Choose one novel for ds (18) to get back into reading

[Trumporange]

My ds just turned 18. He used to be an avid reader when he was younger but got out of the habit after primary school.
I'm biased but based on what others say too, he's funny, clever, and he also likes observing people and society.

Quite mature for his age so wants something for adults not YA fiction.

Definitely not scifi or fantasy as that's not his thing.

I'm thinking something along the lines of Martin Amis, Ian McEwan. I definitely think the Goldfinch by Donna Tartt would appeal but it is quite long for a first foray back into reading.

So, if he were to read one novel this summer to see if he can get back into reading what could it be?

Great suggestion

Yep, the beach is.good.

What about trainspotting? The dialect is difficult until you get into it, but funny and sad when you do.

I love cry the beloved country by Alan Paton, but it's emotionally difficult. I first read it at 14 and it blew me away

@JaneyGee down and out is one of my favourite books ever. I could never be a plongeur.

One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich

Ooh, yes! Brilliant series.

I’d go with Animal Farm and/or 1984 by Orwell.

They’re easy to read and constantly referenced and I think it’s useful to understand what people really mean when they talk about things like “all animals are equal” or the z2-minute hate.

Also, I remember a flatmate from years ago saying that Animal Farm was the first book he ever read voluntarily and that set him off on a lifetime of loving reading.

Such an interesting thread. Loads of good suggestions. I add another vote for Bill Bryson. Wonderful, underrated writer. Just because a writer is popular, that doesn't mean they're mediocre. The Sherlock Holmes books, for example, are excellent, and yet they've always been very popular. P G Wodehouse is another example – a superb stylist, and such a master of language that people have compared him to Shakespeare, but also very popular. How about something by Stephen Fry? He's always SO interesting, so learned, and yet never dry or pompous.

Being a male, he might be put off, but how about Jane Austen? Martin Amis said that until he was 14 or 15 he did nothing but smoke and read comics. Then someone gave him Pride and Prejudice and that was it. His life changed forever. Books like P&P or David Copperfield or Sons and Lovers have lasted for a reason.

Just a thought, but different authors offer different things. If you want him to cultivate a love of language, then I'd recommend Anthony Burgess, Evelyn Waugh, P. G. Wodehouse, Virginia Woolf, etc. Their books read almost like poetry. Burgess especially is extraordinary (A Clockwork Orange would be quite a cool book for a teenager boy – maybe he could watch the film first).

Then you get writers who are just wonderful storytellers (Dickens, Jane Austen, H G Wells etc), or great at dialogue (Oscar Wilde especially), or have a knack for thrilling ideas (Ian McEwan, Aldous Huxley, Douglas Adams, Primo Levi).

Ah...just thought of a great book for a young person getting back into reading: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Short, simple, mystical and beautiful. Robert Graves' I Claudius? Again, he could watch the (superb) TV series.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
The Rachel Papers by Martin Amis
Piranesi
Station 11

I don't get the love for The Cement Garden- it could put him off reading !

My 19 year old is a good reader but not literary. Some of these suggestions are possibly a bit much, and a bit dated. That's why Banks is a good call.

19 year old likes Agatha Christie, and Horowitz crime novels. Generally he avoids fiction but loved Of Mice and Men and Animal Farm. He did obediently read The Mayor of Casterbridge but didn't warm to it. Apparently even English undergraduates steer clear of the Victorians, sadly.

If he likes race issues, Small Island , Beloved and The Underground Railroad are fabulous for that age group.

The Bunker Diary. YA, Carnegie Medal winner but v controversial and not for young teens. It centres on a kidnapping and involves rape and murder. But it is very well written and easy to read, and I got two non-readers it and enjoying it.

Ermm...OK. I teach 18 year olds and know what they read... what would I know, hey?

It's the students not picking Victorians, rather than them not bring offered.

I don't need a lecture on Woke thanks. Fairly sure Dickens would have been derided in his day.

And,yes, Chaucer has dated.

Ps Beloved is a Great Work.

That's...a lot. An 18 year old who hasn't really been into reading for years probably won't want to read Chaucer or Homer, a current bestseller (though not up to your standards) would probably be a better introduction.

What equals great literature is not the point of the thread , really...

If he's not really read for pleasure since he was at primary his reading stamina might need building up. So I'd suggest something short. What kind of things does he like to watch on TV? That might give you an idea about genre.

Have you considered graphic novels? He might like something like Maus, Persepolis or Days of the Bagnold Summer.

If he wants a 'proper' book how about To Kill a Mocking Bird or Absolute Beginners or (apparently random suggestion) one of Beryl Bainbridge's novels.

To add to the Homer discussion one of the modern retellings might be a popular choice, The Song of Achilles might be a good starter, or Stephen Fry's retellings. Or Neil Gaiman's retelling of the Norse Myths. If he likes all the superhero films that might be a good choice.

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
We need to talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver
And the there were None by Agatha Christie

The Godfather, the book is better than the film.

I lived Beryl Bainbridge as a teen. Dark!!

Also liked Saki and Roald Dahl short stories. So much nastiness.

A prayer for Owen Meany : John Irving

I highly recommend 'The Boys on the Boat', by Daniel James Brown, which is a sort of literary documentary, following the fortunes of one particular member of the University of Washington crew from childhood on.

It's not just about rowing, though rowing features strongly - it's set in the 1920s - 30s and spans the Great Depression, the rise of the Nazis, the New Deal. But it is also a story of a family, of family relationships, and the story of a boy from an impoverished background making his way in the world against serious odds.

Wonderful character studies all through. Extremely well written.

Yes, yes, yes!

Steinbeck's Cannery Row might work: short stories which can be read individually, but have the same characters running through, so if you read them all you get to know them. I remember that feeling of missing them & wondering what they were up to once I'd finished the book (which is short).

'The Talented Mr Ripley' Patricia Highsmith
'The Bonfire of the Vanities' Tom Wolfe

Also another vote for 'The Beach'.