I read Warlock by Oakley Hall, one of the first “revisionist” Westerns. Thomas Pynchon loved the book, so I figured I’d give it a shot and wow. Definitely an influence on Cormac McCarthy and the old HBO show Deadwood. Amazing dialog and interior monologues (soliloquies), beautiful language throughout.

Royal Tennenbaums is certainly in the shadow of the Glass family.

No, it’s not easy, but totally worth it. Read a synopsis and stick with it. It’s not long and you’ll figure it out with a little work. Literature on that level just takes more work and not everything is always clear. Woolf spent a long time studying how her own thoughts worked, taking notes on how ideas flashed through her head, then tried to capture it. To the Lighthouse is also wonderful and maybe a little easier to follow.