10 Stunning Moments from All the Books I’ve Read So Far

10 Stunning Moments from All the Books I’ve Read So Far

Everyone has probably had an “Ah-ha” moment at least once while reading a book. Perhaps it’s an idea or a plot twist, or a scene expressed so divinely and perfectly that it succeeds in taking your breath away.

These moments stay in one’s mind long after the book is shut and put away. I haven’t read a lot, but from the small subset of books I have read, I’ve listed a few scenes which have impacted me and left me reeling (to put it mildly).

Here they are.

1. Eustacia Vye’s Last Scene on the Heath

First up is my all-time favourite scene of Eustacia Vye on her hated heath, hours before her death (suicide or accident?). She has been defeated in her attempts to become a “splendid woman”. Wildeve will not do, and Yeobright repents too late, Eustacia is left alone without the money or means to flee from the heath she is sick of. The chapter: ‘The Night of the Sixth of November’ details her state of mind very vibrantly. I love this scene because of its exposition of a familiar Thomas Hardy lesson: Destiny will beat the main character down, and as if that’s not enough, she will also crush her to a pulp.

2. The Burning of Manderley, from du Maurier’s Rebecca

The last scene of the novel Rebecca describes the burning of Manderley—the beautiful country seat of Maxim de Winter—presumably by the housekeeper Mrs Danvers. Mrs. Danvers commits this act of arson because she finally realises what has passed between Maxim de Winter and his late wife, Rebecca. The closing lines—“The road to Manderley lay ahead. There was no moon. The sky above our heads was inky black. But the sky on the horizon was not dark at all. It was shot with crimson, like a splash of blood. And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea”—are haunting. Every time.

3. The Grand Inquisitor Scene from The Brothers Karamazov

Dostoevsky’s last novel The Brothers Karamazov expounds the theory that without God upholding morality, ‘anything goes’. This final conclusion causes the downfall of the atheistic Ivan Karamazov. But before we get that far we must stop at the little gem of a story in between. The tale of The Grand Inquisitor narrated by Ivan to his younger brother Alyosha. It delves into the problem of free will. There can be no real love without free will yet free will is the cause of all our pain.

4. George Emerson Kissing Lucy Honeychurch in A Room With A View

E.M. Forster’s well-crafted novel reaches in its climax when odd young man George Emerson kisses naïve young Lucy Honeychurch in an Italian field full of violets. The young lovers are discovered by Miss Bartlett, Lucy’s companion, and they are soon parted. I love this scene because it is so simple in its description and lucid in its delivery.

5. Mr. Emerson takes Lucy Honeychurch to task, also from A Room with a View

Don’t lie. Don’t ever, ever lie. Especially not about loving someone. Because you might miss out on the love of a lifetime and rue it with all your heart. If Mr. Emerson hadn’t taken Lucy to task in this powerful scene towards the end of the book would she have found the courage to love George?

6. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

The whole book. From start to finish. A masterpiece in its genre.

7. The Lighthouse Scene from The Age of Innocence.

Will Ellen Olenska sense Newland Archer’s presence before the catboat crosses the Lime Rock? Will a lover sense the presence of a beloved from afar? Will all that is familiar and safe suddenly appear drab and tiresome? The moment Newland Archer feels stifled in his carefully crafted life is a moment of literary tension. What will he do? Break away from tradition or succumb to it?

8. The Discovery of Undine’s Pregnancy from The Custom of the Country

One of Literature’s most ambitious heroines—Undine Spragg reacts with so much hostility to her pregnancy that it made even an ardent feminist balk at her reaction. Easily a book I would recommend to men—as a warning.

9. 1984’s Rats Scene.

Imagine your worst nightmare coming true. That’s what happens in this startlingly vivid scene from 1984. Winston’s greatest fear comes true. Have never forgotten it.

10. Ecclesiastes from the Bible

All of philosophy condensed in one word—‘Vanity!’ And then again the rest of the Gospels serve to contradict it. No Life isn’t all Vanity. It’s got meaning. Those who Love know that.