Only because I'm re-reading it now and I'm being reminded of how damn brilliant Gogol's writing can be.
As for the everyman getting eviscerated by life (i.e. the dehumanising nature of society, in lit-nerd terminology)? The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Or anything by Kafka. Or by Camus.
" The Dice Man. It's superb. Read Moby Dick aaaaages ago and I think it's overrated, or I need to have another go. Avoid all British period drama fodder, they're shite. Tek War > Dickens. "
" "Latro in the Mist" by Gene Wolfe is a story about a mercenary in ancient Greece that is cursed by the gods. He loses his memory every 12 hours or so, but he can also see and talk to gods and other spirits. The story is told from the journal that he keeps to remind himself of what he was doing in the previous days. There is nothing really like and it will blow your mind.
"
I did not like this one so much, gene wolfe may be a genious but there was something in this one that made me not finish it. I think it was the whole recap in the beginning of each chapter that kinda broke it to me, although I appreciate the mindfuck of it :)
@WalkerTR77 said:
" @regularassmilk: Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, it's also a Hunter S Thompson, it's a brisk 200 page job and it's fucking entertaining. "
Im reading this one right now, I think the movie is better than the book though.
Or Les Miserables. I'm reading it now, and I don't think a book has ever moved me so emotionally before. It's just so fucking good. Get the unabridged version if you do want to give it a go.
" Hm. Well, Prey, Timeline, Next, Jurrasic Park, Andromeda Strain. All are by Michael Crichton. I agree with 1984. Also, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury was neat. I wanted to read "A Clockwork Orange", seeing as i enjoyed the movie, but i havent had the time. "
A Clockwork Orange is a damn near impossible read. It took me forever to pick up all the slang in it, gah. As much as I love the movie, the book killed me.
" Hm. Well, Prey, Timeline, Next, Jurrasic Park, Andromeda Strain. All are by Michael Crichton. I agree with 1984. Also, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury was neat. I wanted to read "A Clockwork Orange", seeing as i enjoyed the movie, but i havent had the time. "
A Clockwork Orange is a damn near impossible read. It took me forever to pick up all the slang in it, gah. As much as I love the movie, the book killed me. "
The book is indeed a difficult read but about halfway through it gets pretty rewarding. It's sort of disturbing how entertaining the violence gets.
"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" "Twelve Angry men" "Brave New World" "World War Z" "2001, A Space Odyssey" "Monster 1959" "Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep?" Any thing by H.P. Lovecraft "The Invisible Man" "A Picture of Dorian Gray" " The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" and any thing by Ray Bradbury"
Fight Club is almost a better book than a movie, which is saying alot.
If you want a challenge, read House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. Its a book about a transcript for a different book, about some home movies ,about a crazy house. also there's a minotaur.
American Psycho (book) is quite different from the film, at least I thought so.
For suggestions I'd say go with one or more of the following that I can think of off the top of my skull:
At the Mountains of Madness / Shadow out of Time by H.P. Lovecraft (pretty much all of his stuff is good but these is one of the longer pieces full of adventure & horror) Fall of the House of Usher / Pit & the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe (interesting way to see how these & H.P. Lovecraft's stories flow, try reading them aloud :) ) Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin Return of the Wolfman by Jeff Rovin (might be hard to find but picks up where Abbott & Costello meets Frankenstein left off) Nightmare At 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories By Richard Matheson Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K. Hamilton Madeline: After the Fall of Usher / Mina: The Dracula Story Continues by Marie Kiraly
There's one good werewolf book from the 80s-90s where it's focusing more on the protagonist as he goes through the changes (as well as it being a mystery on if he's just delusional) but fogging on the name at the moment. plus the internet is being less than helpful at the moment
Don't even know where to start. I'd love to recommend H.P. Lovecraft like so many before me, but most of his works are better classified as short stories. I suppose Shadow over Innsmouth might count as a novel, or Mountains of Madness like fox suggested above me. In all honesty though, as much as I love Lovecraft (...oh god, pun definitely not intended. I hate myself), his writing can be something you really have to pace yourself on and take it slow to fully understand.
If you want to impress your teacher, go with Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Talk about something you'd have to read slow, though. For the record, I think this book has the best first sentence of all time.
If you want something that reads like a Hollywood thriller, I recommend Jack Wakes Up by Seth Harwood.
For a murder mystery set in modern day and an easier read, A King of Infinite Space by Tyler Dilts is one of my favorites. In fact, I highly recommend this one due to your initial comment on wanting a story about a normal person who loses his shit. The main character here is one disillusioned dude.
For a darker fantasy story, I have two recommendations. A Thief of Always by Clive Barker is a great young adult novel and really quick read if time is a factor. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is much more adult, but a fantastic read about a normal man dragged into a haunting and unfamiliar world underneath London.
For other characters that lose their shit, I suppose I could recommend The Luzhin Defense (sometimes just The Defense) by Nabokov. I don't know that the main character here could ever be classified as normal though, he's pretty weird from the start. There's also The Natural by Bernard Malamud. If you're thinking of the Robert Redford movie, don't- while based on it, this book goes to a much darker place.
Finally, for a great coming-of-age mystery story set in Barcelona, Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is one of my all-time favorites. Its all about a boy named Daniel and his search for the history of a mysterious author who attempted to burn all his books except for the one copy Daniel holds.
Hopefully one of those jumped out at you as interesting.
Slaughterhouse five is a great shoe novel full of depth that's an east read and simply great. Crime and punishment might be a hadrewd but let me assure you that it will be worth it, kite runner is an instant classic, only 10 years old and deals with many of the issues we still face today
I recently read Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, it was pretty good I'd recommend it. It is a the pretty smart and funny book, the main character is a likable jerk teetering on evil son of a bitch.
" Ah, so I need a book to read for my English class, and I was going to read "Hells Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga" by Hunter S. Thompson but since I checked it out so early in the semester that its due yesterday, and I can't renew it since someone else has it on hold. I'm a fan of Hunter S. Thompson, and I sort of like Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis, and besides that I pretty much read comics. But this isnt comicvine. So, any suggestions? I'm thinking about reading Fight Club or American Psycho, but i'm not sure yet. Although I suppose in retrospect I sort of like stories about very boring everyman type of apathetic people who kind of end up losing their shit (I.E., Fight Club Narrator) but arent terribly sure where to look to find similar books. "
"Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" by Haruki Murakami
Overlooked Cyberpunk novel by Japanese author about a nameless businessman losing his shit. Kinda exactly what you are looking for methinks.
Edit: You have plenty of time to read Kurt Vonnegut, don't overload on him now. Just a suggestion. But don't read Slaughterhouse Five first, Sirens of Titan is his best book.
" Slaughterhouse five is a great shoe novel full of depth that's an east read and simply great. Crime and punishment might be a hadrewd but let me assure you that it will be worth it, kite runner is an instant classic, only 10 years old and deals with many of the issues we still face today "
Easily the best book out of that whole Russian classics era. At the very least the most influential.
Read Message to My Butterfly by Gabriela Sbarcea. The novel is a rapturous and modern love story set in Chicago, where dialogue is replaced by text messages and the quest for national identity lands Adelle in a beautifully deranged relationship.
Read Message to My Butterfly by Gabriela Sbarcea. The novel is a rapturous and modern love story set in Chicago, where dialogue is replaced by text messages and the quest for national identity lands Adelle in a beautifully deranged relationship.
Just in case he's still working on this English assignment 2 years later, right?
I doubt you still have the English class problem, but I'll recommend stuff like Moby Dick (the 19th century Sons of Liberty) and The Awakening. Want something modern? I don't read anything modern.
Yes, awesome book. One of the first ones I thought of when I read the thread title.
Also, A Clockwork Orange is phenomenal. I read it probably 2-3 times in high school and a a couple more since than.
The Prestige by Christopher Priest is also a good science fiction read, and it was a movie too. I think I liked the movie more, but they are both great in their own right.
Some other favorites -
Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
Andersonville - MacKinlay Kantor
All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren
The Time Machine - HG Welles
I could probably come up with a ton more. I love all types of novels, but these are some of my absolute favorites. I kept out more of the books that feature female protagonists and a slower pace (Like Mrs. Dalloway and The Makioka Sisters) because I figure if you're leaning towards stuff like Fight Club, maybe The Makioka Sisters isn't for you. :) Still a good book if you like historical family drama type stuff.
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