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Original poster

Looking for a substantial literary novel to get lost in

205 replies

amoamas · 28/04/2026 12:17

I have a very rare week to myself coming up, and I'd be grateful for recommendations for a nice thick book to take with me. I don't mind if it's a classic or contemporary fiction, maybe 400 pages or more so I can really get into it.

I have enjoyed: There are rivers in the sky by Elif Shafak, The safekeep by Yael van der Wouden, The hare with amber eyes by Edmund de Waal, Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel, the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante, the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake, the Boudica series by Manda Scott, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, Orlando by Virginia Wolf. I've read most of the main classics but happy to explore some of the more unusual ones.

I don't enjoy: sci fi, "just" romance, very sad stories or anything that's unrelentingly grim, "light" reading (I want something to get lost in), politics.

Any recommendations gratefully received, TIA.

OP posts:
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minipie · 07/05/2026 15:22

Just been using this thread to pick out a library haul so thank you all.

Cannot agree with A Little Life though. I hated it, relentless misery porn. Author creates someone unrealistically perfect and then has him horribly abused over hundreds of pages. Ugh.

AzureCats · 04/05/2026 11:58

Commenting so I don't lose the thread.
Echoing recommendations for Barbara Kingsolver and Daphne de Maurier.

Maybe doesn't quite fit the bill but I enjoyed the Book of Doors by Gareth Brown recently. I devoured it!

Framboisery · 03/05/2026 13:55

Possession by AS Byatt
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Wild Swans (i know Nonfiction but still epic)

mateysmum · 02/05/2026 15:07

Cherrypi · 01/05/2026 21:24

North woods by Daniel Mason

Loved this book. Can't believe nobody recommended it earlier. It's so original, haunting and beautifully written.

EmilyintheUK · 01/05/2026 21:58

A Prayer For Owen Meany

Cherrypi · 01/05/2026 21:24

North woods by Daniel Mason

WhereAreWeNow · 01/05/2026 06:35

Agree with those suggesting Donna Tartt.
How about the Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St Aubyn? I found I got really drawn into those.

JuliettaCaeser · 01/05/2026 06:26

Did it for book club unanimously we all loved The Goldfinch. Such a good book very absorbing. The Secret History hood but her other one whose name I can’t remember I did give up with.

38thparallel · 01/05/2026 04:18

The Goldfinch is marmite - some people love it and some people don’t. I thought the Las Vegas bit went on a bit long but I enjoyed all the New York bits.
I wish she’d write a sequel as I’d like to know what happened next to Theo, Pippa, Kitsey and Boris.

FranklyIgiveadamn · 30/04/2026 22:46

Hopefulsalmon · 29/04/2026 22:54

Agreed!
Also, another vote for C J Sandome's Shardlake series. Fantastic books.

I think I'm the only person who didn't enjoy The Goldfinch.

Show quote history

You’re not. Loved Secret History… one of my top ten… Goldfinch, nah a bit boring really.

weareallcats · 30/04/2026 19:16

Hopefulsalmon · 29/04/2026 22:54

Agreed!
Also, another vote for C J Sandome's Shardlake series. Fantastic books.

I think I'm the only person who didn't enjoy The Goldfinch.

Show quote history

I didn’t like it either - a rare dnf. I still have it on my bookshelf with the bookmark in where I left it (hardback, so ages ago now). I might try again at some point. The Secret History is one of my favourite books, so it was a bit of a surprise!

examworries2026 · 30/04/2026 18:01

I really, really hated Kate Mosse Labyrinth. I wouldn’t class that as literary at all. Awful cliched writing and crappy plot. Sorry!

BringBackCatsEyes · 30/04/2026 16:53

amoamas · 30/04/2026 09:03

Even more ideas...what a lovely lot you are, thank you so much!

How much home off did you say you had?! 😂📖

dh280125 · 30/04/2026 14:27

JuniperKeats · 30/04/2026 12:15

The Goldfinch I think

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Of course! Oops

fridaleavethetweezers · 30/04/2026 12:59

Another Isabel Allende combination is Eva Luna and the Stories of Eva Luna. Just re-reading them and it takes you to another world.

IceIceBabyBump · 30/04/2026 12:43

Thechateau · 30/04/2026 12:34

I agree Murukami is very male gazey, but Breasts and Eggs is by Mieko Kawakami. It's really good!

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Ugh, you're right. Sorry.

Thechateau · 30/04/2026 12:34

IceIceBabyBump · 30/04/2026 09:07

"Bitter Orange" by Claire Fuller is a really good book to get lost in over spring/summer. It's not huge but utterly absorbing.

I don't get the love for Murakami at all. I read "Breasts and Eggs" for my book club expecting a clever allegory about contemporary womanhood. No. It really was just about tits.

I agree Murukami is very male gazey, but Breasts and Eggs is by Mieko Kawakami. It's really good!

ElsieJay · 30/04/2026 12:32

This thread has proved expensive for me.
Just completed a bumper World of Books order - the Ken Follett trilogy , Wild Swans and An Equal Music ( both of which I read ages ago, but want to reacquaint myself ).

Also bought Pachinko from Amazon as WoB didn’t have it in stock , but as all theirs are secondhand I didn’t feel too guilty splashing out on a brand new copy !
Looking forward to sunny days in the garden and getting lost in a book ( or six ).

JuniperKeats · 30/04/2026 12:15

dh280125 · 30/04/2026 08:17

The Nightingale by Donna Tart or 1Q84 by Murakami. For a real classic how about Swann's Way by Proust?

Show quote history

The Goldfinch I think

Reader19 · 30/04/2026 12:06

OnlyHereForTheChristmasBoard · 29/04/2026 20:37

Another vote for Anna Karenina. Would also second Vanity Fair.

The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann - huge, mad, brilliant.

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray is great (but the ending, omfg).

I return to The Magic Mountain every few years when I have a stretch of time. There's a wonderful familiar sensation reading the train journey at the start and feeling it mark the beginning of your own stay in the novel in the coming days. A truly remarkable book where your understanding grows and changes each time you read.

kohlrabislaw · 30/04/2026 11:21

When you say no sci-fi does that include fantasy? I absolutely loved Priory of the Orange Tree which is kinda feminist epic fantasy.

IceIceBabyBump · 30/04/2026 09:07

"Bitter Orange" by Claire Fuller is a really good book to get lost in over spring/summer. It's not huge but utterly absorbing.

I don't get the love for Murakami at all. I read "Breasts and Eggs" for my book club expecting a clever allegory about contemporary womanhood. No. It really was just about tits.

Original poster
amoamas · 30/04/2026 09:03

Even more ideas...what a lovely lot you are, thank you so much!

OP posts:
brizzledad · 30/04/2026 08:26

I've not read all 8 pages of the thread, so apologies if this is a repeat!
Iain Banks, but not the M books as they get a bit too sci-fi. The Crow Road in particular is incredible.
"It was the day my grandmother exploded."

dh280125 · 30/04/2026 08:17

amoamas · 28/04/2026 12:17

I have a very rare week to myself coming up, and I'd be grateful for recommendations for a nice thick book to take with me. I don't mind if it's a classic or contemporary fiction, maybe 400 pages or more so I can really get into it.

I have enjoyed: There are rivers in the sky by Elif Shafak, The safekeep by Yael van der Wouden, The hare with amber eyes by Edmund de Waal, Wolf Hall trilogy by Hilary Mantel, the Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante, the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake, the Boudica series by Manda Scott, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, Orlando by Virginia Wolf. I've read most of the main classics but happy to explore some of the more unusual ones.

I don't enjoy: sci fi, "just" romance, very sad stories or anything that's unrelentingly grim, "light" reading (I want something to get lost in), politics.

Any recommendations gratefully received, TIA.

The Nightingale by Donna Tart or 1Q84 by Murakami. For a real classic how about Swann's Way by Proust?