For those who feel an acute shortage of romantic mood
Alessandro Baricco, "Silk"
Famous Italian writer, famous after the screening of his novel "1900. Legend of the pianist", can masterfully create soul-stirringing texts. Silk" is one of his books, and the work, by the way, also served as the basis for the feature film. Baricco tells us the story of a love polygon: at the end of the XIX century married Frenchman Hervé Joncourt goes to Japan - he smuggles silkworms. Already on the spot he meets an influential rich man and suddenly falls in love with his wife - in fact, his feelings are mutual. Not knowing each other's language, they hardly communicate and only by mail - a romantic story gets an unexpected turn when his wife finds out about Joncourt's hobby. Although many readers note a certain schematicity of the characters in the book, Baricco should be credited for the lyrical intonation of the text and piercing sentimental scenes, soaked in Asian flavor.
David Herbert Lawrence, "Lady Chatterley's lover"
One of the most scandalous novels of the beginning of XX century made the name of its author, David Herbert Lawrence, famous readers around the world. Conservative European society was not ready for the degree of frankness with which Lawrence spoke of the intimate side of family life. In the story, the young Constance Reid is married to Baronet Clifford Chatterley. He goes to war, where he is seriously wounded - because of this, the whole lower part of his body paralyzes. Severe trauma leads to the fact that the young wife is deprived of intimacy with her husband - as a result of suffering and Constance, and Clifford himself. Making frequent walks through the woods, the heroine of the book gets acquainted with a local gamekeeper who conquered her heart with courage and manliness - they have an affair, which has almost no chance of ending up as a happy ending.
Arundhati Roy, "The God of trifles"
For her debut novel "The God of trifles" Indian writer Arundhati Roy received the Buker Prize in 1996, immediately turning into a cult author in his homeland. In the volume of the work, there are many storylines, but one of the centers is the love of twins, the main characters in the book, the boy Estee and the girl Rachel. The book also serves as a guide in India - Roy describes the life of local residents, harsh morals, traditions and caste system of society, which deprives people of the right to love and a normal life. The "God of trifles" is not an easy reading, the book is full of tragedy: "Her heart dragged behind him on the tie, hitting the rocks and clinging to the bushes. All in bruises and almost broken" - this is how Arundhati Roy describes the feelings of his heroine in one of the scenes. It hurts to read the novel, but it is impossible to break away from it.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, "Southern Post Office"
Many people know Antoine de Saint-Exupery only as the author of the "Little Prince", and for nothing: the French writer and professional pilot was in every sense a wonderful novelist. His first novel, which he completed in 1929, called "South Postal" - the text became a manifesto of his artistic views. The work is almost devoid of action: the pilot, making a long flight from one airport to another, looks at the ground, lost in the clouds, and remembers his first love - the beautiful Genevieve. He is constantly addressing her in his mind, conducting a dialogue, telling the story of their acquaintance. In a good way sentimental prose written in brilliant language, in which it is easy to guess the future author's handwriting St. Exupery: to read the story is a must.
Ian McEwan, "Unbearable love"
Some people think that great love is something like a mental illness - partly, of course, it is, but partly. Ian McEwan decides to tell a story in which the flashed feeling is indeed a consequence of personality disorder. The novel "Unbearable Love" became a bestseller in many countries around the world. The main character, Joe, happily married to Clarissa for 7 years. In his life everything is fine, but one day there is a tragic case: he tries to save people caught in an emergency situation in the hot air balloon, but as a result of the death of a man. At the time of the disaster, Joe meets Jed Perry, who also tried to help the "rescue operation": under the influence of stress from an emergency event, he falls in love with Joe - and I am sure that his feelings are mutual, although it is not. His maniacal desire to win the heart of Joe destroys the life of the protagonist, as well as his family, leading the man almost to madness. A non-trivial view of the love triangle and the relationship between people - something that makes the book stand out from among others.
Vladimir Nabokov, "The Obscura's camera"
Although some people still accuse Vladimir Nabokov of frivolity, his novels are often extremely enlightening, and ultimately not as difficult to follow as the daring author punishes his "unloved" heroes. Art historian Bruno Kretschmar, the main character in the book, has long been married and has a daughter. However, this does not prevent him from getting carried away by the sixteen-year-old beauty he meets at the cinema. The consequence of love is the escape of Krechmar from his own family - he literally goes mad about young Magda, living only in love with her. However, soon he begins to guess that she has a lover. And as soon as he finds the first proof of his theory, he loses his sight as a result of a tragic accident. But this is not the end of the novel - for the thoughtless and vicious passion of the Russian-American classic is ready to long and happy to torture Kretschmar.