What's the best book you've read that no one has ever heard of?

Question

I'm tired of reading stuff that everyone else has read, and I'm tired of reading bad books, so recommend me the opposite.

Answer 1

This is a difficult question to answer, because a lot of the "good books" are also well-known books. Very rarely have I found good, unknown books. Nevertheless, I'll recommend some favorites of mine (lesser-known works):

-A lot of posters have mentioned the obvious: you're a guy. So the first book I recommend to guys who may not enjoy the flowery prose of many great books is "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby, a current British writer. He's one of the FEW authors I have seen guys who "don't like books" get into. You'll just love his plain, witty prose and everyman topics (sports, music, sex). But if you're not one of these guys, ignore this suggestion, because although Hornby IS good, he's more of a "pop writer."

-"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Milan Kundera. If you like the deeply emotional and philosophical works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Kundera is what I would consider a modern equivalent. There is a lot here about romantic love, and what it asks of us.

-"The Sexing of the Cherry" (or any others) by Jeanette Winterson, a current British novelist who is known for her fascinating style of writing - surrealistic, fairy-tale like stories - and her themes of sexuality, feminity and reality.

This is a good place to start. If you have more questions, please IM me!

I love this post, because there are so many good comments! I don't know how you're going to be able to choose the best one, to be honest. :)

Answer 2

"The Prodigal Women" by Nancy Hale. I've yet to meet a single person who has read this book. It's long been out of print so that might have something to do with it; however, I heard that it will be reissued in paperback soon so that may help it become more well known. It's a really great book about how women changed so much after World War 1. I love it but you're a guy and it might be a bit too girly for you. If you haven't read it yet I would recommend "Summer of '42" by Herman Raucher. It's about three boys summering on an island during WW2. It's very funny.

Good luck and happy reading! :-)

Answer 3

In my experience, there's no book that "everyone" has read...I like the classics, and there are so many that's it's impossible to read them all. If you've never read it, definitely read Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. That's often overlooked because of "War and Peace," but it's worth it. Also "The Brothers Karamazov," Dostoevsky. Can you tell I like the Russians?

As far as the maybe a little less familiar--Have you read The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy? A very good read. Also try, though not exactly modern fiction, The Ramayana. Very interesting book, with moral values still holding true today. Anything by Goethe as well....there's so much literature out there that "everyone" has read...come on, have you really read it ALL?

Answer 4

These thing are very much a matter of taste, but here are some of my favorites:

George Orwell - almost nobody reads beyond "1984" and "Animal Farm", but Orwell wrote many other novels, as well as essays that are great. I liked "Keep the Aspidistra Flying", "burmese Days", and "down and Out in Paris and London".

Incidentally, another writer now remembered mostly for one book who wrote many good ones is Aldous Huxley.

I also like Asian literature. The "Sea of Fertility" novels by Yukio Mishima, especially the first two, are amazing. Waley's translation of "The Tale of Genji" is one of the great books I've ever read. Also check out his translation of "Chin P'ing Mei", a Chinese masterpiece that is one of the great novels ever written, yet most people have never heard of it, much less read it.

"A Confederacy of Dunces" was a sensation when it came out about 20 years or so ago, but you may not be familiar with it. It's the funniest American novel since "Huckleberry Finn". Another incredible book of the '80s that is now somewhat neglected since the author didn't write much more is, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".

I've read Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" and "Brothers Karamazov", mention in another answer, but I liked his "The Possessed" better than either.

Answer 5

How strictly is that "no-one"?
And do you have any particular genre in mind?

If anyone here has read "The Defence of Duffer's Drift"
I'd be surprised, but unless you have an interest in the military it may not be your cup of tea. And no it's not really a novel.

Dornford Yates "The Stolen March" (1926)
A most bizarre tale from a writer of thrillers.
Some of his others are fun, possibly mainly for the period setting and the revealed attitudes, But "The Stolen March" is something else. It starts like a thriller...

Geoffrey Jenkins "The scend of the sea"
Another odd thriller.
Brian Callison: The Sextant.
Yet another!

Tim Powers: Last Call
About a man who has lost his body and soul in a card game, and the debt's about to come due.

Answer 6

Fate is the Hunter by J. Gann. Great book about the early days of commercial aviationprior to and just after WWII. Also 2 Years Before the Mast by Henry Dana. It is about sailing in the 1830's. Fascinating book on life onboard ship and early California.

Answer 7

Hints for Self-Culture by Hardayal It was published in pre-partition India in 1945 by Rajkamal Publications, Delhi, with special permission from WATTS & Co., London. It is a scholarly guide on intellectual culture, physical culture, aesthetic culture and ethical culture. This 384-page book is the most valuable part of my collection since 1945. Another book that will remain on my bookshelf, next to Hardayal’s book, is A Brief History of Everything by Ken Wilber (2007)

Answer 8

If you like SciFi, I'd recommend The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. It's one of my favorite SciFi books of all time, and most of the general reading public has never heard of Bester. He only write a few novels back in the 50's or 60s (can't remember), but they are all great.

Answer 9

Mark Frost's "The List of Seven"
Monica Ali's "Brick Lane"
Roddy Doyle's "The Barrytown Trilogy"
Hanif Kureshi's "The Buddha of Suburbia"

Answer 10

Try The Dive From Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer. It was a bestseller fora while but has kinda dropped off the radar. A very good story about what do we owe our friends at the expense of ourselves.