Books like Absalom, Absalom!, the sound and the fury, infinite jest, TBK, and blood meridian have come close to matching the feeling I get from the books in the title, but not quite!
Edit: I should have included Anna Karenina and Don Quixote in the ‘close but no cigar’ list
by RocknGrohl2229
5 Comments
Nabokov maybe, Pale Fire or Lolita? Dostoesvsky maybe? Or Kafka?
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey is a great but difficult read, and fairly long (600-ish pages).
Paul Auster’s New York Trilogy
The Recognitions and The Magic Mountain
Of your comparisons, I have read Moby Dick and Don Quixote. I have also read War and Peace, for getting the idea of at least one of the other authors.
Shogun
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Stranger in a Strange Land
Dhalgren
Lonsome Dove
As to my flair, I also feel the need to recommend Lord of the Rings and The Wheel of Time. Both are quite explorative of the human condition, if in a longer and more round-about way. I cannot think of a single volume fantasy that can rival your greats.