Secondhand Fiction Bargain Book Box SP2268

Secondhand Modern Classics & Literary Fiction Bargain Book Box

This diverse collection of twenty-two books features a strong selection of acclaimed international fiction, Australian literature, and timeless classics. It includes Nobel Prize winners like Steinbeck, Hemingway, and Camus alongside Booker Prize recipients such as Paul Beatty and Thomas Keneally. The box offers a mix of heavy-hitting philosophical novels, contemporary bestsellers, and significant plays, providing a sophisticated reading list for those interested in the development of modern literature. Each book is secondhand and may show signs of wear.

1. On, Off by Colleen McCullough Moving away from her historical epics, McCullough delivers a scientific thriller set in a research center dedicated to the study of human metabolism. The discovery of a decapitated body in the facility triggers an investigation that exposes the professional jealousies and secrets of the staff. The novel combines police procedural elements with the cold atmosphere of the laboratory. It offers a suspenseful and gritty look at the darker side of scientific ambition.

2. The Georges' Wife by Elizabeth Jolley This novel continues the story of Vera Wright, exploring her unconventional life and her complex relationship with the eccentric George and his wife. Jolley’s narrative style is fragmented and witty, weaving memory and reality to depict the protagonist's search for identity. The book examines themes of migration, loneliness, and the strange, often humorous nature of human connection. It is a distinctive work of Australian fiction that challenges traditional storytelling structures.

3. The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher J. Koch Set in Jakarta during the political turmoil of 1965, this novel follows a group of foreign correspondents covering the impending fall of President Sukarno. The story focuses on the relationship between a reporter and his cameraman, Billy Kwan, who views the chaos through a spiritual lens. It captures the intense humidity and moral ambiguity of a country on the brink of revolution. The book vividly portrays the clash of cultures and the dangerous allure of political instability.

4. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller This edition of the classic American play presents the tragic decline of Willy Loman, a traveling salesman who can no longer survive in the corporate world. The narrative moves between the present and Willy’s memories, revealing the lies that have sustained his family and the failure of the American Dream. It explores the strained dynamic between a father and his sons. Miller’s work remains a powerful critique of capitalism and the cost of blind ambition.

5. The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard Two Australian sisters emigrate to England in the 1950s, where their lives are shaped by the men they love and the unpredictable nature of destiny. Hazzard’s dense and elegant prose traces their romantic entanglements over several decades, exploring themes of betrayal and love. The novel is celebrated for its psychological insight and its astronomical metaphors regarding the alignment of lives. It is a sweeping yet intimate story about the enduring impact of momentary choices.

6. Rosshalde by Hermann Hesse This early novel by Hesse depicts the isolated life of Johann Veraguth, a successful painter trapped in an estranged marriage on his country estate. The story examines the conflict between the artist’s need for solitude and the demands of family life. It reflects Hesse’s own struggles with domesticity and his search for spiritual independence. The narrative offers a melancholy but penetrating look at the sacrifices required for creative freedom.

7. Ulysses by James Joyce Widely considered a masterpiece of modernism, this novel chronicles the appointments and thoughts of Leopold Bloom on a single day in Dublin. Joyce employs a vast array of literary styles, including stream of consciousness, to elevate the ordinary details of city life to epic status. The text parallels the events of Homer's Odyssey, creating a dense and complex web of allusions. It is a challenging work that revolutionized the structure and possibilities of the novel.

8. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout While recovering from an operation in a New York hospital, Lucy Barton is visited by her estranged mother, leading to days of quiet conversation. The narrative serves as a reflection on Lucy’s impoverished childhood, her ambition to become a writer, and the complexities of family love. Strout uses a sparse, direct voice to explore the things that remain unsaid between parents and children. It is a poignant meditation on the past and the difficulty of escaping one's origins.

9. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton Set in the rigid society of 1870s New York, this novel tells the story of Newland Archer and his impossible love for the scandalous Countess Olenska. Wharton critiques the hypocrisy of the Gilded Age, where social appearance is valued above personal happiness. The narrative is a subtle tragedy of manners, exploring the conflict between duty and desire. It remains a definitive portrait of a vanished world and the social codes that governed it.

10. An Imaginary Life by David Malouf This lyrical novel reimagines the exile of the Roman poet Ovid to a remote outpost on the Black Sea. As he struggles to survive among a people whose language he does not know, he encounters a wild boy who transforms his understanding of nature. Malouf explores the boundaries of civilization and the power of language to shape reality. It is a poetic philosophical work about metamorphosis and what it means to be truly human.

11. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham In a quiet English village, all the women of childbearing age fall pregnant simultaneously following a mysterious blackout. The resulting children possess golden eyes, telepathic abilities, and a collective intelligence that threatens the human residents. Wyndham uses this sci-fi premise to explore the fear of the unknown and the fragility of social norms. It is a chilling tale of invasion that suggests the next stage of evolution might be hostile.

12. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen The Lambert family is unraveling as the matriarch, Enid, tries to bring her three adult children home for one last Christmas in the Midwest. The novel dissects the anxieties of the late 20th century, touching on economic correction, mental health, and the decline of the nuclear family. Franzen combines satire with deep character study to depict the disappointments of modern life. It is a sprawling, humorous, and often painful look at domestic dysfunction.

13. The Sellout by Paul Beatty This biting satire is set in a run-down fictional town in California, where the narrator attempts to reinstate slavery and segregation to bring order to his community. Beatty uses outrageous humor to critique the absurdity of racial politics and the complexities of American identity. The prose is fast-paced and provocative, challenging readers to confront uncomfortable cultural truths. It is a fearless novel that attacks the status quo with surreal wit.

14. The Pearl by John Steinbeck Based on a Mexican folk tale, this novella tells the story of a poor diver named Kino who discovers a magnificent pearl. He hopes the treasure will secure a better future for his family, but it brings only greed, violence, and tragedy. Steinbeck writes a parable about the corrupting influence of wealth and the destruction of innocence. It is a concise and powerful narrative that examines the fatal consequences of human desire.

15. Porno by Irvine Welsh Ten years after the events of Trainspotting, the characters return as Sick Boy attempts to produce an adult film in Edinburgh. The narrative shifts between different perspectives, capturing the dialect and chaotic lives of the Scottish underclass. It explores themes of addiction, exploitation, and the inability to escape one's past. Welsh delivers a gritty, darkly comic story that is as crude as it is compelling.

16. The Leopard by Tomasi Di Lampedusa Set in Sicily during the unification of Italy, this novel depicts the decline of the aristocratic Salina family. Prince Fabrizio watches with resignation as the old order of the nobility gives way to the rising middle class and a new political reality. The book is famous for its lush descriptions and its melancholic reflection on the passage of time. It is a masterpiece of Italian literature that captures the fading grandeur of a dying world.

17. The Plague by Albert Camus When a deadly disease sweeps through the Algerian city of Oran, the town is quarantined, forcing the citizens to confront their mortality and isolation. Camus uses the epidemic as an allegory for the Nazi occupation and the absurdity of the human condition. The characters represent different moral responses to crisis, from heroism to indifference. It is a philosophical novel about the necessity of solidarity and resistance in the face of suffering.

18. Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir This autobiography chronicles the early life of the famous philosopher, detailing her rebellion against her strict bourgeois upbringing. It traces her intellectual awakening, her loss of faith, and her determination to become a writer. De Beauvoir writes candidly about her struggle for independence and the friendships that shaped her worldview. It is a vital portrait of the making of an existentialist thinker in early 20th-century France.

19. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway Set on the Italian front during World War I, this novel follows the romance between an American ambulance driver and a British nurse. Hemingway uses his signature sparse style to depict the brutality of war and the temporary shelter found in love. The narrative moves from the chaos of the battlefield to a desperate attempt to escape the conflict. It is a tragic, semi-autobiographical work that explores courage, loss, and the harsh indifference of the universe.

20. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster Set during the British Raj, this novel explores the tensions and misunderstandings between the Indian population and the British colonialists. The story centers on an accusation made after a trip to the Marabar Caves, which exposes the deep racial divides of the era. Forster examines the limits of friendship and the corrupting nature of imperialism. It is a complex study of culture, power, and the difficulty of true connection across social barriers.

21. The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally Based on real events in the early penal colony of New South Wales, this novel follows a lieutenant who directs a play using a cast of convicts. Keneally explores the transformative power of art within a brutal system of punishment and exile. The story highlights the interactions between the military, the prisoners, and the Indigenous Australians. It offers a unique perspective on the founding of modern Australia, blending history with imaginative storytelling.

22. Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie A modern retelling of Sophocles’ Antigone, this novel focuses on a British Muslim family torn apart when one brother joins a terrorist group. The story examines the conflict between loyalty to family and the laws of the state, as well as the politics of citizenship. Shamsie weaves a suspenseful narrative that moves from London to the Middle East. It is a heartbreaking exploration of sacrifice, love, and the complexities of identity in the modern world.