Azar Nafisi's 6 favorite books

The Iranian-American literary scholar recommends works by Herman Melville, Muriel Spark, and more

Booklister Nafisi
(Image credit: (Photo courtesy Azar Nafisi))

Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville (Dover, $3). I am still amazed by Melville's ability to create characters in a few quick strokes. His tale of Bartleby, first described as "pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, incurably forlorn," is one of those literary miracles that should be read rather than talked about.

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Wordsworth, $4). Ever since I first discovered The Little Prince as an adolescent, I have carried a copy with me across the continents. As they say farewell, the Fox tells the Little Prince, "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eye." That short sentence for me captures the essence of literature and art.

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