When you look at lists of bestselling novels, and then at lists of what the “greatest novels” are, you don’t see as much overlap as you do in other media. It seems as though when it comes to those GOAT lists, people seem way more concerned with magnitude as works of literature as art, when in reality the kinds of books you’re taught in school won’t as often be the kinds of books people choose to buy and read. As much as reading is viewed as an “intellectual” hobby by society, I don’t think most readers are as concerned with that side of it, and often will even read stuff they know is trashy. Which is great! As long as people are reading, in a time when reading seems to be going away, it can only be a good thing. But that being said, having combed through some such lists, I’m wondering which books people consider to maximize both sides, being exciting and engaging reads while also being immensely powerful and well written as works of art. So for instance a Colleen Hoover novel may not be atop many people’s lists of contemporary masterpieces, but Ulysses won’t exactly be something people are addicted to and can’t stop themselves from devouring. What books hit that sweet spot between the two arenas in the best way?
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Heart of a Dog - Mikhail Bulgakov
Animal Farm - George Orwell
I find anti-communist books to be unbearable, fascist garbage.
The Hobbit!
The Giver and Lird of the Flies are both deeply engaging. I’d also like to second The Count Of Monte Cristo, as I’ve never had 300 pages go by so fast as the first 300 of it.
You might be interested in the real-life Lord of the Flies. Things turned out pretty differently from what William Golding believed:
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I was utterly gripped by Crime and Punishment. Started it thinking I’d have a couple of weeks plod through and put it down the next day having burned through in almost one sitting. Very surprised.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen reminded me of Crime and Punishment
New to me. I will have a look.
Yeah, I almost lost my eyesight squinting althrough the early morning hours reading it!
Me too!
Glad it’s not just me.
Wow isn’t Crime and Punishment extremely long? I don’t know that I’d manage to read anything even half that long within a few weeks no matter how gripping it was, so this is very impressive to me. Kudos
It took me a while to get into it when I first read it, but the gradual build is great and it’s difficult to put down once you’re into the second half.
I, Claudius
Claudius the God is great too.
Alex “Joy of Sex” Comfort also wrote a similar book about Nero, which is kind of a sequel. Nowhere near as good but if you’re still wanting more after the second book it’s worth a look.
I spent the last 100 or so pages of Notre Dame de Paris unable to put it down, going ‘omg don’t kill [redacted character]’. It took a thousand pages to get me there, but I was IN that world.
Same but the first 100+ pages were the opposite and a real struggle to get into! But I’m glad I persevered, I loved it once I was invested!
Anna Karenina was one for me
I agree with this. Very readable and enjoyable.
The Count of Monte Cristo is the first one that comes to my mind. The plot is really entertaining and even tho it’s quite a long book, I don’t find it to be boring. So many great characters, so many great scenes and chapters. This book is the true definition of a masterpiece and Alexandre Dumas is a genius, really. The plot is so complex, that it’s amazing to think a single person just thought of this and wrote it.
I’m kind of shocked that this is so far down in the thread. I feel like Count of Monte Cristo is usually the go-to example for old classics that feel modern and engaging.
I really did enjoy reading „Wuthering Heights“. And a few years back -in preparation for seeing „Macbeth“ for the first time in English (better to get a bit familiar with the language)- I read it in English and it was surprisingly gripping.
Wuthering Heights is like a trashy soap opera where everyone is toxic and hates each other. But it’s incredible and you can’t stop reading.
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. It’s ferocious.
- Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind
- No Country for Old Men
Both are more than 600 pages, and its still a page turners:
- The Pillars of Earth
- The Count of Monte Cristo
Im reading Monte Cristo right now, and the Paris setting in the middle is really quite boring compared to the first 250 pages …
I put it down at the Rome part with Luigi Vampa and honestly didn’t come back to it for probably a year.
In the end I’d say I enjoyed the book but not nearly as much as I expected given the amount of praise it gets.
I’m in the exact same spot right now. Glad I’m not the only one. Based on the other comment, maybe it’s worth pushing through. I kinda gave up for a minute there.
Interesting to hear someone is also in the same predicament! I suppose it’s worth pressing ahead
That’s funny… I’m also reading, also in Paris (the stories about Luigi the shepard), and also thinking the exact same thing. I couldn’t put it down up to this point, but it’s starting to feel like a chore. I’ll stick with it though.
Honestly, I thought the book peaked in the first 350 pages and would have been better had it ended after a certain major event in the novel.
Yeah I’m at the Paris section now too and have had it on hold for months. A good book but definitely not a page turner.
Yes, the middle of the book is a bit of a slog since it doesn’t really tell you directly what’s going on, but once the pieces start clicking together it’s a wild ride to the end
you’re in for a ride! don’t give up on the book, it gets insanely good and just…mindblowing. at least for me. keep me updated and have fun reading!
Thanks! I’ll keep pushing
Came here to see Perfume! 🙏
The Pillars of Earth
This is a great read. Though its (many) sequels seem a bit rushed, formulaic. Sticking very closely to the formula of the original, they seem meant to cash in on the first book’s success.
Still, Pillars of the Earth is very good.Should I read it? I hear it’s his best book. Follett gets a lot of shit but I find that criticism very elitist. He’s a good pop writer, I liked The third twin.
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Possession by A S Byatt
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Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
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Things Fall Apart (and Arrow of God) by Chinua Achebe
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Lolita by Nabokov
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We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson
I’ve also found most of Thomas Hardy’s novels to be pageturners but YMMV.
Tess of the Durbervilles is a romantic page turner! Loved it!
Possession is very romantic. I personally find Hardy to be deeply unromantic aside from Jude The Obscure and his poems.
Okay I love that book but how is it romantic?
Gotta recommend A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o if you liked Things Fall Apart.
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And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. About a year ago I was in a total reading slump and couldn’t finish a book for the life of me. Then I picked this one up at the local bookstore (obviously I knew about it beforehand but had never gotten around to actually reading it) and devoured it within 24 hours.
Most books by Christie, to be honest. She was a genius
I agree completely. I’m trying to get my 12 year old to read this. I love this book. If you haven’t read Murder on the Orient Express, definitely read it soon!!
Certified Banger
Other people have mentioned great books, I’ll toss in most books written by Toni Morrison. I’ve read Beloved, Song of Solomon, and am reading The Bluest Eye, and her prose is addicting to read. Every sentence seems to just dance off the page. It’s truly astounding how she can write so beautifully about such dark topics.
YES, she’s a good one. The Bluest Eye destroyed me.
Shogun - James Clavell. It is monstrously huge at around 1000 pages, but a real page turner.
I never read this book or watched the old Mifune miniseries bc it seemed to me (maybe erroneously, I don’t know) in the same vein as stuff like Lawrence of Arabia where it’s centered around some white dude becoming a folk hero or something in an ‘exotic’ place, but the new miniseries looks really good so I’m prob gonna watch that