Penguin Mini Modern Classics

The short story is we're going to change the way you read.

2011 is the fiftieth anniversary of the Penguin Modern Classics. To celebrate we're publishing fifty mini Modern Classics. They're full of the best short fiction by the greatest writers of the last 100 years (or so), from Beckett to Saki, Nabokov to Kafka and Updike to Wodehouse.

Conveniently priced and temptingly sized, each book is a quick literary hit, a satisfying shot of storytelling. And though they don't take long to read, they'll stay with you long after you turn the final page.

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1	Chess by Stefan Zweig 4.27 avg rating — 162,197 ratings score: 1,975, and 20 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka 3.98 avg rating — 1,653 ratings score: 1,590, and 16 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster 4.07 avg rating — 19,882 ratings score: 1,470, and 15 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Babylon Revisited by F. Scott Fitzgerald 3.73 avg rating — 2,873 ratings score: 1,182, and 12 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	The Colour Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft 4.03 avg rating — 10,914 ratings score: 970, and 10 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	The Tooth by Shirley Jackson 3.77 avg rating — 748 ratings score: 882, and 9 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Two Gallants by James Joyce 3.29 avg rating — 431 ratings score: 768, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Bluebeard by Angela Carter 3.56 avg rating — 429 ratings score: 766, and 8 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells 3.79 avg rating — 4,176 ratings score: 674, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Terra Incognita by Vladimir Nabokov 3.73 avg rating — 547 ratings score: 669, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Bliss by Katherine Mansfield 3.71 avg rating — 1,768 ratings score: 668, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Youth by Joseph Conrad 3.67 avg rating — 3,777 ratings score: 663, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	The Crime Wave at Blandings (Blandings Castle, #5.5) by P.G. Wodehouse 4.33 avg rating — 485 ratings score: 653, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Hell Screen by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa 4.17 avg rating — 2,895 ratings score: 568, and 6 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James 3.64 avg rating — 5,587 ratings score: 558, and 6 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	The Lady in the Looking Glass by Virginia Woolf 3.80 avg rating — 1,076 ratings score: 557, and 6 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
17	Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen 3.85 avg rating — 7,389 ratings score: 460, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18	The Widow Ching-Pirate by Jorge Luis Borges 3.58 avg rating — 333 ratings score: 456, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	The Expelled by Samuel Beckett 3.36 avg rating — 304 ratings score: 448, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
20	The Adulterous Woman by Albert Camus 3.58 avg rating — 1,132 ratings score: 445, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
21	The Sexes by Dorothy Parker 3.79 avg rating — 217 ratings score: 435, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Flypaper by Robert Musil 3.80 avg rating — 184 ratings score: 376, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Odour of Chrysanthemums by D.H. Lawrence 3.67 avg rating — 1,717 ratings score: 353, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	The Queen's Necklace by Italo Calvino 3.43 avg rating — 196 ratings score: 348, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Red Rose, White Rose by Eileen Chang 3.92 avg rating — 923 ratings score: 348, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Wunderkind by Carson McCullers 3.70 avg rating — 383 ratings score: 343, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Filboid Studge, The Story of a Mouse That Helped by Saki 3.64 avg rating — 127 ratings score: 333, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Him With His Foot in His Mouth by Saul Bellow 3.48 avg rating — 137 ratings score: 269, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	The Magic Paint by Primo Levi 3.72 avg rating — 218 ratings score: 269, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Through the Wall by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya 3.46 avg rating — 160 ratings score: 267, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	The Last Demon by Isaac Bashevis Singer 3.82 avg rating — 228 ratings score: 263, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	Short Treatise on the Joys of Morphinism by Hans Fallada 3.43 avg rating — 1,802 ratings score: 258, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	La Grosse Fifi by Jean Rhys 3.61 avg rating — 89 ratings score: 252, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	The Strange Crime of John Boulnois by G.K. Chesterton 3.33 avg rating — 142 ratings score: 244, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Moon Lake by Eudora Welty 3.31 avg rating — 159 ratings score: 233, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	The Gifts of War by Margaret Drabble 3.57 avg rating — 143 ratings score: 230, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Children On Their Birthdays by Truman Capote 3.99 avg rating — 671 ratings score: 228, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book by M.R. James 3.51 avg rating — 533 ratings score: 228, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	They by Rudyard Kipling 3.51 avg rating — 338 ratings score: 225, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Rich in Russia by John Updike 3.30 avg rating — 131 ratings score: 218, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
41	Some Of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby by Donald Barthelme 3.78 avg rating — 511 ratings score: 214, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
42	Lunar Caustic by Malcolm Lowry 3.57 avg rating — 418 ratings score: 163, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
43	Romance of the Thin Man and the Fat Lady by Robert Coover 3.26 avg rating — 68 ratings score: 161, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Dear Illusion by Kingsley Amis 3.44 avg rating — 239 ratings score: 152, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
45	The Delicate Prey by Paul Bowles 4.17 avg rating — 952 ratings score: 144, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	Killer in the Rain by Raymond Chandler 3.77 avg rating — 2,161 ratings score: 125, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
47	The Living Daylights by Ian Fleming 3.67 avg rating — 618 ratings score: 120, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	A Breath of Lucifer by R.K. Narayan 3.43 avg rating — 92 ratings score: 118, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
49	The Cornet-Player Who Betrayed Ireland by Frank O'Connor 3.87 avg rating — 110 ratings score: 116, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	The Mark-2 Wife by William Trevor 3.53 avg rating — 122 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars