Very literary fiction recommends

[UntamedShrew]

Morning all. I’m looking for any recommends from those whose reading tastes lean towards the highbrow end of literary fiction.

I have a very bookish father and would like to get him some challenging but rewarding reads for the winter. Have you read anything that has stayed with you? He likes character led stories but has really broad ranging interests within this - doesn’t need to be modern or historical, British or international etc.

thank you ☺️

I mentioned Rosalind Belben above - at that point I’d started ‘Our Horses in Egypt’. After finishing the sample of that I moved on to her:

Hound Music

It is extraordinary. Truly outstanding in stylistic achievement. It begins by being an in depth observation of an early 20th century fox hunting family and community, and develops from there. Penguin called it subtle, brilliant, paradoxical.

Not easy to get hold of in print, so I’m having to continue peering at my phone kindle while hoping for an affordable hardback to turn up somewhere.

It definitely meets the brief.

William Trevor is a wonderful writer. Fools of Fortune is my favourite.

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne felt quite Dickensian to me when I read it recently - follows the life of a man growing up in Ireland 1945 onwards.

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears is a fabulous, clever piece of historical fiction that has stayed with me for decades.

Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go is stunning, as is The Buried Giant.

Perhaps something a bit left field, like a collection of Flannery O’Connor short stories might be interesting?

Alias Grace is my favourite Atwood, a very good choice!

May not be quite what you're looking for, but here's a few books I've enjoyed recently: Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy, The Master and Margarita, and Endo's Silence. 🙂

I have some of his recent favourites for you @WellWish - not necessarily published recently but all discovered or rediscovered recently. Hopefully there are some in here you might enjoy.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (WHAT a title!)

Threads by Julia Blackburn

The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams

Post Office Girl by (in fact anything by) Stefan Zweig

The Lost Pianos of Siberia / The Photographer at Sixteen. These two are actually non-fiction but apparently good enough to warrant flouting the rules of this thread.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (WHAT a title!)

I saw that as a play a couple of years ago. Three hours long! But didn't feel like it 😊

Thanks for posting the list of your DF's favourites @UntamedShrew
All titles I've never heard of before.

@UntamedShrew if your DF liked The Lost Pianos of Siberia then I highly recommend the book I've just finished, Paul Kildea's Chopin's Piano. It’s also non-fiction and traces the humble instrument on which Chopin composed his Preludes during his time in Majorca with George Sand, through the years after his death and on into the 20thc, through war and then peace (for some). A thought-provoking and beautifully-written book.

have really enjoyed this thread, adding to my books wish list and feeling pretty confident that I’ll enjoy them. Several authors new to me, which is exciting.

Julia Blackburns book about Dogger Bank is great too

Having seen what he’s enjoyed, how about A Canticle for Leibowitz?

Buy a Fitzcarraldo subscription

Yes, I would also recommend this. Anthony Burgess thought it was one of the greatest English-language novels of the 20th-century and massively underrated. Harold Bloom also thought it was underrated.

I see Patrick O'Brian on the list, If this style is not too lightweight for him I would add Bernard Cornwell's American Civil War series. More cerebral than the Sharpe stories.
If he accepts Le Carre then A Perfect Spy is the best. Ted Albeury is an equally good writer and with inside knowledge..

Thanks for recommending The Dream of Scipio, I got it after reading your post and really enjoyed it ❤️

I'm really enjoying Trust. Human nature framed around the Wall Street Crash. There are some incredible lines, the writing is superb.

dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/books/trust-3/