underrated books. books /lit/ doesnt talk about much but are

Lincoln in the Saunders by George Bardo

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I haven't read any Robinson yet, but I plan on starting with Gilead soon.

Pic related is probably my favorite book of all time. It's highly entertaining in that I would call it a "page-turner", but it raises a lot of points to think about concerning theology, ethics, and secularism.

>>9295579
Gilead is very good but Housekeeping is truly a work of art. her prose is incredible though in all her work

>>9295573
the film is great too

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>>9295573
read this a few weeks ago, it was really good.

>>9295579
This book is so damned good. It's quite Catholic, but that is worked into the plot very well. Would recommend to anyone vaguely interested in literary speculative (sci fi/post-apocalyptic) fiction.

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Cried at the end desu

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The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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Read this shit, you stupid fucking assholes.

>>9295802
i will

>>9295802
What's it about?

>>9295802
really digging the subversion of the Leviathan's frontispiece

>>9295802
this and also janine 1982

>>9295733
need to watch it!

>>9295802

I have. It was great.

My favorite passage:

>Coulter, at a desk in front of Thaw, turned around and said, "What are ye reading?"
>Thaw showed a book of critical essays on art and literature.
>Coulter said accusingly, "You don't read that for fun."
>"Yes, I read it for fun."
>"People our age don't read that sort of book for fun. They read it to show they're superior."
>"But I read this sort of book even when there's nobody to see me."
>"That shows you arenae trying to make us think you're superior, you're trying to make yourself think you're superior."

literally /lit/: the book

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This book is criminally underrated: it's an absolute masterpiece, but it's never discussed at all on this board

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I wish Erickson were more widely read. He's enormously talented and one of the more inventive writers I've found.

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this book is kind of between genre-fic and lit, but I really like it.

>>9295573
only posers read 安部 公房 in translation

>>9295554
that book looks really irritating

>>9295747
Handke is quite good. I wish more people knew about him. Actually, I don't know if I want that.

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>>9295550
This is the only book I've read by Durrell and I hear it's not his best by far. I can't imagine how delightful his better known works must be. The man has divine prose; I wonder why /lit/ never talks about him.

>>9296662
This one's genius is probably only appreciable in Spanish.

>>9295802
>tfw this was on my backlog but my dad cracked the fuck out of the spine and didn't even get farther than a quarter so the creasing is uneven and I'm autistic about broken book spines

>>9296658
The book cannot be as badass as the title suggests. El Tunel was boring as fuck

>>9299832
It's a wildly different book than El Túnel. Sabato's oeuvre unravels chronologically. Héroes is more fragmented than El Túnel and Abaddón is a shattered mirror; also, the writing becomes gradually more essayistic. You probably should avoid at all costs, protect your feeble mind.

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It's like 100 years of solitude, but with Danes.

>>9299832
I had to put El Tunel down for almost a year and half when I was about half-way through it. I picked it up again read the rest of it and realized that it described my isolation to society and insecurities relating to everything that's ever gone wrong in my relationships with women.

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>>9295550
I thought this book was very well written. I think this writer is very gifted, in general. For those of you who like Sophocles, he wrote a sort of Oedipux Rex for the 21st century in a more recent book 'Ed King'.

>>9300284
I thought he was channeling camus too obviously desu

>>9298192
Worst book I've read this year by far

>>9296631
Sounds like a child wrote that. Is he trying to make that character look retarded or what?

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>>9295550
>best girl nao

>>9300328
was it structure, the concept sounds good

>>9300344
Okay for a short story concept, annoying for a novella, unbearable for a novel.

>>9300323
I suppose the first person narrative and plot line is actually very similar, although El Tunel isn't so much about the indifference of the universe and meaninglessness of it, but instead the cruelty of humanity (and women). That element I felt a universal understanding of.

>>9300335

It's Scottish

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>>9295579
Canticle is also my favorite book. I just got a copy of Saint Leibowitz and the Crazy Horse Woman. I've heard it's not as good as Canticle, but I'm still looking forward to reading it.

>>9301921
*Wild Horse Woman
I'm staring at the cover and still managed to fuck up.

amsterdam stories

>>9295550
Housekeeping is based, but Gilead is better. Those are the only two I've read by Robinson, but I plan on reading the other two.

>>9301944
tfw the river still empties to the sea and people still worry

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pic related

>>9299729
Eh, could not get over the childish prose anon. Can see this being a good book to read while you are young though.

>>9300328
Worse than "The Enemy Beneath"?

>>9298127
My /lit/ crush loaned this to me and I disliked it. Of course I never said it to her face. Did my best to underline its good qualities.

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>>9295550
Great book.
>>9295573
Good book.
>>9295579
Great book.
>>9295754
Subpar book.
>>9296598
Good book.
>>9299729
Subpar book.
>>9300312
Okay book.

Some of these look like cool recs, thanks guys. Here's my contribution.

>>9297713
Definitely seconding this one. I'm surprised he's never discussed here since DFW recommended him.

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You will probably hate this, unless you happen to be a hardcore opera music fan or a hardcore homosexual. This book is as glamorous and glittery as a 70's drag queen on her birthday. There is considerable wit and baroque turns of phrase and it devolves towards the end in a flamboyant festival of faggotry. Whatever you think the top is, it's over it. Don't worry, there is no actual description of gay sex or any such thing; there's just love for music, art and the sublime, and a cast of characters as improbable and flitting as fairies in a dream.

Who knows, if you're crazy enough to love this book you might even learn to spell its title one day.

I think I made the book sound gayer than it is. I don't even think there is any mention of homosexuality at all and the main character is quite hetero. There is just something flashy and sparkly about the book and it's seeped in a sort of arrogance that's still endearing.

I don't know much about opera music either and still have no idea what they were talking about when they mention certain vocal inflections and other such musical geekiness. But that didn't stop me from enjoying it.

>>9303277
>underrated
This book is exploding in popularity because

>its good
>its russian 19th century'
>its short
>the protagonist has no problems kicking women in the cunt

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Great "sitting by the fire with a pipe" book here

>>9304075
im not into opera or gay, but it looks interesting

so many of these recs are nyrb classics. confirmed criterion collection of books

>>9304081
We all have our flaws, anon, no need for excuses.

>>9297713
>Instinctively read it as Tours of the Black Cock
Really makes you think

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>>9304089
I dont think the publisher is that great aside from the selections and sometimes translations themselves. For me I almost always read about a super interesting book in a sphere that interests me (international 20th century /lit/) and when calibre downloads the cover, it is an NYRB art piece.

That said, the review has been incredible leftist trash lately, which would almost be fine if they would just review some fucking fiction, new or classic. Pic related, every piece is post-structuralist or extreme-left progressive

>>9295573
I've only seen the film but it's superb, so I recommend that too

>>9296631
Damn, right in the feels

>>9295802
fucking this holy shit

>>9301944
>tfw it's been on my wishlist since forever

Is Amsterdam Stories really that good?

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>>9297626
what's it about? does it have a similar vibe to pic related?

btw pic related is amazing, specially if you are into traditionalist shit

>>9300328
You're a fucking idiot.

>>9300344
It's not meant for plebs but it's not exactly patrician. It is however, very novel and surprisingly innovative. The structure is extraordinary, those who find it 'unbearable' (>>9300573) are likely idiots. It superbly dovetails form and function.


To illustrate the spiritual realm, the Bardo, Saunders assembles the narration into a series of dramatic deliveries (dramatic in the sense of that a line of dialogue is neatly cited alongside a character's name). But what's most curious is that it's not limited to just the dialogue, but diegetic narration as well. So these characters are delivering their speech, their inner thoughts, AND--this is the most unusual--diegetic observation of other co-occurring characters' actions. This is hard to describe so I apologize if I'm not coming across. But it has this effect of mixing a close third with an omniscient third which I've never seen before because the characters are aware of other characters' diegetic statements and are able to interject to append them. There'll be a delivery in the present tense, about the past tense, of someone else's POV. Super interesting.

So you have that formal invention (form, obviously). This works wonderfully in this spiritual realm of Buddhist commingling of souls, and without giving away any spoilers, allows for really tender moments of "fellow-feeling." It really reinforces Saunders' overflowing sympathy for his characters and articulates some of his spirituality in that all are part of one etc. and enhances the story, mise en scene, and the characters themselves (content).

Just read the book, mang. Saunders doesn't get enough love on this board.

>>9306111
He was on On Point yesterday.

>>9305147
yeah read it

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i am the guy who posts lots of obscure book threads here is my list thus far https://pastebin.com/HYMdeNcF plus i am gonna post a bunch i liked myself

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>>9295550
here you go

>>9307529
Going to be reading this soon, I'm really excited for it. Are Aitmatov's other works worth reading as well?

>>9295573
I need to watch the film.

>>9307549
haven't read them. i just really really liked this one

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>>9297626

>tfw saving this book for trip to national park in my state that is completely isolated from civilization and you can only get there by walking 6 miles through another state park which is basically a marsh so there will be no normies

Far Tortuga by Peter Matthiessen.

The Snow Leopard seems to get all of the Matthiesen love here. Far Tortuga deserves more love.

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>>9295747
>>9303402
>>9304075
>>9304080
>>9307522
love those NYRB classics

>>9308913

>Peter Matthiessen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0dvIPfpuq4

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>>9308940
>reading spaghetti structuralism
No I think it gets the attention it deserves around here, approximately next to none.

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Idylls of the King and In Memoriam A.H.H.

>>9309157
>Spaghetti structuralism
Kek

>>9307764

But Thoreau was like half a mile away from a moderately populated village when he wrote this.

>>9306111
tldr

Saunders sucks donkey dicks, sister

>>9309157
>reading spaghetti structuralism
You ridiculous little clapper-clawed nut-hook. It's layer upon layer of genius. Swine like you wouldn't understand it anyway. It'd be like showing a particularly dimwitted bulldog a card trick.

>>9295579
reading this atm. really enjoyed what i've read so far.

>>9310494
Great post!

>>9295754

I was pretty disappointed by the end tee bee aitch

>>9300265

Do you recommend it? It's been teasing me at my local bookstore for a couple months but it's a doorstopper so I'm wary.

>>9295766
I have also been incredibly taken by The Secret History! Its a complete guilty pleasure of mine.