For me, The Unbearable Lightness of Being-Milan Kundera; On Earth we are Briefly Gorgeous-Ocean Vuong; Love in the Time of Cholera-Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The most tragic, painful, human suffering can be presented and these writers present it in the most excruciatingly beautiful prose.
On Earth we are Briefly Gorgeous-“A woman stands on the shoulder of a dirt road begging, in a tongue made obsolete by gunfire, to enter the village where her house sits, has sat for decades. It is a human story. Anyone can tell it. Can you tell? Can you tell the rain has grown heavy, its keystrokes peppering the blue shawl black?”
What is the beauty for you?
I just finished The Left Hand of Darkness today. Definitely a book that will stay with me for a while—the descriptions of travel on the Ice, the subtle way the narration reveals the Envoy’s own biases, nusuth and the mistranslation of it! It’s one of the most beautifully crafted novels I’ve ever read
She’s right on the edge for me. Earthsea was perfect blend of prose and poetic writing, but I’ve tried a couple of times and never made it through the first chapter of The Lathe of Heaven because I find it too flowery and it distracts me. I think I should try again with the left hand of darkness though.
Couldn’t agree more. I finally got around to reading this last year and it completely floored me.
Very this! I feel similar things about The Word For World Is Forest too - another favourite
I found this book sooooo hard to get into, but man am I glad I stuck with it! I was in tears during the long trek over the ice, for how beautifully she described their friendship and understanding of one another. Really a moving, beautiful book, but not an easy read.