Seven Fascinating Literary Works for Bookworms
The next time you drop by a local bookstore, try to look for the following novels. They are highly acclaimed among literary circles, and have gathered elusive awards and positive reviews from literary critics. I highly recommend these books.
One Hundred Years of Solitude (by Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
Set in the tiny fictional village of Macondo, this novel portrays the rise and fall of the Buendia family. It takes the reader towards a journey of 100 years of rich family and cultural history. The author is a master of telling the story from different vantage points. Although the timeframe for the novel extends to well over a century, the events are not told chronologically but from different angles and time periods. The author is a Nobel Prize winner.
Midnight’s Children (by Salman Rushdie)
This novel won both the Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981. It is the only novel written by an Indian author that got on Time magazine’s list of top 100 best English language novels in a span of 50 years. The credentials of this book should speak for themselves.
Breathing Lessons (by Anne Tyler)
“Breathing Lessons” won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1989. It is a story that tells the reality of married life and midlife crisis. One of the best modern literary artists, Anne Tyler also authored works such as Earthly Possessions and The Accidental Tourist. All those mentioned titles became smash hits.
Rabbit Is Rich (by John Updike)
This novel is the third part of Updike’s “Rabbit series”. Rabbit Is Rich was the lucky episode in the series that won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1982. The story is about a former high school basketball star who now faces the challenges of modern society, ever struggling with various factors such as his wife’s alcoholism, his uncontrolled libido, his son’s misbehaviour, and dark memories from his past.
White Noise (by Don Delillo)
This novel is one of the best examples of postmodern literature. In fact, it is a standard “textbook” for college students taking up literature, primarily discussing postmodernism. Don Delillo’s eighth novel, White Noise won the National Book Award in 1985. Film makers also attempted to release a film adaptation of the novel in 2006, but did not fully materialize.
Catch 22 (by Joseph Heller)
Considered as one of the greatest literary works in the post World War era, Catch 22 gained massive acclaim when it was first released in 1961. Today, it is a favorite among famous literary circles and subject of study for avid students of literature, sociology and politics. The story was set during the late stages of World War 2, focusing on a handful of U.S. air force soldiers. The novel is full of satire, political and social criticism, as well as many equally strong underlying themes. Disturbing, humorous, and witty to a full scale extent, this novel is definitely a must read!
Everything That Rises Must Converge (by Flannery O’ Connor)
Unlike the other works mentioned here, this work is not a novel but a short story collection. It is, however, considered as an individual literary piece. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” is in fact the first short story in a collection of nine, thereby earning the title for the whole work. The author wrote these short stories during a long period of illness, and were published after her death. She writes with supreme taste, style, and technicality; the readers often find themselves grasping for and holding on to every word.
Liked it
Very well-presented short reviews for readers.
A couple of these I had not come across, will check them out thanks
Great classics. and very well-written reviews.
Might have to check out a couple of these. Cheers Verniel.
nice review,thanks
Nice article i like it!!
Great stuff… not read all of them but a few are now on the reading list!
Love Delillo, but there was never a release of a White Noise film – at least not one based on the novel. Better re-check that fact.
This is easily the 12th time in 3 months someone has recommended White Noise. I’d never heard of it before three months ago. It’s officially on the list!
Good stuff,a must read these.
c2, thanks for pointing that out. There was a film adaptation of White Noise that was supposedly released but for some reason it was taken off the market immediately. All promotions were suddenly cut off even before it got on blockbuster. It’s all documented on Wikipedia..lol. So what came out a year later (2007) was a film called White Noise 2, The Light. Yes, you’re right , it’s not based on the actual novel (but still the ideas are undeniably inspired by Delillo’s work, but with a tinge of Hollywood, so you can expect the original thoughts and postmodern ideas to be watered down).
Right now, I’m reading another Don DeLillo novel entitled “Libra”. This one will drive you nuts. I don’t recommend it to casual readers! lol..it’s about the Kennedy assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald, and the dark conspiracy theory that rippled across America since the 1960’s. It’s got some outrageous ideas, it disturbs me at night!
Verniel – there’s still some confusion about this ‘White Noise’ film. As per Wikipedia (article on White Noise film):
White Noise is a 2005 drama/supernatural horror film, directed by Geoffrey Sax and produced by Brightlight Pictures. The title refers to electronic voice phenomena (EVP), where voices, which some believe to be from the “other side,” can be heard on audio recordings. The film is not related to the postmodern novel White Noise by Don DeLillo.
A sequel entitled White Noise: The Light was released in January 2007.
goodreadsed as necessary.
100 years of solitude at the top earned my trust, but the recent white noise craze is puzzling. it’s okay. but it fell flat for me, i suspect because i’m not even remotely from a middle class academic family, and imagining my college professors living these flat lives was much less fun that imagining their lives full of esoteric delights and wonders.
I haven’t read all of these but I’ve heard of them. I’ve actually seen the movie, ‘White noise’, it’s not based on the book.
What I forgot to say was that ‘Shame’ by Salman Rushdie should’ve been listed here. Then again, I’m biased towards him, since he is one of my favorite writers.
Good reviews.
i’ve never heard of these books. Maybe i’ll check them out
Another good one to add to the list would be ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ By Alexander Dumas
Always glad to have good books recommended. Thanks. I’ve read a few of these and haven’t even heard of a couple of them.
Curt, it appears that there is an actual film adaptation of Don Delillo’s White Noise, but it wasn’t released. I already edited this article to mirror that fact. Here is the Wikipedia link for the aborted film adaptation based on the novel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Noise_(novel)#Film_adaptation
The two White Noise films which came out on 2005 and 2007 are not related to Don Delillo’s novel.
nice reviews verniel
Thanks for all the comments!
Alexa: Count of Monte Cristo is a good classic book. Nice pick! It falls under a different genre and era, maybe I’ll write another book list that gives justice to that category of literature.
Great list of books, a couple of which I’ve never heard of before.
There are a couple on your list that I will probably take a look at. Thank you.
Verniel, if you haven’t already read it, I recommend ‘Birds without wings’ by Louis de Bernieres. “an epic novel about small town life and the worldwide forces that have changed the world forever.”
Yeah one day I might get all that stuff on Amazon
A very nice list and reviews about those books.
This is a fantastic article! I loved it. I’m a big fan of Anne Tyler and Flannery O’Connor. Another great one to check out, not as widely known is: “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin and her short stories. I think readers of O’Connor, might want to check out Kate Chopin’s work sometime. Another great article Verniel!
excellent list of must-reads!
sometimes you can find books like this on a site called bookmooch.com
for those of you who are poor like me, you can sign up and it works on a bartering system. you put up some books you wouldn’t mind sending off to someone else and make a wishlist of books for yourself. i’ve gotten some great books from there.
just a thought for those of you who want to read them but don’t have money to buy!
Glad to see a book related article without pictures is topping the hot content lists! Good job!
An English teacher’s dream list . . . I’ll have to try these out.
Very nice list…
Here are also some good novels:
Conversation in the Cathedral (by Mario Vargas Llosa)
The Master and Margarita (by Mikhail Bulgakov)
Humboldt’s Gift (by… you know him for sure)
Thanks for sharing, will check them out.
Thanks for all the comments.
To Dan: I have other books here authored by Saul Bellow but sadly I don’t have Humboldt’s Gift yet! I will definitely look for that.
Nice list. Here’s seven more (trying not to repeat authors, ‘cuz
Rushdie’s got so many great one’s.)
1) The Flounder by Gunther Grass
2) A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham
3) Growth of the Soil by Knut Hamsun
4) The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
5) Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates
6) Paradise by Toni Morrison
7) Anything by Charles Bukowski
Read on, life is short.
why no rOth? Ne3d Phil;p Rothi n teh list. um ya.
None of the books mentioned were read by me. I am missing a lot.
I have read all by the Rushdie book and I will check that out from the library first thing tomorrow! I agree with you – ALL of those books are on my shelf and are MUST READS! Especially “White Noise”!
One more, A Fan’s Notes by Fred Exley should not be missed. Classic and often overlooked since he was a one book wonder.
No wonder literature (and literacy) is in such a poor state if that’s what you’re trying to get people to read. One title you mentioned is okay – the rest, drivel masquerading as literature. If you want to promote great books, then promote Crime and Punishment, The Trial, Ice, The Fountainhead, Women in Love, Crash, Naked Lunch, Dandelion Wine & Farewell Summer, The Bloody Chamber, A Clockwork Orange, The Zoo Father, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, Crow, or anything by Robert Lowell. Hats off for trying to encourage people to read, but try it with better books, please….
rjd, hats off to the books you mentioned especially the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (I also love the other one entitled Atlas Shrugged, by the same author). Naked Lunch is uncommonly well too. I see you’re a reader with good taste. But to disparage authors such as Rushdie, DeLillo, Updike and others, and implying that their works are examples of poor literature, is very uncharacteristic of a true literary enthusiast. Im sorry but one cannot speak ill of these authors and their works without sounding like an ignoramus. I suppose you haven’t read them, and if indeed you haven’t, maybe you should start with a little bit of Delillo, then you can move on to Philip Roth and Toni Morrison. Being highly appreciative of good literature as you are, I have no doubts that you will find these authors extremely valuable. Cheers and good day to all!
Dude, Delillo and Heller are two of my favorite authors EVER! Great list here old boy. I do say, good show!
I LOVE catch 22!!!!
I am definately a book worm , always finding myself at the library and f its a book I like the book store to add it to my collection. I think you just suggested my next read, breathing lessons by Anne Tylor – Thanks!!!!!
Actually, I have read Rushdie, Roth, Updike, et al, but find that whole ‘New York pseudo-academic circle quite dull. I don’t really care about their characters’ potential impotence problems, mainly because they’re not very interesting and the writing style is poor. With regards to Heller, don’t get me wrong – I think Catch 22 is a great novel, but Heller has not written anything to equal it. And yes, I have read Atlas Shrugged, as well as Anthem and We the Living By Ayn Rand. All are excellent books. I really enjoy novels, short stories, plays, poems and essays that show great sparks of imagination – books that startle, surprise, amaze, annoy, unsettle, provoke, etc. Real fiction, not just run-of-the-mill pedestrian prose. Fill the world with great novels only and let the substandard be pulped – as that’s all it’s fit for. It’s very simple – if the story isn’t absolutely phenomenal, then trees should not die for it.
hi rjd, im glad that fact and opinion are two different things. Your manner of labeling these literary works as “poor, substandard, and written by a group of authors belonging to a pseudo-academic circle”, is your personal opinion. The opinion of literary critics who awarded these novels and authors with Pulitzers, National Book Awards, and Nobel Prizes carries much more weight. I guess your statement that these novels are “run-of-the-mill prose” would be entirely true if you’re the only reader in the world (and by then, it’s your only opinion that would matter). The last time I checked though, hundreds and possibly thousands of literature lovers still maintain their respect for these authors.
I am not too much inclined towards Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and other similar writers. But I still maintain my respect for their work because theirs are tremendous examples of great literature. To call them “poor” and “substandard” just because they are not my favorites would reflect a foolishness on my part.
Delillo’s writing style stands out by breaking free from the norms of storytelling. Updike presents the reality of modern American life, and he attempts to lessen the romanticism and idealism commonly present in other novels (which is why I think you did not like him). And then think twice about calling Garcia Marquez “substandard’.
Remember, the “Lost Generation” writers Hemingway, Fitzgerald etc. were also misunderstood in the past because they presented a totally different way of storytelling. I think it’s happening all over again, this time, with your so called “New York pseudo-academic circle”. 
Here’s another contemporary author who’ll probably cause you to freak out: Cormac McArthy.
Pulitzer Prize Winner, writer of No Country For Old Men, and “The Road”. Hmm..another substandard work for you, I presume? Nahh..for me it’s called modern day literature, and I am confident that these will be hailed as timeless classics in the future, and then you’ll be glad I posted this article. 
Cheers and have a good day!
Wow, it took me longer the read the comments than the article. Which by the way was good. I loved ” Catch 22 “, I read it around the same time I read ” Mash and Mash’s Goes to Maine”. I was around 12 and when my mother found out what I was reading, I got in a lot of trouble. But what an education. I love to read and will have to try out some of the ones on your list I have missed. Thanks.
Excellent article!!! I’ll definitely be getting hold of some of these books!!!
I’m a total bookworm.I could go for any one of these.
This is AWESOME!
Books make me happy.They really do. Maybe I am addicted…
Anyway, thumbs up for One Hundred Years of Solitude and Catch-22-I have both and my copies are all do-eared and covered in coffee stains.
I haven’t read the others but I keep hearing about them. Time to give ‘em a try I guess…
All of these books were already on my “to be read” list, except for “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” which I read recently. If the others are even close to that level, I’ll be very happy. Great succinct and insightful reviews.