Popular European Satire Books
Find satire books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (13)
1.
A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov EN
RussiaDescription:
A masterpiece of Russian prose, Lermontov's only novel was influential for many later 19th century authors, including Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov. Lermotov's hero, Pechorin, is a dangerous man, Byronic in his wasted gifts and his cynicism, and desperate for any kind of action that will stave off boredom. In five linked episodes, Lermontov builds up a portrait of a man caught in and expressing the sickness of his times.
2.
A Modest Proposal and Other Writings by Jonathan Swift EN
IrelandDescription:
The political dilemma of Ireland; the state of faith in England; the charms of the Beggar's Opera; the importance of puns . . . This selection gathers together some of Swift's most brilliant prose, from high politics to social gossip, from savage tirades to lighthearted social satire. In addition to his classic essays, the collection includes several of Swift's letters to Alexander Pope and other great thinkers of the age.
3.
Animal Farm by George Orwell EN
Country: Europe / 
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
A satire on totalitarianism in which farm animals overthrow their human owner and set up their own government.
Iceland
France6.
Comrade Don Camillo by Giovanni Guareschi EN
ItalyDescription:
Number 4 in the Don Camillo series, beloved by 23 million readers. When Peppone loses out to Don Camillo on a matter of conscience he must accept the battling priest's presence among a group of communist activists on a trip he is organising to Mother Russia. Travelling incognito, Don Camillo becomes the life and soul of the Party and picks off his totalitarian comrades one-by-one in a hilarious riot of shrewd manipulation. But then fate intervenes and the travellers discover a surprise common denominator more radical than any political ideology... 'Those who read The Little World of Don Camill... continue
7.
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol EN
UkraineDescription:
One of the most unusual works of nineteenth-century fiction and a devastating satire on social hypocrisy Chichikov, a mysterious stranger, arrives in a provincial town and visits a succession of landowners to make each a strange offer. He proposes to buy the names of dead serfs still registered on the census, saving their owners from paying tax on them, and to use these “souls” as collateral to reinvent himself as a gentleman. In this ebullient masterpiece, Gogol created a grotesque gallery of human types, from the bear-like Sobakevich to the insubstantial fool Manilov, and, above all, the dev... continue
8.
Manalive by G. K. Chesterton EN
Country: Europe / United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
Light-hearted work introduces Innocent Smith, a bubbly, eccentric gentleman of questionable character, into the lives of a group of young disillusioned people -- and the result is inspired, high-spirited nonsense.
10.
The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde EN
Description:
These special fairy tales, which Oscar Wilde made up for his own sons, include 'The Happy Prince', who was not as happy as he seemed; 'The Selfish Giant', who learned to love little children; 'The Star Child', who suffered bitter trials when he rejected his parents. . . . Often whimsical and sometimes sad, they all shine with poetry and magic.