25 short novels to read in one day

A short novel or novel is called a shorter narrative than the common novel, with a character development and economic plot, which still manages to be longer than a short story. In this article we present a list of twenty-five examples of short novels that can be read in a single day. We suggest all kinds of novels: love, suspense, fantastic, psychological, among others, all of them famous for having captured the attention of readers and critics.

1. Exemplary novelsby Miguel de Cervantes

The book Exemplary novels de Miguel de Cervantes brings together a group of twelve short novels collected and published in 1613 in a single edition. They are between them:

• The little gypsy
• The liberal lover
• Rhinoceros and Cortadillo
• The English Spanish
• The lawyer Vidriera
• The force of blood
• The jealous Extremadura
• The illustrious mop
• The two maidens
• Mrs. Cornelia
• The deceptive marriage
• The Colloquium of the dogs

2. Young Werther's Misadventuresby Goethe

Young Werther's Misadventures is a classic of literature that, framed in the generation of the Sturm und Drang, awakened the spirit of romanticism. The novel takes the form of the diary and the epistolary story to tell the love journey through which Werther passes, a young artist without much to offer, who falls in love with Carlota, fiancee of Alberto. This novel was a true literary and cultural revolution in its time.

3. Death in veniceby Thomas Mann

The novel Death in venice by Thomas Mann tells the story of a writer who, during his stay in a hotel in Venice, at the time of the cholera epidemic, he is inexplicably drawn to the beauty of a young Polish boy named Tadzio. Rather, his drama is interior, being subjected to an inadvertent passion, devoid of all hope of correspondence.

4. Metamorphosisby Franz Kafka

Metamorphosis It is one of the most influential novels in modern literature, and is considered a precursor to the literature of the absurd. It tells the story of Gregorio Sansa and his transformation into a monstrous insect, presumably a beetle, a situation from which he must face the daily drama of the modern world.

It may interest you: Metamorphosis Kafka: Summary, Analysis and Meaning.

5. The colonel has no one to write to himby Gabriel García Márquez

The colonel has no one to write to him, by Gabriel García Márquez, tells the story of a retired military man 15 years ago who, since his retirement, awaits the economic allocation that corresponds to him for having rendered his services to the homeland.

It may interest you: The colonel has no one to write to him by Gabriel García Márquez: summary, analysis and meaning.

6. A Chronicle of a Death Foretoldby Gabriel García Márquez

A Chronicle of a Death Foretold it gets its name from its own narrative structure. The story opens with the announcement of the crime that the Vicario brothers will perpetrate: the murder of Santiago Nasar. The motive for the murder is to avenge the tarnished honor of the Vicario's sister. With this structure, the narrator plays with the circularity of literary time.

Watch: A Chronicle of a Death Foretold

7. The little Princeby Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The little Prince It is today a fundamental reference in universal literature. It tells the story of an aviator who must fix his ship in the middle of the Sahara desert, where he meets a little prince from a very distant kingdom, located on the asteroid B 612. The little prince asks you to please draw a lamb for him. From there, a process begins that will reveal the singularities in a different way of perceiving life, which confronts the order established in the terrestrial world.

See also: The little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: summary, analysis and meaning.

8. The Great Gatsbyby Francis Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is a story that is framed in the call Belle epoque or "Crazy Years", that is, in the 1920s, the period of recovery from the First World War. The main character is Jay Gatsby, who after the war, tries to win over Daisy, married to Tom Buchanan. It is, in part, a journey through the construction of the threads of power and corruption in a society that, without being able to understand it, is heading towards World War II.

9. Auraby Carlos Fuentes

Aura is a short novel published in 1962. Inscribed in fantasy literature, it tells the story of Felipe Montero, hired by Doña Consuelo to write the memoirs of her late husband, General Llorente. As a condition, Montero must settle in a mysterious family home. There he meets Doña Consuelo's niece and assistant, Aura, whose presence in that house seems to be forced.

See also: Aura, by Carlos Fuentes: summary, analysis and meaning.

10. The pursuer, by Julio Cortázar

The play The pursuer by Julio Cortázar wanders between the long story and the short novel. It is inspired by the life of Charlie Parker, one of the musicians most admired by the author. It tells the story of Johnny Carter, a saxophonist with alcohol problems and metaphysical concerns. His biographer, Bruno, accompanies him daily to capture the genius and circumstances of the artist, and also to protect him from himself.

11. Holds Pereiraby Antonio Tabucchi

Holds Pereira is a short novel by the Italian writer Antonio Tabucchi, inspired by the Portuguese dictatorship of Salazar and set in the era of fascist governments in Europe. The main character is Pereira, a veteran journalist in charge of the cultural page of a newspaper around 1938. Pereira requires the collaboration of Monteiro Rossi, a politically committed young man. The relationship between Pereira, Rossi and his girlfriend, Marta, will make his life turn upside down.

12. Abroadby Albert Camus

Abroad It is the first novel by the Frenchman Albert Camus, published in 1942. His main character is Meursault, a Franco-Moroccan man who finds himself alien and alien to society, unable to feel emotionally or morally affected by anything. A series of circumstances lead him to commit a murder, for which he must pay with his own life.

13. Pedro Paramoby Juan Rulfo

Pedro Paramo is a novel by the Mexican writer Juan Rulfo. It is considered a masterpiece of Latin American literature. It tells the story of Juan Preciado, a man who, on his mother's deathbed, promises to find his father Pedro Páramo in the mysterious land of Comala to settle accounts with him.

You may also like: Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo: summary, characters and analysis of the Mexican novel.

14. The tunnelby Ernesto Sábato

The tunnel, by Ernesto Sábato, is a short novel. It was classified by experts as a psychological drama, which traces in detail the inner universe and the psychological process of an artist who murders his lover, María Iribarne.

You may also like: The tunnel by Ernesto Sábado: summary, analysis and meaning.

15. Memories of Mama Blancaby Teresa de la Parra

Memories of Mama Blanca is a novel by the Venezuelan writer Teresa de la Parra, published in 1929. Mama Blanca, a woman in her 70s, establishes a singular friendship with a 12-year-old girl and, before she dies, she gives him a manuscript of her with her memories. The young woman ends up becoming an editor who sees the opportunity to publish these memories. In them, the childhood of Snow White and her five sisters, gathered at the Piedra Azul farm, is told. Everyday life, nostalgia for the past and difficulties in adapting to changes will be some of the edges touched on in this unique and warm novel.

16. Rebelion on the farmby George Orwells

Rebelion on the farm, by George Orwells, is a dystopian fable that describes the life of the animals of a farm who, inspired by the old pig Major, decide to make a revolution and create a society utopian. Animals conspire to overthrow their ancient enemy, man, and fully enjoy wealth, equality, and freedom. The result, however, will be the construction of a totalitarian order.

It may interest you: Rebelion on the farm George Orwells: Summary, Analysis and Meaning.

17. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydeby Robert Louis Stevenson

Published in 1886, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde It is a novel by the Englishman Robert Louis Stevenson. A lawyer tries to decipher the relationship between the scientist Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, supposed heir to the Jekyll fortune. A series of unsuspected events will lead him to discover that both are the same person.

You may also like: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

18. Steppe wolfby Hermann Hesse

In the novel Steppe wolf by Hermann Hesse, published for the first time in 1927, the author introduces us to a reflection on the human condition based on the dual nature of the hero, in this case, Harry Haller. The work stands out for its particular narrative structure that defies conventions. It collects some autobiographical elements of Hesse, who dealt with severe depression throughout his life.

See also: Steppe wolf Hermann Hesse: Summary, Analysis and Meaning.

19. 1922by Stephen King

1922 is a short thriller novel written by the acclaimed Stephen King. It is presented as a story of the character Wilfred James who, supposedly, confesses in a long text the murder of Arlette, his wife, which would have taken place in 1922 in Nebraska.

20. Breakfast at Tiffany’sby Truman Capote

Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a short novel written by the American Truman Capote and published around 1958. It is about the unique relationship between a man with writing aspirations (who acts as a narrator), and "Holly", a woman used to dating older men with high purchasing power. They are both tenants in a building in Manhattan, New York City.

21. The old man and the sea, Ernest Hemingway

The old man and the sea is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1952, which has become a fundamental reference in Western literature. The play is set in Havana and stars "El Viejo" Santiago, a fisherman by trade, who has not caught a catch in more than two months. One day, Santiago goes out to sea alone and gets a big fish to bite the hook. However, she struggles for three days to capture him. From there, things will turn around.

22. Dear Diego, Quiela hugs youby Elena Poniatowska

This novel by Elena Poniatowska is based on the story of Angelina Beloff, the first wife of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, whom she called "Quiela." The work is located in the year 1921. The main character is Angelina Beloff, a talented painter overshadowed by her husband, in the context of a relationship marked by oppression. It is an epistolary story in which Quiela recounts his life in Paris while he waits, uselessly, for Rivera's return.

23. White Nightsby Fyodor Dostoevsky

The novel White Nights Dostoevsky's was first published in 1848. It takes its name from the natural phenomenon typical of certain areas such as Saint Petersburg, where darkness is never total during the summer solstice. The story is set, then, in Saint Petersburg, where a lonely young man meets Nástenka, a teenager who awaits the return of her fiancée. Through four white nights and one morning, Nástenka will tell you the unique story of her life, which will awaken the feelings of the young man.

24. An old man who read love novelsby Luis Sepúlveda

This story by Luis Sepúlveda tells the story of Antonio José Bolívar Proaño, inhabitant of an indigenous people, from whose culture he has learned respect for nature and survival in the jungle, even hunting tigrillos. Old Bolívar is interested in the love novels that the dentist Loachamin brings when he visits town. Outsiders, with no respect for nature, have killed the young of a female tigrillo, arousing her fury and turning her into a scourge for all.

25. The Decameronby Giovanni Boccacio

The Decameron It consists of a series of one hundred stories that are organized into ten chapters or sessions. It is not, precisely, a short novel and requires more than a day to complete it. However, given its structure, this work is a welcome companion.

All the stories are inserted in a great meta-story that begins when seven women and three young men from the high Florentine society decide to retire to a country house to spend the quarantine, because of the bubonic plague of the century XIV. To entertain themselves, in each of the ten days they share, the young people take turns telling stories. The book is, then, of these stories told by each day.

This work by Boccacio is considered the first Renaissance literary work, since it fully encompasses anthropocentric humanism.

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