Fiction (novels & short stories)

[Entropist]

Payday is coming up Thursday. I came across a big collection of Raymond Carver's short stories on Amazon and I'm strongly tempted to get it.

I've only read a small handful of Carver's stories (and poems), but "Cathedral" is a beautifully human story-- it starts off a bit humorous, but something like an unspoken miracle occurs at the end. I'll never forget having it read aloud in a writing workshop years ago, hearing it for the first time and the end had me in tears.

---

Here is Cathedral...

[Paul the Human]

I read a lot of fiction. Mostly fantasy and sci-fi, but... for some reason... I also read a lot of Dean Koontz. *shrugs*

Right now I'm reading the 'Honor Harrington' books by David Weber. Great stuff. I highly recommend the "Tour of the Merrimack" series by R.M. Meluch if you enjoy action packed, rip-roaring space operas. Those books were great fun to read and it is only 4 books.

Recommended fantasy: "The Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera)" by Jim Butcher (also writes "Dresdin Files"), and "The War Of The Flowers" by Tad Williams.

[Entropist]

Finished George Bernanos' Mouchette. This has got to be one of the best novels I've read. It encompasses the a few days in the life of a poverty-stricken 14-year old girl in rural France (reminded me somewhat of Chekov's unflinchingPeasants). Mouchette has no one to turn to, and for all intents and purposes, has no home (her father is alcoholic and abusive, her mother is deathly ill with tuberculosis, she is seen by all the villagers as nothing but a "little savage").

The amazing thing the author does is straddle both the Mouchette's feelings but also her inarticulation and incomprehension of those feelings, as lost in a dense fog. This was tricky thing to get away with (being written in the 3rd person). Its not just an interesting story-- it is very well written prose, but not dense or difficult to read either.

A memorable, haunting passage, where Mouchette is vaguely reflecting on the night before, when she is raped:

...She knew now that it had been a foretaste of a humiliation which was worse than all the others she had known, although similar to them. She had only entered more deeply into it, until her body had responded had responded by a mysterious suffering, spreading throughout her aching limbs. The suffering might fade, but not the mark which it had left. That was Mouchette's secret. She would never be able to tell anyone, because it was beyond her comprehension and her powers of expression. It would be the secret of her body.

I cry easily enough at movies and listening to some music. Books, usually not so easily-- only a few stories can get under my skin to that degree-- but this book was an intense emotional lashing. The book is not an exercise in sado-masochism though-- I empathized with the her character in a way I don't think I ever have in a novel before.

I got this book because my girlfriend had seen Bresson's 1967 film adaptation, which she liked, so I'm curious to see that next as well.

I give very few other books a ten out of ten (Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and Toni Morrison's Beloved), but Mouchette is one of them. Fair warning: Have a box of kleenex handy while reading. HIGHLY recommended.

[chasm]

I like Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs. Just putting that out there. :/

[Shell B]

Dostoevsky is brilliant. You should pick up The Idiot. Like Crime and Punishment, it is a lot to wade through at first. He's extremely descriptive.

I love H.G. Wells. The Time Machine is great (sorry to be so predictable).

Douglass Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Frank Herbert's Dune

The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka for short stories.

I could go on for ages, but that's what comes to mind immediately.

[lrh9]

Put the books from the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan on your list.

Starts with the Eye of the World, if you want to read the first book. (Published. The first book chronologically is New Spring. I recommend the Eye of the World.)

[theVOID]

Frank Herbert's Dune

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[ABierman1986]

I recommend "Looking Backwards" by Edward Bellamy, it's a utopian novel from the industrial age that was written in 1897. It's about a man in high society who falls into a trance in 1897 only to be woken up in the year 2000 in a utopian paradise. The novel is fascinating because it details a fantasy timeline that is based on real events of the 19th century, so the reader can look at the parallel between reality and the storyline. Much of the book is involved with discussing the finer points of the society and it is incredible in its logic and rationale. The best part is the storyline behind the book is really interesting and engaging as well. This book totally changed my life!