Read on Twitter
1 RT= 1 fiction book recommendation
(that I’ve actually read and enjoyed)
(that I’ve actually read and enjoyed)
First one’s free:
The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford- Ron Hansen.
Hansen is one of the greatest novelists alive. Everything he has written is worth a read. But this is his masterpiece IMO.
The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford- Ron Hansen.
Hansen is one of the greatest novelists alive. Everything he has written is worth a read. But this is his masterpiece IMO.
MusashI By Eiji Yoshikawa.
Samurai epic. Lives up to the hype and then some. As fun as it is ultimately profound.
Jocko podcast on it is equally as massive and enduring.
Samurai epic. Lives up to the hype and then some. As fun as it is ultimately profound.
Jocko podcast on it is equally as massive and enduring.
The Horses Mouth by Joyce Cary.
A comedy about a 60 something year old down and out artist in 1930s London.
Extremely fluid writing. Perfect balance. Excellent powers of description.
A comedy about a 60 something year old down and out artist in 1930s London.
Extremely fluid writing. Perfect balance. Excellent powers of description.
I, Fatty by Jerry Stahl.
A fictional autobiography of disgraced film star Fatty Arbuckle.
Feels quite pertinent to our current times of celebrity worship and cancellation.
A fictional autobiography of disgraced film star Fatty Arbuckle.
Feels quite pertinent to our current times of celebrity worship and cancellation.
The Contenders By John Wain.
A very readable tale of 3 working class English boys from the Angry Young Man era- A Businessman, and Artist and the mediocre narrator.
An excellent exploration of mimesis.
A very readable tale of 3 working class English boys from the Angry Young Man era- A Businessman, and Artist and the mediocre narrator.
An excellent exploration of mimesis.
Flowers for Algornon by Daniel Keyes.
Charlie, a man of 68 IQ is given an experimental treatment that raises his IQ to 185.
High concept premise beautifully realised. Very moving. Stays with you for a long time.
Charlie, a man of 68 IQ is given an experimental treatment that raises his IQ to 185.
High concept premise beautifully realised. Very moving. Stays with you for a long time.
George Pelecanos- The Night Gardener
A DC set novel about the investigation of the ‘palindrome killer’
A page turners that is neither lurid nor talks down to you. As you would expect from one of the writers from The Wire.
A DC set novel about the investigation of the ‘palindrome killer’
A page turners that is neither lurid nor talks down to you. As you would expect from one of the writers from The Wire.
Wise Blood- Flannery O’Connor.
The tale of Hazel Motes and his attempt to preach the gospel of anti religion.
A great catholic novel of sin and redemption.
The tale of Hazel Motes and his attempt to preach the gospel of anti religion.
A great catholic novel of sin and redemption.
Blindness- Jose Saramago.
The tale of the mass outbreak of blindness and the societal breakdown that follows.
Saramago has a completely unique prose style and punctuation use. An inimitable stylist.
The tale of the mass outbreak of blindness and the societal breakdown that follows.
Saramago has a completely unique prose style and punctuation use. An inimitable stylist.
Nightmare Alley- William Lindsay Gresham.
A tale of carnivals and conmen and descent into darkness.
The 1946 film version with Tyrone Power is equally great.
I can virtually guarantee that the upcoming Del Toro remake will not be. You have been warned.
A tale of carnivals and conmen and descent into darkness.
The 1946 film version with Tyrone Power is equally great.
I can virtually guarantee that the upcoming Del Toro remake will not be. You have been warned.
Maclaren-Ross- Of love and Hunger.
The story of a vacuum cleaner salesman in 1930s England. Kind of like Orwell’s “other novels’ (Aspidistra etc)
Underrated, as many things on this list are.
The story of a vacuum cleaner salesman in 1930s England. Kind of like Orwell’s “other novels’ (Aspidistra etc)
Underrated, as many things on this list are.
11. Barnes- The Sense of An Ending
(started numbering these to at least quantify the scale of this rod I have made for my own back!)
A lean, excellently written tragedy of teen pretentiousness and the vagaries of adulthood.
(started numbering these to at least quantify the scale of this rod I have made for my own back!)
A lean, excellently written tragedy of teen pretentiousness and the vagaries of adulthood.
12. Loe- Naive, Super
A brisk, extremely readable (and short) tale of a Norwegian quarter life crisis.
A brisk, extremely readable (and short) tale of a Norwegian quarter life crisis.
13. Camus- The Fall
I think it might well be better than the stylish but overhyped L’etranger.
There, I said it.
I think it might well be better than the stylish but overhyped L’etranger.
There, I said it.
14. David Copperfield- Dickens.
Never read a Dickens I didn’t like. But DC might be the best of the bunch.
Everyone should read Dickens.
Never read a Dickens I didn’t like. But DC might be the best of the bunch.
Everyone should read Dickens.
15. Three Men in a Boat- Jerome K Jerome
A gentle comic novel of canal based indolence. Good to read if you are taking life too seriously.
A gentle comic novel of canal based indolence. Good to read if you are taking life too seriously.
16. Vlautin- Don’t Skip Out On Me
A poor Native American teen tries to make it as a boxer.
Simple, sincere and heartfelt. Steinbeckian.
A poor Native American teen tries to make it as a boxer.
Simple, sincere and heartfelt. Steinbeckian.
17. Cannery Row- Steinbeck
Classic down on their luck story of every day struggles that you’d expect from Steinbeck.
This is overlooked compared to East of Eden and Grapes.
Classic down on their luck story of every day struggles that you’d expect from Steinbeck.
This is overlooked compared to East of Eden and Grapes.
18. Strangers on a Train- Highsmith.
The fact this was her debut is a little demoralising. So good.
The fact this was her debut is a little demoralising. So good.
19. Devils- Dostoevsky
An allegory on nihilism and how a town descends into chaos after a revolution led by the conspirator Verkhovensky.
The most relevant Dostoevsky novel for our times.
But as always with D, you have to slog for the gold.
An allegory on nihilism and how a town descends into chaos after a revolution led by the conspirator Verkhovensky.
The most relevant Dostoevsky novel for our times.
But as always with D, you have to slog for the gold.
20. Christie Malry’s Own Double Entry
’I am a cell of one’
A weird, sometimes hilarious piece of madcap meta fiction.
How bean counting and petty acts of revenge lead to terrorism. unique.
’I am a cell of one’
A weird, sometimes hilarious piece of madcap meta fiction.
How bean counting and petty acts of revenge lead to terrorism. unique.
The last one was by B.S. Johnson btw.
I missed his name out as I tried to frantically tackle this backlog.
But onwards...
I missed his name out as I tried to frantically tackle this backlog.
But onwards...
The Friends of Eddie Coyle- George V Higgins
Greatest crime novel of the 2nd half of the 20th C. One of the best dialogue writers of all time.
All of those tough South Boston Oscar bait films are piss poor imitations of this masterpiece.
Greatest crime novel of the 2nd half of the 20th C. One of the best dialogue writers of all time.
All of those tough South Boston Oscar bait films are piss poor imitations of this masterpiece.
Slaughterhouse 5- Kurt Vonnegut
This feels like one of the most ‘obvious’ of the selection so far. I’ve tried to veer more towards the unsung.
But this one lives up to the hype and deserves to be read.
This feels like one of the most ‘obvious’ of the selection so far. I’ve tried to veer more towards the unsung.
But this one lives up to the hype and deserves to be read.
The Orchard Keeper- McCarthy.
Before Cormac McCarthy wrote in that ‘Cormac McCarthy’ voice he wrote this. Unsung. Biblical as always. I quite liked it.
Before Cormac McCarthy wrote in that ‘Cormac McCarthy’ voice he wrote this. Unsung. Biblical as always. I quite liked it.
24. The Mezzanine- Nicholson Baker.
An office worker on his lunch break. A beautiful depiction of the transcendent potential of the quotidian.
The book he reads briefly is Aurelius, which may please some of you gurus out there.
An office worker on his lunch break. A beautiful depiction of the transcendent potential of the quotidian.
The book he reads briefly is Aurelius, which may please some of you gurus out there.
25. The Magic Christian- Terry Southern
A jolly billionaire prankster uses his money for japes.
Good satire on the absurdity of the seriousness of this modern rat race of ours.
A jolly billionaire prankster uses his money for japes.
Good satire on the absurdity of the seriousness of this modern rat race of ours.
26. Stoner- John Williams.
I’ve already mentioned trying to avoid the ‘obvious’ here. But with this one I don’t care.
A masterpiece in the truest sense.
Deserves all the praise and plaudits.
I’ve already mentioned trying to avoid the ‘obvious’ here. But with this one I don’t care.
A masterpiece in the truest sense.
Deserves all the praise and plaudits.
27. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning- Sillitoe
’Angry Young Man’ novel. Young Midlands factory worker who lives for the weekend.
Rage against being a cog in a machine. Good clean prose.
Spoke to me as a young man.
’Angry Young Man’ novel. Young Midlands factory worker who lives for the weekend.
Rage against being a cog in a machine. Good clean prose.
Spoke to me as a young man.
28. The Power and The Glory- Greene
Green wrote dozens of novel with a very high strike rate. This tale of a whisky priest in Mexico might be his best.
You can travel the world without moving via a Greene novel and a free afternoon
Green wrote dozens of novel with a very high strike rate. This tale of a whisky priest in Mexico might be his best.
You can travel the world without moving via a Greene novel and a free afternoon
29. Hard Rain Falling- Don Carpenter
Dostoevskyian theme but set in the seedy pool halls of 1960’s Portland.
High literature themes but as readable as genre fiction. I wish they made more like this today.
Dostoevskyian theme but set in the seedy pool halls of 1960’s Portland.
High literature themes but as readable as genre fiction. I wish they made more like this today.
30. History of Rasselas- Samuel Johnson
Technically a novella but it has more wisdom, wit and quotable lines than half a dozen full length novels.
Johnson wrote it in a weekend to pay for his mother’s funeral.
A true genius.
Technically a novella but it has more wisdom, wit and quotable lines than half a dozen full length novels.
Johnson wrote it in a weekend to pay for his mother’s funeral.
A true genius.
31. The House of God- Samuel Shem
A year in the life of a group of medical interns in early 1970s America. Scandalous at the time, now a cult classic.
The Fat Man is one of literatures great characters.
GOMERS don’t die.
A year in the life of a group of medical interns in early 1970s America. Scandalous at the time, now a cult classic.
The Fat Man is one of literatures great characters.
GOMERS don’t die.
32. The Man Who Was Thursday- Chesterton.
Recommended by a friend. Approached it expecting not to like it (for whatever reason).
Turned out to be a rollicking good read. A Sunday afternoon book.
Recommended by a friend. Approached it expecting not to like it (for whatever reason).
Turned out to be a rollicking good read. A Sunday afternoon book.
33. Choke Hold- Christa Faust
The pulpiest of the pulpy noir, the second in a series starring former porn star Angel Dare and set mostly in the world of MMA
Sounds rubbish but in there there is a really loving and well drawn depiction of head trauma induced brain damage.
The pulpiest of the pulpy noir, the second in a series starring former porn star Angel Dare and set mostly in the world of MMA
Sounds rubbish but in there there is a really loving and well drawn depiction of head trauma induced brain damage.
34. The Man Who Fell To Earth- Walter Tevis.
I was torn between this and ’The Hustler’ both are great, cleanly written excellently realised lean novels.
In the end I flipped a coin.
I was torn between this and ’The Hustler’ both are great, cleanly written excellently realised lean novels.
In the end I flipped a coin.
35. The Death of Ivan Illyich- Tolstoy.
I’m trying not to recommend intimidatingly massive novels bc I hope at least a few people actually pick up a new book based on reading this thread.
This short one by Tolstoy still shows plenty of his genius on display.
I’m trying not to recommend intimidatingly massive novels bc I hope at least a few people actually pick up a new book based on reading this thread.
This short one by Tolstoy still shows plenty of his genius on display.
36. The Glass Bead Game- Hesse.
The culminations of Hesse’s unbelievable run of novels that started with Demian. You could start with Demian and work thru chronologically.
Or you could skip ahead to this great allegory.
Up to you. Both are good choices.
The culminations of Hesse’s unbelievable run of novels that started with Demian. You could start with Demian and work thru chronologically.
Or you could skip ahead to this great allegory.
Up to you. Both are good choices.
37. Books- Charlie Hill.
A lot of fun. A satirical look at the book industry which seems like a sustained, novel length attack on Nick Hornsby and his ilk by a bitter hater.
And I have no problem with that.
A lot of fun. A satirical look at the book industry which seems like a sustained, novel length attack on Nick Hornsby and his ilk by a bitter hater.
And I have no problem with that.
38. A Chess Story- Zweig.
This is a story, not a novel but I don’t care. My house my rules. This is a haunting tale of chess, imprisonment and madness.
It stays with you, this one.
This is a story, not a novel but I don’t care. My house my rules. This is a haunting tale of chess, imprisonment and madness.
It stays with you, this one.
39. Keep The Aspidistra Flying-Orwell
Massively overshadowed by his two political masterpieces, this is the still socially charged tale of how the contrarian rejection of money & status may leave you in as much of a mess as getting with the program
Orwell was nuanced like that
Massively overshadowed by his two political masterpieces, this is the still socially charged tale of how the contrarian rejection of money & status may leave you in as much of a mess as getting with the program
Orwell was nuanced like that
40. Lush Life- Richard Price
An incredibly evocative novel of crime in NYC. Just wall to wall great writing and phenomenal dialogue in service of a story.
An incredibly evocative novel of crime in NYC. Just wall to wall great writing and phenomenal dialogue in service of a story.
