Life-affirming books worth reading: a list of the best

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:35

Life-affirming books are such works of literature that do not just cheer up, but help get rid of prolonged blues, give a smile for a long time and return the desire to live, breathe deeply and enjoy every day. Which of them should be addressed first of all - classical or modern, childishly naive or philosophical? The list of the best books presented below will help you decide on the choice of the most life-affirming book.

Dandelion wine

Opens a list of life-affirming books that everyone should read, "Dandelion Wine" is a work by the famous writer Ray Bradbury, written in 1957 and stands out among his books for its deep personal background and some autobiography. Plottells about the summer adventures of two American boys: 12-year-old Douglas and 10-year-old Tom, the author himself became the prototype of the older one. The action takes place in the late 1920s in a fictional town in Illinois. The name for the work was a special dandelion wine, which was prepared every summer by the grandfather of the main characters.

Dandelion wine. These very words are like summer on the tongue. Dandelion wine - caught and bottled summer.

About Ray Bradbury's book "Dandelion Wine" reviews are mostly positive. Many people write that she helped them deal with themselves, get out of depression and will forever remain the most beloved and close to their hearts.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

One of the most life-affirming books for teenagers for many years in a row is the work of the American writer Richard Bach "A Seagull named Jonathan Livingston". It was written in 1970 as a kind of parable about a seagull with an unusual name Jonathan Livingston.

The protagonist is not an ordinary bird, he is romantic and sees beauty and breathtaking adventure in his flight, and not a routine way to move around and get food. Practicing various tricks of unusual and difficult flights, Jonathan Livingston causes misunderstanding on the part of the rest of the bird flock, but he ends up in the "other world" - seagulls who have dedicated their lives to flying. Upon reaching mastery and returning to Earth, JonathanLivingston begins to teach the art of other outcast seagulls, as he himself once was.

Pollyanna

The most famous book by the American writer Eleanor Porter "Polyanna" was written in 1913 and has been a bestseller of children's literature for more than a hundred years. However, the philosophy of this work is so life-affirming that sometimes adults read the adventures of Pollyanna with more enthusiasm than children.

The plot tells about an eleven-year-old girl who became an orphan and was forced to move in with her aunt - a very strict and grouchy woman. However, life with Pollyanna, who knows how to "play for joy", finding the positive in absolutely everything that happens, gradually changes not only the life and character of her aunt, but also the whole city, as well as her readers.

Three in the boat, not counting the dog

Another timeless classic of life-affirming literature is Jerome K. Jerome's humorous novel "Three Men in a Boat, Not Counting the Dog", best known to the Russian-speaking reader thanks to the Soviet film adaptation of 1979. The book, which was not even conceived as a humorous one, is today one of the funniest in world literature and skillfully cheers up even the most "heavy" readers. Here is what the author himself said about his idea:

I didn't even intend to write at firstfunny book. It was supposed to focus on the Thames and its "settings", landscape and historical, with little funny stories "to defuse". But for some reason it didn't work out that way. It turned out that it all became "ridiculous for detente." With sullen determination I went on… I wrote a dozen historical pieces and squeezed them in, one per chapter. In the end, they were all thrown out by my first editor.

The plot tells about the journey of three friends in a boat on the Thames, the prototype of one of which is Jerome K. Jerome himself.

Blackberry wine

English writer Joan Harris is generally known for her life-affirming works, her taste for life and her talent to reveal beauty to her readers in small things. What are her works "Chocolate" and "Lollipop Shoes". But even the writer's fans themselves admit that the work that can switch the mood from minus to plus in one evening is precisely "Blackberry Wine" of 2000.

The story has a lot in common with Bradbury's Dandelion Wine. Lost in life and once famous writer finds six bottles of berry wines, a kind of "hello from the past". And one by one, opening and trying each of them, it comes to blackberry, remembering the forgotten details from childhood and looking for your true happiness.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Stop Cafe

The famous American comedian Fannie Flagg, popular since the late 60s, in 1981 decided to try her hand at writing. Her second book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, published in 1987, became a real bestseller, delighting more and more readers to this day and helping them gain a new look at familiar things.

The plot is based on memories of the life of an elderly woman Ninni, with whom the main character, housewife Evilyn, who lost her taste for life at the age of 48, meets in a nursing home. The non-linear nature of the narrative makes the book especially lively - as if the reader is the third in a friendly conversation between Evelyn and Ninny.

Little Women

Another classic among the best life-affirming books is Little Women, written by American writer Louisa May Alcott in the late 19th century and published from 1868 to 1869.

The plot tells about the four March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, who grow up, look for themselves and from little mischievous girls become real women. Most of the stories described are based on childhood and adolescence experiences and memories of Olcott herself, who also had three sisters. Her character formed the basis of the second sister, 15-year-old Jo, who dreams of becoming a writer.

Monday starts on Saturday

It is believed that the Russian-speakingliterature is full of suffering and melancholy, but there is also a place in it for life-affirming books. Of course, to get rid of the blues, Dostoevsky or Tolstoy is not worth reading, but the Strugatsky brothers - how! The funniest, most positive and life-affirming book by famous science fiction writers is the 1965 story "Monday Starts on Saturday".

The story is based on the adventures of the Leningrad programmer Alexander Privalov, who quite by chance encounters the whole world of "scientific magic" and his institute NIICHAVO, as well as a huge number of unusual characters hinting at sorcerers and wizards from different fairy tales and works of art.

Eat, pray, love

One of the most positive and life-affirming books, readers around the world unanimously name the memoir novel "Eat, Pray, Love" by American writer Elizabeth Gilbert, which she published in 2006.

The plot is based on real events from the life of the author, who divorced her husband and went to travel the world in search of a new meaning in life. So, in Italy, she knew the taste of real food, revealing part of the name "eat", in India she gained spiritual experience and learned to "pray", and on the island of Bali she met the man of her life, finally learning what "love" is.

Virtually every list of the best modern books and the most life-affirming literature includes "Eat, Pray, Love" - verythe book has helped many people to really change their lives and prioritize.

The Wind Runner

The debut novel by Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner, became a real bestseller in 2003 and has been considered one of the most positive and necessary books for peace of mind for more than 15 years.

The plot tells about betrayal in a childhood friendship and an attempt to settle accounts with the past. Amir, a writer, the son of a rich Afghan man, betrayed his best friend as a child, who turned out to be his half-brother by father. He returns from America to his homeland to find and save his brother's son, who has fallen into sexual slavery. Despite the severity of the events that Khaled Hosseini describes in The Kite Runner, this book really shows that it is never too late to correct your mistakes.

Anna of Green Gables

The 1908 book "Anne of Green Gables" by Canadian writer Lucy Montgomery is perhaps one of the few that can compare in popularity with the already mentioned "Pollyanna".

The books are very similar in many respects - in the center of the plot is the adventure of an eleven-year-old orphan, a dreamer girl who finds a home and a family. Anya is very direct, kind and cheerful, and therefore stories about her can melt the ice even in the most gloomy heart.

Naive. Super

Undoubtedly a life-affirming bookis the work of the Norwegian writer Erlend Lu "Naive. Super", which he published in 1996. This touching and ironic book is very suitable for those who are faced with the so-called "crisis of age", since this is exactly what happened to the main character - a 25-year-old man who is confused in himself and very funny and naive describing all his affairs and experiences, changing his views to the world.

In the reviews, many readers literally call "Naive. Super" a kind of anti-stress and write that they try to re-read this book at every turning point in their lives - it helps to endure troubles more easily, perceiving them with humor.

Garden Enchantment

This book, written by American writer Sarah Edison Allen in 2007, gained immense popularity at home, but is almost unknown in Russia. However, anyone who misses a fresh positive stream in sweet, romantic and partly magical literature should definitely get acquainted with the novel "Garden Charms".

At the center of the plot is the Waverly family, "everyday sorceresses" Claire, Evanel, Bay and Sidney, who live in an old family house in the middle of a beautiful, enchanting garden behind a high fence. And they also have a magical apple tree that predicts the main events in the life of any person. Amazing, light and unlike anything else, the work will bring a bit of magic into the life of each of its readers.

Year of the Hare

One of the most famous works of Finnish literature, and at the same time one of the most life-affirming books - the novel "Year of the Hare" by Arto Paasilinn, published in 1975.

The plot tells about a journalist named Kaarlo, who accidentally hits a hare with his car. He keeps the injured animal for himself. What happened becomes the impetus for changes in Kaarlo's life, he radically changes his entire established life and sets off on a journey with his new hare friend.

Waffle Heart

Finishing the list of the most life-affirming books is the 2005 work of the Norwegian writer Maria Parr "Waffle Heart". As with many other books on this list, the story centers on young children. The adventures of nine-year-old Trille and Lena helped to take a fresh look at the world of readers of all ages. Children live on a farm, face a variety of events - funny, sad, unusual, but always changing a boy and a girl, making them a little older and wiser.

Judging by the reviews, many families read "Waffle Heart" with the same pleasure - both children, and parents, and grandparents return to this wonderful work again and again with a smile.