The best novels on love stories that go far beyond romance and will linger in your mind

List by Hasu August

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was in elementary school, I was poor at writing essays. My mother believed that reading could help to improve my school performance, and started collecting short stories suitable for me. Incidentally, my interest in reading and writing was fostered. I grew older and became passionate about books that led me to see new worlds, to experience lives unknown to me before, and to empathize with other people regardless of race. With hindsight, I realized that all the books I’d read had something in common–that is, love, with its profound meaning and influence on our forever imperfect world, is the eternal theme and always inspiring me.

The books I picked & why

The Real Life of Sebastian Knight

By Vladimir Nabokov ,

Why I love this book

I was completely bewitched by Nabokov’s language in the book–it’s sarcastic, funny, even hilarious, but it sowed deep the seeds of pathos that brought a faint pain to my heart. I read many paragraphs over a couple of times, but still felt I couldn’t get enough out of his sentences with layers of hidden meaning, intention, etc.

The book enchanted me while leaving me a bitter aftertaste, just like love sometimes is a double-edged treasure that makes you laugh and cry.

The Real Life of Sebastian Knight

By Vladimir Nabokov ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Real Life of Sebastian Knight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Nabokov writes prose the only way it should be written, that is, ecstatically." -- John Updike

The Real Life of Sebastian Knight is a perversely magical literary detective story -- subtle, intricate, leading to a tantalizing climax -- about the mysterious life of a famous writer. Many people knew things about Sebastian Knight as a distinguished novelist, but probably fewer than a dozen knew of the two love affairs that so profoundly influenced his career, the second one in such a disastrous way. After Knight's death, his half brother sets out to penetrate the enigma of his life, starting with…

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Folklore

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Literary fiction

The Remains of the Day

By Kazuo Ishiguro ,

Why I love this book

A friend of mine recommended the book to me when I was in love with someone over 10 years but felt like stuck in a dark tunnel, seeing only a light dot in the distance. I could hardly put it down, but I savored each page slowly as the subtle writing made me want to experience in full the emotional life journey of the protagonist as if I was afraid of knowing how the story ended.

Actually, it turned out that I became deeply intrigued by the turbulent era, events, choices, sacrifices, etc., all of which revolved around the development of his affections but only led to a sad ending. It was an enlightening reading that made me think about what in the universe love is.

The Remains of the Day

By Kazuo Ishiguro ,

Why should I read it?

21 authors picked The Remains of the Day as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*Kazuo Ishiguro's new novel Klara and the Sun is now available to preorder*

The Remains of the Day won the 1989 Booker Prize and cemented Kazuo Ishiguro's place as one of the world's greatest writers. David Lodge, chairman of the judges in 1989, said, it's "a cunningly structured and beautifully paced performance". This is a haunting evocation of lost causes and lost love, and an elegy for England at a time of acute change. Ishiguro's work has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

Stevens, the long-serving butler of Darlington Hall, embarks on…

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The Housekeeper and the Professor

By Yoko Ogawa ,

Why I love this book

During my schooling years, mathematics was my forte, though I hardly found it interesting. When I read the book, I felt that my pride was dwarfed by the beautiful writing on mathematics, about which I realized I had known almost nothing.

The writing endowed mathematics with a life full of various feelings, and enabled it to become ties of love, friendship, care, etc. which, in turn, changed people’s life for better. In a way, the book reshaped my view of the world.

The Housekeeper and the Professor

By Yoko Ogawa ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Housekeeper and the Professor as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is one of those books written in such lucid, unpretentious language that reading it is like looking into a deep pool of clear water...Dive into Yoko Ogawa's world and you find yourself tugged by forces more felt than seen' New York Times

Each morning, the Professor and the Housekeeper are introduced to one another. The Professor may not remember what he had for breakfast, but his mind is still alive with elegant mathematical equations from the past. He devises clever maths riddles - based on her shoe size or her birthday - and the numbers reveal a sheltering and…

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Literary fiction

Out of Africa

By Isak Dinesen , #1 of Out of Africa series

Why I love this book

The female protagonist gripped me from the start to the end of the story. It was not only because of her strength, intelligence, humorousness, and tenderness…but also because of her perspective on African culture and her evolving affection for the people and land there.

Through her company, I felt as if I’d gone on an unforgettable exotic journey and been spiritually enhanced.

Out of Africa

By Isak Dinesen ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Out of Africa as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In 1914 Karen Blixen arrived in Kenya with her husband to run a coffee-farm. Drawn to the exquisite beauty of Africa, she spent her happiest years there until the plantation failed. A poignant farewell to her beloved farm, "Out of Africa" describes her friendships with the local people, her dedication for the landscape and wildlife, and great love for the adventurer Denys Finch-Hatton.

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Memoirs of a Geisha

By Arthur Golden ,

Why I love this book

I was amazed by the delicate and perceptive description on ritual scenes and the protagonist’s unfailing pursuit of love, which are rooted from unique Japanese culture.

The book was an eye-opener for me, and it was one of the reasons why I became fascinated by Japanese traditional aesthetics and ideas.

Memoirs of a Geisha

By Arthur Golden ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Memoirs of a Geisha as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'An epic tale and a brutal evocation of a disappearing world' The Times

A young peasant girl is sold as servant and apprentice to a renowned geisha house. Many years later she tells her story from a hotel in New York, opening a window into an extraordinary half-hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation and summoning up a quarter of a century of Japan's dramatic history.

'Intimate and brutal, written in cool, lucid prose it is a novel whose psychological empathy and historical truths are outstanding' Mail on Sunday

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