What inspired this question for me was reading Alex Haley’s “Roots” after having just read “Beloved” by Toni Morrison. I thought that the two taken together give a wonderfully detailed image of American slavery and it’s effects on the body (Roots) as well as on the soul (Beloved).
Another that came to mind was Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” and Hunter S Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” as I personally felt that FaL was written as a direct parody and skewering of the kind of transcendentalist optimism we see in someone like Kerouac.
I guess I’m thinking of books that look at similar issues from complimentary angles or books that seem heavily inspired by others and almost responding or expounding, so that you come away having learned more than the sum of their parts.
EDIT: Doesn’t have to be all fiction. Non-fiction is welcome as well.
Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe and Hell’s Angels by Hunter S Thompson. The two books cover the California counter culture from very different angles, but there’s a scene where both groups and their respective authors converge and have a big party. Fascinating, sad, disillusioning, but complementary. Getting the same scene from two different writers is unique in my experience as a reader.
Oohh this is a good one. I personally hated the Wolfe (did not vibe with his writing style) and absolutely loved the HST. But would definitely recommend someone to read both if they are interested in the era.