Novels - Exodus Books

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To be great, a novel must show an old thing in a new way. It's equally disastrous to espouse tradition for its own sake as to propose novelty for the sake of novelty—only together can these elements have meaning.

Modernist and postmodernist authors are infatuated with newness as a thing in itself. They subject language to increasingly complicated gymnastic maneuvers, play with ideas rather than defending them, and generally wreak havoc on established forms. This results in novels that may or may not be aesthetically pleasing, but are surely meaningless.

If we adhere too closely to the forms of the past, however, we run the risk of shortsightedness, bigotry, and prejudice. Humans too often must be shaken from their stupor, made to see things as others see them in order to promote equality and peace and goodwill. A good novel rooted in universal ideals freshly presented can do just that.

Novels are seldom the impetus for social movements, but they often augment cultural change. As a literary form, they came into being because writers wanted a venue for espousing or exploring ideas that wasn't rooted in history or "real life." They wanted, in short, to write fiction.

Before the novel, works modern readers would view as fictional were generally considered in a different light. Either they were actual history, or they were meta-narratives, or they were religious, or they were simply narrative philosophy. The idea was to impart truth, not simply data. As writers became more concerned with the world-as-it-is and scientific understanding, they turned toward forms more consistent with the Enlightenment emphasis on knowledge-acquisition as a means to truth.

The novel was such a form. Symbolism was never abandoned wholesale (except by certain eccentric groups at various times), but a new attention was paid to detail—not just detail integral to the story or signifying something else, but detail that set the scene, that gave the reader a sense of place, mood, circumstance and character. It was this attention to detail that helped fiction emerge as a respectable genre.

For ancient and Medieval writers, the seen world and the world beyond were indistinguishable. The famed Celtic knot was intended to show the interrelatedness of all things, how each realmbled into the other and held everything in place. Pre-Enlightenment writing reflected this view, and any detail provided in a poem or narrative was intended, not to portray physical or human "realities," but to demonstrate truths consistent between realms.

When the Enlightenment came around and proclaimed scientific observation and empiricism the new guides (replacing revelation and divine authority), a new approach was needed. No longer were things primarily representative of other things, things were essentially what they were—meaning things were eseentially physical.

Description evolved to fit the new ethos, and creative literature evolved with it. The novel, prose rather than poetry, devoted to detail and incident rather than sweeping generalization, was one of the best weapons in the Enlightenment arsenal. Writers were no longer primarily concerned with affecting readers' attitudes and hearts, they wanted to change their minds. Western culture has never recovered.

Fortunately, the novel was never stagnant, and never fully enslaved by Enlightenment practitioners. Novels have diversified: there are philosophical novels, poetic novels, experimental novels, comic novels, historical novel, all of them aimed at the reader in such a way that the encounter is either devastating or uplifting, frightening or comforting, horrible and sad or fresh and beautiful.

We don't pretend to carry every important novel ever penned. We don't apologize for that....or for the fact that we carry novels at all. It's easy to look at fiction as mere escapism, much harder to engage it seriously hoping to be transformed. Our goal is to offer books (whether "classics" or not) that offer new ways of seeing, opportunities for transformation, encounters with the sublime as harrowing as they are exhilerating.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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French Literature

	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Sterling Classics by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by Scott McKowen from Sterling Publishing Co. for 5th-10th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Bantam Classics by Jules Verne, translated by Anthony Bonner from Bantam Books Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.99
	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Windermere Readers #19 by Jules Verne, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen 1956 printing from Rand McNally for 10th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (2 in stock)
	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Windermere Series 2 (Cover 1) by Jules Verne, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen from Rand McNally for 10th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Windermere Series 2 (Cover 2) by Jules Verne, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen from Rand McNally for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Windermere Series 3 by Jules Verne, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen from Rand McNally for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Windermere Series 4 by Jules Verne, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen 1935 Edition from Rand McNally for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Alexandre Dumas Three Musketeers Collection Oxford World's Classics by Alexandre Dumas from Oxford University Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Around the World in 80 Days Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Jules Verne from Reader's Digest for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, George M. Towle (Translator) from Bantam Books for 7th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95 $3.00 (1 in stock)
	Around the World in Eighty Days Sterling Classics by Jules Verne, illustrated by Scott McKowen Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co. Adventure for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, translated by William Butcher Reprint from Oxford University for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $9.95
	Around the World in Eighty Days Books of Wonder by Jules Verne, illustrated by Barry Moser from William Morrow & Company Adventure for 6th-10th grade in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
	Candide by Voltaire from Dover Publications for 11th-Adult in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
	Candide by Voltaire from Penguin Books for 11th-Adult in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18) $17.00
	Candide, Zadig and Selected Stories by Voltaire from Signet Classics for 11th-Adult in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18) $3.50
	Complete Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, translated by Emanuel J. Mickel from Indiana University Press for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, translated, with an introduction and notes, by Robin Buss from Penguin Classics Realistic Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $16.00
	Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, translation by Robin Buss from Modern Library Realistic Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Eugenie Grandet by Honore de Balzac, translated by Ellen Marriage, introduction by Richard Aldington, illustrations by Rene ben Sussan from Heritage Press for 10th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne, translated by William Lackland and illustrated by Edouard Riou Illustrated Fir from SeaWolf Press for 5th-10th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $9.95
	Hunchback of Notre Dame Signet Classics by Victor Hugo from Signet Classics Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	Journey to the Center of the Earth Sterling Classics by Jules Verne, illustrated by Scott McKowen from Sterling Publishing Co. Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
	Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne from Reader's Digest for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Journey to the Centre of the Earth Great Illustrated Classics by Jules Verne from Dodd, Mead & Co. Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Last Cavalier Being the Adventures of Count Sainte-Hermine in the Age of Napoleon by Alexandre Dumas from Pegasus Books Historical Romance for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Les Miserables Signet Classics by Victor Hugo, translated by Lee Fahnestock & Norman MacAfee from Signet Classics Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $11.99
	Les Miserables Modern Library by Victor Hugo, translated by Julie Rose from Modern Library Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $20.00
	Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Charles Wilbour from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $42.00
	Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Isabel F Hapgood from Fall River Press Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Les Miserables Modern Library by Victor Hugo, translated by Norman Denny from Penguin Classics Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, translated by Lascelles Wraxall and illustrated by Lynd Ward from Heritage Press Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Les Miserables (abridged) by Victor Hugo, supplementary materials written by Margaret Brantley from Simon and Schuster Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $7.99
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harvest House Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $11.99 $7.50 (2 in stock)
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Scholastic Inc. Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harvest House Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, translated by Richard Howard from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $18.00
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harcourt Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Louise de la Valliere Alexandre Dumas Collection #4 by Alexandre Dumas from Oxford University Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $15.95
	Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert from Dover Publications for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $3.50 $2.00 (1 in stock)
	Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert from International Collectors Library for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, translated by J. Lewis May and illustrated by Pierre Brissaud & Théo Schmied from Easton Press for 10th-Adult in Leather Bound Collectible Books (Location: VIN-LEA)
	Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, translated by Francis Steegmuller and illustrated by Honore Daumier from Random House for 11th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Man in the Iron Mask Alexandre Dumas Collection #5 by Alexandre Dumas from Oxford University Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $14.95
	Mysterious Island Signet Classics by Jules Verne from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $7.95
	Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth from Charles Scribner's Sons Science Fiction for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth from SeaWolf Press Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $15.95
	Mysterious Island by Jules Verne, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson from Heritage Press Science Fiction for 8th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Paris in the Twentieth Century The Lost Novel by Jules Verne from Random House for 9th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $15.00
	Phantom of the Opera A New Translation by Gaston Leroux from Bantam Books Mystery/Horror for 9th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.95
	Plague, The by Albert Camus, Stuart Gilbert from Vintage Classics for 10th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $15.00
	The Stranger by Albert Camus from Vintage Classics for 11th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $15.00
	Three Musketeers Signet Classics by Alexandre Dumas from Signet Classics Historical Fiction/Adventure for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $8.95
	Three Musketeers Everyman's Library by Alexandre Dumas from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $32.00
	Three Musketeers Windermere Readers #20 by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen 1954 Edition from Rand McNally Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $9.00 (2 in stock)
	Three Musketeers Easton Press Library by Alexandre Dumas, illustrated by Edy Legrand from Easton Press for 10th-Adult in Leather Bound Collectible Books (Location: VIN-LEA)
	Three Musketeers Everyman's Library by Alexandre Dumas, translated by William Barrow and illustrated by Edouard Zier from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $18.95
	Three Musketeers Reader's Digest World's Best Reading by Alexandre Dumas, illustrated by Rowland Wheelwright 1999 Edition from Reader's Digest for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Three Musketeers Macmillan Classics by Alexandre Dumas, illustrated by James Daugherty 2nd Printing, 1923 from Macmillan for 10th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, illustrated by Valenti Angelo from Three Sirens Press for 10th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Three Musketeers Windermere Series 3 by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen 1954 Edition from Rand McNally Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Three Musketeers Windermere Series 4 by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen 1933 printing from Rand McNally Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Signet Classics by Jules Verne, translated by Mendor Brunetti from Signet Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne from Nelson Doubleday, Inc. for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Seawolf Classics by Jules Verne, translated by F. P. Walter Illustrated 1875 from SeaWolf Press for 10th-Adult in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $15.45
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, illustrated by Milo Winter from Barnes & Noble for 10th-Adult in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Oxford World's Classics by Jules Verne, translated by William Butcher 2^nd edition from Oxford University for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $12.95
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Joseph Ciardiello from Reader's Digest for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, with essays by Matthew Booth and David Stuart Davis from Worth Press for 10th-Adult in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by Edward A. Wilson from Heritage Press for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by W. J. Aylward from Charles Scribner's Sons for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Vintage Classics by Jules Verne, translated by Henry Frith from Vintage Classics Science Fiction for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $10.00
	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and Ron Miller, illustrated by Ron Miller from Unicorn Publishing House for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
	Twenty Years After Alexandre Dumas Collection #2 by Alexandre Dumas Reissue from Oxford University Historical Fiction/Adventure for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $16.95
	Vicomte de Bragelonne Alexandre Dumas Collection #3 by Alexandre Dumas from Oxford University Historical Fiction/Adventure for 10th-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $15.95

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