Thread: A few books which everyone should have read..

I wouldn't say you should read, but,
Tom Holland, Persian fire
almost any Rudyard Kipling short story collection and "Puck of pook's hill" and "Rewards and fairies"
Louis de Bernier's trilogy that starts with "The war of Don Emanuell's nether parts"
Christopher Hill, The world turned upside down.

I may well think of some to add to this.

A few points of disagreement, I'm afraid.

Your first four selections are excellent. Anything by Tolstoy or Kafka I would agree with. 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is one of the few books by Wilde I enjoyed.

Pirsig's account of his travels with his son, interwoven with a basic philosophy of life is fantastic.

There are a few, a very few, science fiction short stories I have enjoyed. 'Foundation' I couldn't get through when I tried to read it.

Hobb I don't know. The only fantasy I've read is Tolkien. I've tried to read others and found them all boring as hell.

I can't believe that you've left out the 20th Century's masters. Faulkner, Joyce, Hemingway, Gárcía Marquez, and the second rank, Capote, Salinger, et al.

For years I preached that 'Absalom, Absalom' was the greatest novel of the 20th Century. Then I read 'Cien años de soledad' and changed my mind. How can you put science fiction and fantasy in your list and leave out these masterpieces?

And what about the Snopes trilogy? What about 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'? What about 'A Farewell to Arms' and 'The Old Man and the Sea'?.

I'll stop now.

Edit - No I won't. Camus. I forgot about 'The Stranger' and it is not about nothing despite what everyone says, including Camus.

And I forgot some of my favourites, including '1984'. How could I forget that? Along with 'Animal Farm', Brave New World', and 'Man's Fate'. (Grammarians, please note the sentence fragment used deliberately.) Edit - And I was about to leave out Koestler's 'Darkness at Noon'.

I've not even considered the real classics here. That's a whole separate list. Although I will pass on a bit of news. Recent research has definitely proven that Homer did not write 'Iliad'. He may have written 'Odyssey' but we know now that 'Iliad' was written by another blind Greek poet of the same name who lived at about the same time.

Garcia Marquez is the only one you name that would interest me in the slightest.

CAPOTE?????

'El amor en los tiempos del cólera' y 'Cien años de soledad' ought to be on everyone's 'must read' list. There are English translations which are fair, but like anything else they are best appreciated in the original.

Yes, Capote. More substance than he has been given credit for in the years since his death. 'In Cold Blood' ended his career, and it's a shame. I believe he had more to say but was too emotionally torn up to do anything but sit home and drink. Even his university lecture and writer-in-residence time produced only echoes. Though it did produce one of my favourite quotes. Holding up a student's short story in a writing class, he declared 'This isn't writing. This is just typing'.

And remember that he was the inspiration for 'To Kill a Mockingbird'.

Yeah, I've heard that remark and always thought if was funny from somebody who basically got a bunch of money and glory for a true crime story.
And one in which, I'd say, he became a sob sister for the killer and ignored the victims. Probably a swishy crush. I have never seen why people call him a major writer and I don't know anybody who'd call him a great one or consider that his books are must-reads that do anything for anybody.
But then I think Catcher in the Rye was a bore, too.

I remember reading 'Other Voices, Other Rooms' in high school and thinking that here was a great writer. Capote's career reminds me of someone running up the backside of a cliff, going faster and faster. He was increasingly recognised as a major figure in the U.S. literary scene, and then came 'In Cold Blood'. That's where he reached the top and jumped off.

'In Cold Blood' overshadowed everything else he had done, and he never was able to finish another book. You are right that his sympathy ended up being with the killers, though I think he tried to fight that. The fact is that he was gay, and one of the killers was gay, and the execution of the killers killed Capote. There was no way for him to untangle his emotional involvement.

Capote was a skilled writer, not a great one. My initial impression was formed when I was 15 or 16 years old, and was an impression I gave up a few years later. But he was important in mid-20th century letters and a writer who should not be neglected if we are to understand that era.

Camus, of course, though the one that did it for me was "The plague", the fragility of the society rather than the individual.

Then there is the question of who it is "Should " read these books?
If it is an aspiring mystery or crime writer could we include something from the Golden age of female crime writers, a Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers or Margery Allingham? My favourite is Margery Allingham.

For anyone who has not yet entered the world of classic lit. "Letters to Alice" by Fay Weldon is a terrific introduction to Jane Austin.

Yes. I'm glad someone mentioned it. Herman Hesse - Steppenwolf is worth a read if not simply for the crazy ride of an ending Hesse created. Don't let those narrow minded complaints about Hesse's work being simply a story about a grumpy old man that hates everything brought down by his own self-pity, if you do then you'll miss the point enitrely.

Latish 20th & so far 21st century straight fiction (you know what I mean, contemporary classics)

Louise Erdrick. I like Master Butcher maybe the most but she's created her own Yoknophatawpha up in Dakota/Manitoba so reading the whole saga is best and quite rewarding. Like Faulkner, the early stuff is distractingly experimental but readable and important for the legend.

Salmon Rushdie. My nominee for THE current literary genius. It all seems extra great, I like Shalimar and Ground maybe the most. I'd say he's probably headed for all time status.

I don't necessarily recommend everyone will like reading Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace but I'd say it's truly a work with impact similar to Ulysses and a lot of what he's done in there will have important effects on future literature, so don't say nobody warned you if you're writing without taking a look.

Margaret Atwood. I mostly don't like her that well so far but Moral Disorder sets a standard for short fiction.

Umberto Eco. Translates no problem. I really dig the medieval books but The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, which traces societal effects of WWII, is a terrific book and highly pertinent.

Jorge Amado. He is probably even more hilarious if you can read him in original (portugese?). The War of the Saints is a delightful romp through Bahian Candomblé and Junta Politics.

I like everything on the original poster's list except Robin Hobb. Heard a lot of good about the author. Picked up a book. Meh.

No list is complete without Fyodor Dostoevsky's THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, which is quite possibly the greatest novel of all time

Originally Posted by ppsage

Salmon Rushdie. My nominee for THE current literary genius. It all seems extra great, I like Shalimar and Ground maybe the most. I'd say he's probably headed for all time status.

You ever read Angela Carter? She was a friend of Rushdie's, and an excellent writer. No longer with us.

Atwood I can't stand.

Umberto Eco is always a lot of fun.

I can't wait to read Anna Karenin; I hope it's significantly better than 'How much land does a man need?' though, because I found it a drag to read. What about some Jane Austen?

Originally Posted by 32rosie

What about some Jane Austen?

I just finished Pride and Prejudice, absolutely loved it, in the beginning I was determined not to love Darcy but of course it ended up happening! I am on a mission at the moment to read many of the classics, I have Emma and Wuthering Heights waiting for me.

I have to agree with the original take given on The Picture of Dorian Gray, this book was wonderful and had some characters that really interested me =]

Originally Posted by eggnogg

1984 by George Orwell would have to be one of the most influential books I have ever read. His portrayal of the future is chilling.

egg

1984 by George Orwell (Eric Blair) is one of my favourite books of all time. The distopia in the book is all consumingly brilliant because it was not seen as too far from reality when the book was published. As a avid historian I loved this book as a piece of history as much as a book. It was a brilliant display of the world mood at the time of it's conception. Dictatorships were growing and the fear that they would conquer democracy was mounting. And it is all shown so flawlessly within the book itself, without taking the reader away from Winston's suffering.

Also, the way he wrote the book made it accessable to all age groups. I originally read 1984 when I was ten because I had taken to reading books that were much to advanced for my level and the teachers used it to try and discourage me (room 101 being 'scary' was their reasoning). Throughout the book, I fully understood everything that was written, almost as if the author had written with all age groups in mind.

I believe that everyone who tries to complain about their current government should read this book and be damned grateful for what they've got and not what they could have.