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Original poster

Help please. So if I liked these, then what else should I read?

31 replies

evelynj · 11/05/2014 23:52

..Middlesex
Cloud atlas
Rebecca
The wind up bird chronicle (and other Murakami)
A heartbreaking work of staggering genius
The fault in our stars
His dark materials trilogy
Room
Maus

I have enjoyed many others that are 'mainstream' but can't really remember what they were about now-e.g. Off the top of my head, shadow of the wind, Donna Tart, Kate Atkinson Brodie books, I'll go to bed at noon, (although I found it hilarious & my friend found it depressing), lots of booker shortlists & when I was younger I loved the sandman comics/graphic novels.

I'm off to Spain for 2 weeks with extended family soon, (woohoo!) I need a couple of books & the unread ones I have feel a bit meh. I was enjoying 'there but for the'. But have misplaced it somewhere!

I'm not really into war & history, (I know that sounds really awful & not against it if it's a good read but just not what I'd usually go for) and generally prefer something not too heavy to hold & gripping enough to make me want to keep reading (and go to bed earlyish so I don't drink as much vino as aI anticipate;)

Thanks in eager anticipation for your recs!

OP posts:
thegambler · 12/05/2014 00:31

Forgot about "Complicity", hasn't it just been made into a film aswell ?

exexpat · 12/05/2014 00:27

Btw, my favourite Banks novels are Complicity and the Crow Road.

exexpat · 12/05/2014 00:26

Have you read any of the other David Mitchell books? They are quite different, but also very good - the early ones (Number9Dream, Ghostwritten) are quite Murakami-esque, Black Swan Green is more of a British coming-of-age novel, and the Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is I suppose historical but I definitely found it gripping, and I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction.

I like most of the books you have listed, so I guess our tastes must be similar. Some of my other favourite authors are Barbara Kingsolver (Prodigal Summer etc), Richard Powers (maybe start with Generosity - similar feel to some Mitchell/Murakami) and William Boyd.

You might also enjoy one of my recent favourite reads: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (Booker shortlisted last year).

And one more suggestion: A Fraction of the Whole.

thegambler · 12/05/2014 00:25

"The Crow road" is my fave. "The steep road to Garbadale" and "Stonemouth" are similar to The Crow road but that is best, IMO. Espedair street is quite good. I could imagine The Wasp factory, The Business etc not being up everyones street.

Out of curiosity which of Murikami's themes did you prefer, the supernatural (Wind up bird, Kafka), The more straightforward (Norwegian wood) or the bizarre (The Sheep chases) ?

The Banks books I've reccomended are much more straightforward, more towards Norwegian wood.

Also the Stieg Larsson "Millenium" trilogy. Not my normal sort of reading, huge holes in the plot, some ridiculous plot lines, but kept me turning the pages at some rate.

Original poster
evelynj · 12/05/2014 00:11

Thanks the gambler-I tried him years ago & couldn't get int it-the wasp factory I think but should maybe try again. Have you a favourite you'd suggest of his?

OP posts:
thegambler · 12/05/2014 00:07

I find people who read Murakami read Iain Banks though they are quite different.