Philosophy & Faith

A psychological thriller that predates the genre. The novel follows Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished former student in St. Petersburg who formulates a theory that 'extraordinary' men have the right to commit crimes for the greater good. To test this theory, he brutally murders an unscrupulous pawnbroker and her sister. The act itself is just the beginning. The rest of the novel is a harrowing journey through Raskolnikov's psyche as he is consumed by paranoia, guilt, and a cat-and-mouse game with the astute detective Porfiry Petrovich. It is a claustrophobic exploration of the human soul under the weight of its own conscience, asking whether redemption is possible for the irredeemable.

The library of a civilization. It is not just a religious text; it is an anthology of history, poetry, law, prophecy, and philosophy that has shaped the Western world more than any other book. From the creation of the cosmos in Genesis to the apocalypse in Revelation, it tells the epic story of the relationship between the human and the divine. It contains the most famous stories ever told: Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, David and Goliath, and the life of Jesus. But it also contains erotic poetry (Song of Solomon), existential despair (Ecclesiastes), and political revolution (Exodus). It is a mirror of the human condition in all its glory and brokenness, exploring themes of sin, redemption, and the search for meaning.

A murder mystery that turns into a philosophical trial of humanity. The novel revolves around the murder of Fyodor Karamazov, a grotesque and greedy landowner, and the suspicion that falls on his three sons: the passionate Dmitri, the intellectual Ivan, and the saintly Alyosha. Each son represents a different aspect of the human spirit: the body, the mind, and the soul. But the whodunit is just the framework. The real drama happens in the conversations between the brothers as they debate God, free will, and the problem of evil. It features the famous 'Grand Inquisitor' chapter, a story-within-a-story where Ivan imagines Jesus returning to earth and being arrested by the church. It is a book about the war between faith and reason, fought on the battlefield of the human heart.

The manifesto of the absurd. Under the blinding Algerian sun, nothing matters. Meursault, a French settler, walks along a beach and kills a man—not out of malice, but because of the sun, the heat, and a terrifying indifference. He refuses to pretend to feel emotions he doesn't have, even at his mother's funeral. The novel is a trial not just of a murder, but of a soul. Society condemns Meursault not because he is a killer, but because he is a stranger to their rules. He is the ultimate outsider, a man who would rather die than lie about his feelings. It is a chilling, hypnotic portrait of a universe stripped of meaning.

The ultimate journey of the soul. Guided by the Roman poet Virgil and his lost love Beatrice, Dante descends into the nine circles of Hell, climbs the seven terraces of the Mountain of Purgatory, and ascends to the celestial spheres of Paradise. What begins as a terrified struggle through a dark wood becomes an encyclopedic tour of the medieval universe, mapping the geography of sin, repentance, and holiness with mathematical precision. It is an allegory of human redemption that is both deeply personal and universally political. Written in exile, Dante populates the afterlife with his real-world enemies and heroes, turning his own suffering into a cosmic system of justice. It is a poem about the "state of souls after death," but also a desperate plea for justice in a fallen world.