Yeah, I do. I've got a volume of his complete short stories somewhere around.
Great Books of the 19th, 20th, & 21st Century...
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Yeah, I do. I've got a volume of his complete short stories somewhere around.
Not exactly unknown, but older...
The Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. Great main characters, interesting if somewhat middling plots, but some of the best writing I've seen in a serial. The world of the detectives is so complete and well-drawn that the daily routine, the house, even the furniture all combine to be a sort of third character in the series.
The Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. Great main characters, interesting if somewhat middling plots, but some of the best writing I've seen in a serial. The world of the detectives is so complete and well-drawn that the daily routine, the house, even the furniture all combine to be a sort of third character in the series.
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet; as an author, he's mostly known for espionage fiction, but this historical drama is his best work, following the construction of a cathedral during several decades in the middle of the first English civil war between Maud and Stephen.
"A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kenedy Toole. Ignatius Riley is a great character. Larger than life and in revolt against everything since the end of the Dark Ages. A New Orleans madman to be enjoyed.
"Flashman" by George MacDonald Fraser. Cad, Coward, Rake, Hero. He manages to be at many of the great events of the 19th century British Empire and his story is the behind the scenes kind of sitire that I love. It is part of a series of tales, but the first is my favorite.
"Flashman" by George MacDonald Fraser. Cad, Coward, Rake, Hero. He manages to be at many of the great events of the 19th century British Empire and his story is the behind the scenes kind of sitire that I love. It is part of a series of tales, but the first is my favorite.
Oh, yeah, Flashman is great. Such a shame the author died at the start of the year, with some stories left untold. Personally, I think they got better the more he wrote.
No one's mentioned the Discworld yet. Too fantasy? While the early ones are light, some of the later stories have depth and gravitas in amongst the humour.
(A note on both the above, I believe GMF's 'The Pyrates', another good romp of a read, was a direct influence on the formation of the Discworld, as well as the POTC movies.)
No one's mentioned the Discworld yet. Too fantasy? While the early ones are light, some of the later stories have depth and gravitas in amongst the humour.
(A note on both the above, I believe GMF's 'The Pyrates', another good romp of a read, was a direct influence on the formation of the Discworld, as well as the POTC movies.)
It's probably not a hidden gem, but I'd recommend The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. A great book about Anarchists, a conspiracy, terrorism and personal tragedy set in early 20th century London.
The late, great Canadian writer Robertson Davies should also be read more here in the states or, for that matter, everywhere. Wonderful storyteller and humanist. I had the great good luck of meeting him when I inadvertently wandered into a book signing. It was kind of like meeting Mark Twain with his long, handsome white hair and flashing blue eyes. He had a long life and was prolific - still miss him though.
Robertson Davies
Robertson Davies
YES!!
21st Century novels:
Time Traveler's Wife - Simply the best depiction of time travel I've ever seen in ANY medium. Moving, well thought out, romantic, cool, beautiful. I can't recommend this highly enough.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Fantastic Pulitzer prize winning novel about the early days of comic books.
The Stolen Child - An adult fairy tale about changelings and faeries in the forest. A little uneven, but interesting nonetheless.
Carter Beats the Devil - Reminded me very much of Kavalier and Clay just not as well written. The story is about a fictionalized version of the real-life Vaudeville magician Charles Carter. If you liked The Prestige and/or The Illusionist, then check this out.
Lovely Bones - First person account from a girl who is raped and murdered as she watches her family from heaven. Sad and the first chapter is brutally hard to read, but this book is extremely well written.
I hadn't realized how many 21st century novels I've read until I started writing this.
Also, from the 20th century, I really enjoyed The Pillars of the Earth. A grand, sweeping epic about the construction of a 12th century English cathedral. You'd think that'd be boring but it reads like a summer mystery novel. It's not high literary art or anything, but it's a fun read.
Time Traveler's Wife - Simply the best depiction of time travel I've ever seen in ANY medium. Moving, well thought out, romantic, cool, beautiful. I can't recommend this highly enough.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Fantastic Pulitzer prize winning novel about the early days of comic books.
The Stolen Child - An adult fairy tale about changelings and faeries in the forest. A little uneven, but interesting nonetheless.
Carter Beats the Devil - Reminded me very much of Kavalier and Clay just not as well written. The story is about a fictionalized version of the real-life Vaudeville magician Charles Carter. If you liked The Prestige and/or The Illusionist, then check this out.
Lovely Bones - First person account from a girl who is raped and murdered as she watches her family from heaven. Sad and the first chapter is brutally hard to read, but this book is extremely well written.
I hadn't realized how many 21st century novels I've read until I started writing this.
Also, from the 20th century, I really enjoyed The Pillars of the Earth. A grand, sweeping epic about the construction of a 12th century English cathedral. You'd think that'd be boring but it reads like a summer mystery novel. It's not high literary art or anything, but it's a fun read.
So totally agree...it was a great read
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
I absolutly loved this novel...haven't seen the movie as I'm afraid it may spoil the memory of a beautifully written novel.
Atonement by Ian McEwan...another beautifully written novel and I did see the movie, which didn't butcher it too badly
That's just a few off the top of my head
There have been some excellent titles named here, but this one has to be near the top of the list. More people should spend more time exploring the less-well-known corners of Mark Twain's writings, both fiction and non.
A couple of other less-familiar titles from fairly well-known writers:
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - Player Piano
An earlier work (first novel) written long before Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse-Five, it's a much thicker and richer writing style than most associate with Vonnegut. His short-story collection Welcome to the Monkey House is also recommended.
Ayn Rand - We the Living
For those who find Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead too massive and preachy, this earlier novel, set in post-Russian Revolution St.Petersburg, may be a bit easier to digest, while still pointing somewhat in the direction of her later works.
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Novel set in India which paints a larger and more real-world picture that that seen in the Jungle Book stories or even some of the Mulvaney/soldiers in India stories. Kipling is another writer who rates a fair amount of digging into lesser-known stuff.
I'm going to recommend Wilkie Collins' Armadale. It's not quite as tight as The Moonstone or The Woman In White, and unlike those two excellent books it's mostly told through the third-person omniscient narrator (though there are letters and a diary). Most of its drama and suspense comes not through chase scenes or unsolved crimes, but through the relationships between the characters and how they behave in the circumstances they find themselves in; if you're into that sort of thing you'll probably like it. Also, and most importantly, the main villainess is not just the standard, evil, wicked, "fallen" woman, but I thought became a rather well-realized character with depth and complexity.
It's a little long, it's not as intensely thrilling, and you'll probably want to give one of the main characters a good thump on the head all through the story (and I have a suspicion you're meant to), but Collins pulls it off.
It's a little long, it's not as intensely thrilling, and you'll probably want to give one of the main characters a good thump on the head all through the story (and I have a suspicion you're meant to), but Collins pulls it off.