What novel changed the way you viewed the world?

Question

Works of Fiction.

Answer 1

All the good books that I read deepen my perception of human experience, at least while I am reading the book. But do they change the way I view the world? Rarely. Not really.

Here are a few that did, in a way.

Eudora Welty, in Losing Battles, wrote about my people. When I was young, she helped me see and appreciate the older kin in my family for what they really were. She caught their voices exactly.

Mighnight's Children, by Salman Rushdie, I happened to read at about the same time I read Freedom at Midnight by Lapierre and Collins, the nonfiction account of the independence of India in 1947 through the assassination of Gandhi in 1948. Rushdie's novel, in my opinion the greatest novel of the second half of the 20the century, showed me India in this time of historical crisis, but it also showed me humanity in our modern world, with humor and a good, page-turning story, but also with the sense of tragedy that pervades our time.

Also, three of the novels of William Wharton came at just a time in my life when they spoke to and for me eloquently. I read Dad when I was discovering my own role as a father, and Wharton helped me understand my relationship with my own father; indeed, the relationships of all fathers and sons. Birdy helped me see and admire adolescents and young adults living in a time of stress, including the war in Vietnam. But A Midnight Clear, to me, is the greatest of all war novels (anti-war, really). I would never again be able to think of the troops slogging their way through Vietnam or Somalia or Croatia or Afghanistan or Iraq (or Israel or Lebanon), without remembering that they are family--to someone somewhere, to each other, ultimately to us all. No matter which side of the line they are figting on.

Answer 2

Well, this isn't so much of a novel, but it's a good read. I would read "The Demon-Haunted World" by Carl Sagan. It's not a hard read at all, and it just talks about and helps the reader to realize just how ignorant the world is about the universe and our infinitesimal existence here on Earth. Of course, it doesn't just talk about space, but actually mostly about more worldly issues of today that are seen by the public eye with misconceptions. VERY interesting, I highly recommend it. And if you don't end up liking it, I'm sorry.
:(

Answer 3

I think every novel changes something in you, it makes you more perceptible to the world around you. The most influencial books in my opinion are those which express harsh social criticism, like Swift's "Gulliver's Travels". But the most impressive book that I've ever read was Orwell's "1984." It was so tragic and unbelieveable that I started thinking whether it is ever possible for a real 1984 to happen and if it would how would people handle it.

Answer 4

Definitely "The Catcher in the Rye" by JD Salinger. I never wanted to read it (even in high school when it was mandatory) because everyone always praised how great it was and I didn't want to believe them (that's just me). It is a life changing book. I have never looked at ANYTHING the same.

Also, "Oh, The Places You'll Go" or "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss. I know they are considered "children's books" and not novels...but these are both VERY good with POWERFUL messages.

Answer 5

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Answer 6

This Present Darkness
by Frank Perretti

AND

Fahrenheit 451 - the temperature at which books burn
by Ray Bradberry

Answer 7

Roots by Alex Haley. That book was mind boggling. It showed the nasty truth of black history, how black history from the people who know it best was stripped, the truth of slave trade, and some other things you didn't think about before. It made you also want to appreciate your own roots, wherever you came from, because your past is a part of you. Real great book.

Answer 8

The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon.

Answer 9

The Source by James A. Michener.

Answer 10

Guadalcanal Diary by Tregaskis