Books That Will Blow Your Mind

The Waste Land – T.S. Eliot

The Waste Land is a poem by T.S. Eliot that is the poetic equal of “Ulysses.” It’s not “roses are red, violets are blue” poetry, but “April is the cruelest month, spawning lilacs out of the dead ground.” It was published in five sections in 1922, with The Burial of the Dead being my personal favorite. Don’t stress out while reading: there are different languages, styles, and genres, and there is no particular location, time, or speaker. Therefore, while it will frequently read like gibberish after you get through it, you’ll have an intimate picture of what it’s like to be a part of the post-war “disillusion of a generation,” even if that wasn’t what Eliot had in mind.