enjoy?
2007-06-18 13:55:33 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Anything by Ayn (pronounced I'n) Rand: Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, Anthem.
Aldous Huxley: Island
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Flamingo-Modern-Classics-Aldous/dp/0006547346
Thomas Mann: The Magic Mountain
Kafka: The Metamorphosis (1st line: One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug.)
Kafka: The Trial
Kafka: The Castle
Friedrich Nietzsche: Thus Spake Zarathustra
Jean-Paul Sartre: Nausea
Albert Camus: The Stranger
Hermann Hesse: Siddhartha
Thomas Hardy: Jude the Obscure
Milan Kundera: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Sergio Troncoso: The Nature of Truth
..
2007-06-18 13:59:50 · answer #1 · answered by tedski2000 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Old Man and the Sea isn't a philosophical novel. I'm a huge Hemmingway fan, but its just a fiction novel. Try Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, or Descartes Error.
2016-04-01 04:44:37 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm on board with Sophie's World as well; great read.
I'd also read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho--kind of a "all things happen for a reason" type of book.
It's not a novel, but Rilke's Duino Elegies is a great set of poems that asks you to interpret the waking life with the afterlife, dreams, all states of being.
2007-06-18 21:10:14 · answer #3 · answered by geekgirl82 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd recommend "Sophie's World" by Jostein Gaarder, it's readable, understandable and quite popular some few years ago. You'd love it since the novel flows through the world of Sophie, a young intelligent girl who receives little messages on philosophy and, interestingly, someone there shares his ideas with her. It's a must for a beginner interested in philosophical queries.
2007-06-18 14:18:10 · answer #4 · answered by Arigato ne 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Might help to have some Aristotle, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Saint Augustine background. The book is also unique in that it is a medieval mystery.
2007-06-18 14:01:27 · answer #5 · answered by God_Lives_Underwater 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
SOPHIE'S WORLD by Jostein Gaarder is really good. It walks the reader through various schools of thought and ideas through the eyes of young Sophie and her mysterious teacher. As she learns through the letters he writes, she recognizes real life examples.
Not so much novels, but a cool series you'll find in the Philosophy area of bookstores and libraries:
HARRY POTTER AND PHILOSOPHY
SUPERHEROES AND PHILOSOPHY
STAR WARS AND PHILOSOPHY
LORD OF THE RINGS AND PHILOSOPHY
THE MATRIX AND PHILOSOPHY
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER AND PHILOSOPHY
and there's a TON more
They're books of essays by various people, and the one's that I've read (Buffy and Harry Potter) are lots of fun.
Hope this helps!
2007-06-18 14:15:17 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I recommend most of the works by Banana Yoshimoto (especially "Kitchen" and "N.P") and almost anything by Haruki Murakami (especially "Kafka on the Shore" and "The Wind Up Bird Chronicals")
Hope this helps.
2007-06-18 13:59:45 · answer #7 · answered by somedays_lovely_dreamer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenace," by William Pirsig.
The novels of Camus and Sartre.
"Candide" by Voltaire.
"Winter's tale," by Mark Helprin.
"On the Road" and "Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac.
2007-06-18 14:00:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋