Is there a (fiction) novel that is universally acclaimed and loved?

[JMSA]

Looking for book recommendations for a book group I've just joined. I'm a little nervous about putting forward my first title, as I really don't know these people very well. I'm thinking it makes sense to 'play it safe' with my first choice of book. It has to be fiction and not onerously long. Max 400 pages.
We've just finished Hidden Windows by Jason Rekulak.

Thank you very much

Oh, and the group is mostly made up of secondary school English teachers. So something a little different would be great, as the Classics are no doubt already read!

Gosh it's going to be a hard task of they're nearly all English Teachers.

I'm reading Jamaica Inn which I'd recommend!

You don't really want a book everyone loves. Much more interesting to have a book you can discuss in depth and that divides opinion. Having said that, A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe and Trespasses by Louise Kennedy are both great.

I'd suggest Piranesi by Susannah Clarke. I'm in a book group and this was our most successful discussion ever.

I've recently read-

The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The nightingale
Weyward

All excellent, all bring a lot of discussion.

I challenge anyone to read In Memoriam and not find it beautiful.

Another vote for Piranesi, it's beautifully written, intriguing, and will pull at your heartstrings.
From a book group point of view, it's quite short, and easily obtainable.

The plot and characters are open to several interpretations, so lots of possibilities for interesting discussions.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.

I did not think this book would grab me but I could not put it down. Historical fiction but based on a true story set in Iceland. It's essentially about a servant woman convicted of murder. I think it would be awesome for a book club as so many topics could be discussed. It's also very well written and quite emotive. Wonderful read!

Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly might be a good choice for next time. As it looks at the impact of a book on the readership and author. I really loved it (was a book club book that I would never have picked otherwise)

The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell. Sci-fi but not hard sci-fi, and so so amazing. I reread it regularly. I’m an English teacher and the only people I know who’ve read it are the ones I’ve bought it for

My book club has just discussed The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver - great discussion and most people loved it. also have English teachers in the group.
Other recent wins have been The Marriage Portrait and Stone Blind.

We got on well with Long Island by Colm Toibin (and a number of people went on to read Brooklyn, which is the prequel).

Wake by Anna Hope
Small things like these by Claire Keegan
Still life by Sarah Winman
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

I Who Have Never Known Men

Boulder by Eva Balthazar is likely to spark discussion! The ending really stayed with me. It’s also about relationships and motherhood. It’s not a basic train station paperback bestseller type book, so might be good for English teachers. You can get it on Kindle though.

Some that I've read recently that have a lot of discussion points -

• She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
• I Who Have Never Known Men - Jacqueline Harpman
• The Course of Love - Alain de Botton
• Piglet - Lottie Hazell

Also thanks to pp for the suggestion of Burial Rites as it's free on Kindle Unlimited at the moment 🤗

Seconding "The Sparrow" - its wonderful.
Margaret Atwood"The Testaments" - they will all have read The Handmaid's Tale so this is the follow-up.
Natalie Haynes "Stone Blind"

I think The Long View by Elizabeth Jane Howard might be a good choice. It is the story of a woman told in five parts but in reverse chronological order. It begins when she is separating from her husband and moves back in time ending with their first meeting. It is beautifully written and the structure is interesting.

Every member of our book club loved In Memoriam. Think it's the only one that's been universally liked.

I see someone else has already recommended
A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe

I read it this summer and the chapter set in Abervan on the days following the disaster just stuck with me for weeks. The rest of the book is nice, but it was that chapter that would make for a very interesting discussion.
Jobs that no one realises need to be done and how horrendous it was for those doing it.

The Secret History is a novel I have never seen a bad word about and enjoyed immensely myself, however obviously it's a bit of a classic so might not be a new read for some of the group.

I absolutely loved this book and like to think I’ve been part of its world of mouth campaign by buying it repeatedly to give to people! but I can see it getting a pretty confused reception at most book clubs.

I’ve also read this book and I agree with what you’re saying however I absolutely hated the male main character and it ruined the book for me!

Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner. It’s short but lots to talk about. It’s what Jane Austen would have written if she was alive in the 1980s.