Adolfo Bioy Casares is a lesser-known author of the 20th century whose depth of storytelling parallels some of the greatest authors of that period. In the short (only 175 pages or so) novel A Plan for Escape, Henri Nevers is sent to the French colony in Guiana, where Castel, the governor of the island and its prisoners, has been acting suspiciously. My favorite element of this novel is the point of view, as it is eerie to read from the perspective of Nevers’s uncle, who must slowly piece together the horrific truth from Nevers’s letters.
Opening Line: “My first afternoon on these islands hasn’t yet ended and already I have seen something of so grave a nature that I must ask for your help directly, without hesitation.”
Favorite Line: “On the blade of the knife there was blood. It was analyzed — it was the blood of birds and men.”
Why I Like It: Whodunits are my favorites, but this psychological thriller is a must-read if you like mysteries of any kind.
Read If You Like: George Orwell, the Stanford Prison Experiment, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.