Hello!
I really enjoy reading literary fiction and some classic fiction. My favourites include Stoner by John Williams, Anna Karenina, Either/ Or by Elif Batuman and The Goldfinch.
I am about to take a trip I have always dreamed about before entering a new life stage. I am hoping to find a book which is really emotionally moving, character driven, which ‘changes you’ in some way, so I can read it now, because I know whatever I read in the next month, I will remember for a long time.
Any suggestions are gratefully received ❤️
by Ok_Seaweed_5672
3 Comments
The Magus by John Fowles. It’s literary fiction. Read it for the first time when I was 24. Raced through it in a couple of days (it’s a long book). Finished it in the middle of the night, slept fitfully for a couple of hours and woke up so depressed I could no longer live in it that I started over from the beginning. This has only happened to me once.
I turned 60 this year, and I’ve now read it about 20 times. I’ve read thousands of books, this is my all time favourite – it has everything.
Don’t want to say too much about the plot, so I’ll just leave you with the last sentences of part one:
“I did not think about the future. In spite of what the doctor at the clinic had said I felt certain that the cure would fail. The pattern of destiny seemed clear: down and down, and down.
But then the mysteries began.”
A few formative books for me (I think this varies for everyone):
Siddhartha – it doesn’t get much love anymore but it is absolutely amazing, and can be transformative if it’s your thing.
Camus novels – The Stranger, The Plague especially
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh or The Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon (especially if you’re starting university or a new career)
Hard Rain Falling, East of Eden or Martyr!