Guest Edwin MacPhisto Report post Posted November 17, 2002 Read Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison. Or The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Remarkable books everyone should read at some point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted November 17, 2002 The Oddessy and the Illiad goddamn it. Those aren't novels, despite the shitty WHD Rouse translations making generations of kids think they were. Homer's works were epic poems, and if you want to read them in something closer to their original form, snag the translations by the late Robert Fitzgerald. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MrRant Report post Posted November 17, 2002 The Oddessy and the Illiad goddamn it. Those aren't novels, despite the shitty WHD Rouse translations making generations of kids think they were. Homer's works were epic poems, and if you want to read them in something closer to their original form, snag the translations by the late Robert Fitzgerald. I have read them in their original form. Don't go around assuming shit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest EricMM Report post Posted November 18, 2002 Either way they weren't novels, and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone, since I personally thought they ABSOLUTELY SUCKED! (raises eyebrow) They're just too old for me. Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere. Great novel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ram Report post Posted November 27, 2002 Off the top of my head, Anthem by..somebody. It's pretty short, but does a really interesting focus on an anti-individual world with a set and coordinated order. But number 109687 finds something in a sewer while doing his job one night, leading to questions of his existence and all he thinks he knows. I actually read that story and thought it was one of the best stories we read freshman year (next to Winter Dragon's or something or other). Some in my class (this was two or so years ago) thought it wasn't any good, but I guess you have to understand what it's getting at to appreciate it. Easy to read, short, and very easy to write a lot about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest LooseCannon Report post Posted November 27, 2002 Player Piano, by Kurt Vonnegut. Written as a way of him to jab back at General Electric, who fired him in 1951, this book, although written in 1952, shows a LOT of foreshadowing of how corporate America is today. It's the simplest Vonnegut book to just pick up and read, sez I, since you don't really have to be familiar with his style as it was embryonic at this point. It also has a tremendous way of gradually easing you into its own world and leaving yours. Fo sheez, Kotzenjunge Player Piano frankly, is the only Vonnegut book I don't like. In fact, I despise it. It's nothing more than a generic attempt at the dystopian genre. Nothing special at all. There's little to no nuance, it makes the amateur's mistake of being didactic, and the dialogue lacks the zest that his subsequent novels would have. I can't think of one reason to recommend that book to anyone, other than to show a struggling young author that even Vonnegut sucked at one point. As to the original question, what I would recommend depends a great deal on how old you are. That said, my three favorite novels are the tin drum by Gunther grass, the sound and the fury by william faulkner, and cat's cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted December 3, 2002 Off the top of my head, Anthem by..somebody. That somebody would be Ayn Rand. That's next on my list after I tackle The Fountainhead. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Narcoleptic Jumper Report post Posted December 9, 2002 A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Genius. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
