Coming off a literary high - please help

[CoteDAzur]

I just read Cloud Atlas and This Thing Of Darkness in quick succession, both epic, fantastic books of great scope and vision.

Now I don't now what to do with myself. Read another book, but what? What can I read now that won't be a huge disappointment after these two wonderful books that I have just finished?

Ok, phew. Enough to read already, and so little time.

I am not on Twitter. Scared of addiction.

Nomen, out of interest, do you sort of sense that perhaps Wolf is trying a bit too hard?
I ask because lots of people say that sort of thing when I mention him, but don't know why either.

Maybe. But the plots (what I read about them, at least) of his novels, especially Bonfire and that college girl one just didn't appeal. But perhaps it was their try-hard, contrived social setting thing? Should I persevere? I somehow felt it would be like reading the literary output of an ageing Holden Caulfield (though god knows how I formed this impression - no doubt unfair!).

Apols if I am abrupt in posting. On touchscreen so can't be arsed with long sentences.

Middlemarch was the book I adored from age 17 to about 25. It totally absorbed me at that age & undoubtedly shaped a lot of my views of the world & convictions (in a desperately do-gooder I-want-to-be-Dorothea way). Not picked it up now for years & not sure I could face re-reading, but it did mean an awful lot to me at the time. I haven't read any other Eliot for years...if its going to be something from that era I'd prefer Dickens now.

Never really attempted any of the Great American authors of the Roth/Wolfe era, I've stuck to Donna Tartt, Jonathan Franzen, etc. Would like to give Don deLillo a go, though.

Any takers for Nabokov? Lolita was impressive but left me repelled & not wanted to go back to it. Pale Fire was...interesting...

'Lolita' is one of my favourite books ever - have read it many times. Less fond of his others and in fact can remember almost absolutely nothing about them.

So glad Wolf hall came up- I just loved it. Thinking back over the years for one off books that I read and loved- would you do magic realism at all? How about Like water for Chocolate, or early Isabelle Allende? I remember falling into House of Spirits aged 15 and and not surfacing for days- but havent read it since so dont know how I would feel now. Also really liked Bel Canto from a few years ago and Knowledge of Angels- all quite easy reads rather brain hurty. In terms of where we might meet taste wise I venture into the sci fi like Diamond Age etc but I also wait impatiently for Ian M Bands and will resort to frantic Prachetting if stressed, which will be a black mark I suspect.

Has anyone mentioned Shades of Grey by jasper fforde- its a fantasy book in that it is set in a world nothing like ours although may have once been ours, very readable, and refreshingly unlike anything I have ever read-keep meaning to track down his other stuff.

Omen I can't believe I missed out Maus! Good call.

Ugh - I HATED 'Shades Of Grey.' Shouldn't have bothered trying it tbf as I haven't liked any of his others either but keep trying in the hope I might suddenly start to like him! Won't try any more.

Nomen. I am always reluctant to suggest that people 'persevere' with books just becuase I liked them. I think books can be a bit like peopl -, you just get on better with some than others. I was curious why you had that impression of Wolfe though. I do seem to like him more than pretty much anybody else I know. I have started to wonder if that is partly becuase I first read a Tom Wolfe book when I was a teenager. I was much less critical then and fell in love with books and stories and authors and characters in a sort of starry eyed way that I don't anymore (and I miss that). Anyhow....

I had to Wikki Holden Caulfied. Amazed to realise I have never read Catcher in the Rye. Should I? Is it as good as the hype suggests?

'Catcher' very over-rated imho. Read 'East Of Eden' instead! :)

The Catcher in the Rye
The Bell Jar,

What about 100 years of solitude or Love in the Time of cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Both fantastic books.

I tried to read Catcher In The Rye, found only teenage angst, and only made it to page 20 or so.

Castles Burning by Magda Denes

They Shoot Horses Don't They? by Horace McCoy. Read it yesterday, very good.

East of Eden amazing book, isn't it Remus? (and yes, you do want to read Slaughterhouse 5!) I watched the E of E film after reading the book and couldn't believe how little it touched on yet it was still a beautiful film.

Travels With Charley by Steinbeck is good too.

Yes to Marquez, anything by him.

I went through a phase of reading lots of Charles Bukowski books a few years back. Not the most sympathetic of writers, especially towards women, but tragically honest about himself.

And continuing with booze and grittiness, I loved Zola's Drinking Den and Belly of Paris. I didn't find them flowery, although packed with description!

Am quarterways through Bonfire of the Vanities, but keep searching for shorter, faster books to read alongside it! Feels a bit slow-moving at the moment.

Ooh - I haven't read, 'Travels With Charlie.' And there was me thinking I'd 'done' Steinbeck entirely!

I suspect that Cote would detest magical realism. I like Isabel Allende but vastly prefer her non-fiction. I think I may have mentioned 'Paula' earlier on this thread. Now there is a book that everyone should read.

Now might be the time to mention, 'Down And Out In Paris And London' and, 'The Road To Wigan Pier' too.

Yes, Down and Out! I read that when I was an au pair in Paris, and felt very akin to him!

Enders Game? Orson Scott Card. Sci fi but palatable to quite seriously anti sci fi readers (aka my dad). Ignore the self congratulatory intro telling you how wonderful it is and just read it- without the hype, v good.

Have just finished the The Children's Book AS Byatt- which I enjoyed as I am a sucker for a long running family saga although I now know far more about pottery glazes and the Fabian society than is probably necessary- not sure if that counts as brain hurty parts or just lecturing.

What on earth is "magical realism"?

I watched the film The House Of Spirits and that is about all I know of Isabel Allende. Am I missing something?

Down and Out is fantastic. Not much from Orwell I don't like. Similarly Roald Dahl is always worth another look as an adult.

I just couldn't get on with the Bell Jar it just plodded along, we had a discussion and decided to part on good terms.

Magic realism is when the story potters along as normal and then every now and then something clearly abnormal happens- a child is born with bright green hair/ a woman bursts into flames after eating matches etc and crucially no- one says ' good lord we must get the water tested' or 'call health and safety' but carries on as if this is all par for the course.

Cote, have you read Peter Carey's novels. Think you might enjoy him - I really enjoyed True History of the Kelly Gang and also My Life as a Fake. Also, I see jkklpu suggested Rose Tremain - try her novel The Colour. Gritty and evocative and long after you have read it the place and the mood haunts you.

Have something light on the go while you tackle The Road! Brilliant though

Also I recommend Kent Haruf to anyone who hasn't read him