Lilliputian Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 I'm pretty new to this sort of thing so I'm a bit nervous about getting started. Always interested in intelligent novels with beautiful language and which don't follow the formula, e.g. Donna Tartt's The Secret History or Emma Donoghue's The Room. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Martian Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 Can't suggest anything (I'm non fiction mainly) but just saying hi and welcome. Plenty of fiction buffs on here, so hopefully someone can suggest something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankie Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 (edited) Welcome to the forum! Always interested in intelligent novels with beautiful language and which don't follow the formula, e.g. Donna Tartt's The Secret History or Emma Donoghue's The Room. Any suggestions? Both of those are on my most favorite books -list! So going by my other favorites and your criteria, I would suggest : The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie Crippen by John Boyne Gold by Dan Rhodes The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (especially if you like dogs and/or animals) Under the Skin by Michelle Faber The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Edit: If you'd like to browse, here's a thread of the top 10 books, by the members of the forum. Feel free to contribute to the thread! Edited August 19, 2016 by frankie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kolinahr Posted August 19, 2016 Share Posted August 19, 2016 I'd definitely recommend The Hours by Michael Cunningham. Very poetic writing exploring an existentialist theme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilliputian Posted August 21, 2016 Author Share Posted August 21, 2016 Wow, thanks everyone. I'm thrilled. I have read some of the suggestions, but will definitely check out the others. Thought-provoking novels are so hard to come by. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is excellent if anyone hasn't tried it, as is SnakeSleeper by Anne Chamberlin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queens Knickers Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Hi there, I'm extremely new so apologies if this reply randomly turns up somewhere it's not supposed to be. May I suggest Japanese books? In particular Natsuo Kirino. She has written a couple of crime novels that provide pretty gritty social commentary on modern urban Japan, yet presented in oddly simple and beautifully crafted prose. Sounds pretentious but I promise that it's not! If you want gritty crime, try her novel "Out" (sorry, I don't know how to do the bold text thing). If you want a more adult theme, try "Grotesque", and for a mythical, ancient tale, try "The Goddess Chronicle". Hope that is anot interesting suggestion at least. Emma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Big welcome Lilliputian Have you read Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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