Recap of Novels 71-80

Average rating of novels 71-80 - 3.6 out of 5 Stars

71. ★★               The Ambassadors     by Henry James

72. ★★★★½    An American Tragedy     by Theodore Dreiser

73. ★★★★½    Atlas Shrugged     by Ayn Rand

74. ★★★★       Great Expectations     by Charles Dickens

75. ★★★½        The Fountainhead     by Ayn Rand

76. ★★½            The Wings of the Dove     by Henry James
77. ★★★★       Les Misérables     by Victor Hugo
78. ★★★★       Crime and Punishment  by Fyodor Dostoevsky

79. ★★★½        The Heart of the Matter     by Graham Greene

80. ★★★½        Appointment in Samarra     by John O’Hara

Favorite: Les Misérables

Honorable Mention: Atlas Shrugged

Least Favorite: The Ambassadors

Best Hero/Heroine: Jean Valjean from Les Misérables

Dagny Taggart from Atlas Shrugged

Most Villainous: Monsieur and Madame Thénardier from Les Misérables

Most interesting/Complex character: Francisco d’Anconia from Atlas Shrugged

Best Quotation: Man’s mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. ~ John Galt in Atlas Shrugged

Runner up, not so profound, but goodness could a man make use of such a line: When Milly smiled it was a public event – when she didn’t it was a chapter of history. ~ narrative from The Wings of the Dove

Best Subtitle: No subtitles in this group

Best film adaptation: 2012 musical version of Les Misérables, because it is true to the book (other than the whole musical part).

Worst film adaptation: The three-part film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged – The producers started with a good idea of filming this in three parts, and then made the baffling decision to recast each successive film – and I don’t mean they recast main characters – I mean they recast EVERY character – no exaggeration – every character.