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Original poster

Recommend me contemporary fiction based on my likes please.

33 replies

nevergoogle · 24/03/2011 22:31

So i loved

The long song, Andrea Levy
Small Island, Andrea Levy
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
Brick Lane, Monica Ali
The kite runner, Khaled Hosseini

I was thinking about 'a suitable boy' by vikram seth.

What do you recommend?

TIA.

OP posts:
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GColdtimer · 22/04/2011 00:29

Have you read any patrick gale? I have just finished rough music and really enjoyed it. How about Sarah Walters earlier stuff? I thought fingersmith was a real page turning saga.

fifitrixibell · 22/04/2011 00:09

A Suitable Boy is one of my favourite books - it's long though! It is a real saga, with lots of interesting characters. I read it just after my Dad died and it really helped to distract me from the grief, so perhaps that's one of the reasons I love it so much.

elkiedee · 21/04/2011 13:38

You might like Hisham Matar's books - his first is about a boy growing up in Libya, and later Cairo. In the Country of Men.

knitcorner · 14/04/2011 19:57

excellent thread, have lots of new ideas now.

Room (can't remember the author) is a book that has stayed in my head a long time after reading it.

I like Maggie O'Farrell too, particularly the Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox and The Hand That First Held Mine.

Original poster
nevergoogle · 07/04/2011 20:01

roma tearne does look good.
i'll add it to my list.

i've just started the reluctant fundamentalist, should be good.

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elkiedee · 07/04/2011 17:56

Roma Tearne sounds like a great suggestion to OP

londonartemis · 05/04/2011 13:48

Have you tried anything by Roma Tearne? It sounds as if she might fit in with what you say you like.

elkiedee · 04/04/2011 12:33

I also love Anne Tyler, not sure I can be more specific as I started reading her 20 years ago, I think Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant and The Accidental Tourist were both quite good but so were all the 14 others I've read (2 yet to read and should probably reread all the others with the possible exception of The Accidental Marriage and the most recent Noah's Compass).

I've loved all of Trapido and Adichie's 3 books - Purple Hibiscus more than One Half.

animula · 04/04/2011 12:26

Many thanks, Ponders.

Have been tapping busily away on the Kindle, pinging orders to Amazon ....

Ponders · 29/03/2011 17:49

Now you're asking, animula - I'll have to do some flicking through. I know I always enjoy the Accidental Tourist, & I've read that one several times; I'll have to get back to you on the others Smile

animula · 27/03/2011 23:33

Many thanks, Ponders. Which Anne Tyler would you recommend starting with?

Ponders · 25/03/2011 22:33

I have read some Alice Munro, animula, but can't remember what Confused

recommend nearly all the B Kingsolvers (not the non-fiction, there are a couple of eco/foodie books which are a bit disappointing when you realise).

I love most of \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=anne+tyler&x=0&y=0\Anne Tyler}

most of \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=books-uk&field-author=Clare%20Chambers\Clare Chambers}

some of \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_9_15?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=barbara+trapido&sprefix=barbara+trapido\Barbara Trapido} (liked Juggling & the Jack books iirc, but not Frankie & Stankie - haven't tried any others, will get some!)

& \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/Family-Album-Penelope-Lively/dp/0141041226/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1\Family Album by Penelope Lively} - bookpeople had a 3-book deal of hers recently inc Family Album, worth a look

HTH Smile

Original poster
nevergoogle · 25/03/2011 22:30

I have a list to take to the bookshop tomorrow.

vikram seth, a suitable boy
mohsin hamid, the reluctant fundamentalist
david ebershall, the 19th wife
rohinton mistry, a fine balance
kazuo ishiguro, never let me go

lots of other good ones there too, so will return to this thread when i'm done.

thanks.

OP posts:
animula · 25/03/2011 22:17

Ponders - Do you like Alice Munro too?

I'm pretty fond of The Bean Trees - do you have any other recommendations?

Original poster
nevergoogle · 25/03/2011 22:14

no, the poisonwood bible got my attention all the way through.

OP posts:
Original poster
nevergoogle · 25/03/2011 22:12

i think the longer a book is, the more likely it is that i'll get distracted by something else. a decent pace is required to keep me reading.

OP posts:
Ponders · 25/03/2011 22:05

Life of Pi also hard to get into but worth persevering.

(I struggled with Poisonwood Bible, ditto, did you not find that?)

varyingdegreesofdeafness · 25/03/2011 21:56

I really enjoyed susan hill's stuff, the ghost story stuff rather than the detectic=ve stuff, nd howards end is on the landing is a nice dip in and out of book]

michelle paver dark matter is a really good creepy ghost sory set in the antartic (sp?)

the little stranger by sarah waters as someone has already mentioned is good, a good, strange book for a cold winter afternoon is the peoples act of love by james meek.

Margaret atwood, the magic toyshop, the handmaids tale and alias grace

Grace owens short sories are good too, if not a bit depressing!

KurriKurri · 25/03/2011 21:55

Seconding 'Deaf Sentence' - very good

Original poster
nevergoogle · 25/03/2011 21:49

life of pi. another unfinished book.

why do i have so many unfinished books?

OP posts:
Original poster
nevergoogle · 25/03/2011 21:48

sorry, not clever enough for midnights hcildren, i tried that.

i'm going to go to the bookshop tomorrow with your suggestions and see what i can find.

OP posts:
Ponders · 25/03/2011 21:47

Poisonwood Bible first introduced me to Barbara Kingsolver, & there are a lot of other excellent books by her - mostly not the same (although the most recent, The Lacuna, is equally heavy & hard to get into)

The Bean Trees & Pigs in Heaven, which share the same characters (as each other, not as Poisonwood Bible!), are lovely . Prodigal Summer & Animal Dreams good too.

Have you read Life of Pi?

Jajas · 25/03/2011 21:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

thinkingkindly · 25/03/2011 21:36

And Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children if you haven't read it. It is a masterpiece.

GotArt · 25/03/2011 21:35

A Fine Balance... very good book.