I know for me, some of my favorite authors have really popular titles that many people have read, but aren't my favorites. But for authors who have an extensive catalogue, which of their books should be famous, moreso than the ones that actually are?
by ConfuciusCubed
17 Comments
Hmm. The main one that comes to mind is The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck. I wouldn’t say it should be more well-known than his other work but I am surprised that I never come across anyone mentioning it.
*The Garden of Eden* by Ernest Hemingway
*A Movable Feast* by Ernest Hemingway
Another one where it’s close … Joseph Heller wrote *Catch-22*, for which he is incredibly well known, and just ly so, as well as *Something Happened*, which is perhaps even a better book, but very rarely discussed. Don’t know that this is inappropriate though; *Something Happened* is possibly the single-most uncommercial book Heller could have written at that point. Following up a book that is renowned for its humour with a book that is introspective and has *that* ending?
It’s almost a wonder they let him publish anything afterwards!
Suttree is my favorite Cormac McCarthy novel and I love The Road and Blood Meridian
It’s always been a pet peeve of mine that Crime and Punishment is more famous than The Brothers Karamazov. I do like both books but there is just something amazing about TBK. It transcends what’s written on the page and is such an emotional journey. I have heard that many people see themselves in Raskolnikov but I’ve never related to him very well so maybe it’s just that.
Terry Brooks is really famous for his Shannara series, but the Magic Kingdom of Landover series is also great.
My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl. Very definitely a (spicy) adult novel, but hilarious.
People always talk about Octavia Butler’s Parable books and while they are really good my favorites are Wild seed first and then Xenogenesis which deserve more attention
a super specific example. everyone hears “olivie blake” and thinks of her atlas series (atlas six, atlas complex, atlas paradox) but i think her other books one for my enemy and masters of death are soooo much better. i haven’t read alone with you in the ether and i’m finishing gifted and talented right now, but i think her atlas series ranks low on my list
David Mitchell is best known for Cloud Atlas and Black Swan Green, but my far and away favorite of his is The Bone Clocks.
The Progress of Julius by Daphne DuMaurier. It’s one of her earlier books, and the later parts almost feel like a direct forerunner of Rebecca. I find it so much more interesting than her most famous work though, because Julius is a completely amoral character.
NK Jemisin won all the awards with her [[Fifth Season]] trilogy, but I prefer her Inheritance Trilogy (starting with [[The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms]].
Fantastic use of first person and narrative voice
_Tender is the Night_ is a structurally flawed novel but superior and much more moving in the final analysis than _Great Gatsby_. Both great books, but to see what Fitzgerald was really capable of, everyone who loves _Gatsby_ should read _Tender_.
Nathaniel Hawthorne – The House of the Seven Gables is a much better read than The Scarlett Letter.
Rules of Civility- Amor Towles
Norwegian Wood- Huraki Murakami
The Colossus of Maroussi Henry Miller
Homage To Catalonia by George Orwell.
I loved A Painted House by Grisham and I
Never heard of it before I read it