ITT we post our single favorite novel and describe briefly why

>>9826766
>by dad east of eden
>great american novel
>dad always liked hemmingway and faulkner and fitzgerald
>asks me why i got him it
>its a nice copy
>he dog ears it
ive given up on him

>>9826781
I don't mind dog ears. Makes a book look actually read

>>9826766

Well I'm reading Anna Karenina right now and so far it is well on track to be my new favorite -- I've never felt like literary characters were in the same room as me when reading a book before. So far it seems to me like the single book all aspiring novelists should study intensely for its craft.

But of books I've read and finished... I've read a lot of books, I have so many "favorites" that change based on my mood and taste of the week. Some of these are Under the Volcano, Ulysses, Transparent Things, Forever Flowing, The House of Seven Gables, Middlemarch, and Moby-Dick. I'm more of a poetry and drama (and film) person than a novel person.

Right now I'd say it's The Magus, which may be a bit of a boring and "plebian" choice. I would probably say that I don't enjoy the Bill and Ted quality of philosophizing throughout the book, as it's kind of embarrassing. But as far as creative craft, Fowles is exceptional in his ability to provoke the senses. It is almost impossible to read the book and not have a very clear vision of what the greek island looks like, or what the old man looks like. You feel the breeze along with the character. I'll have to reread it and figure out how Fowles achieves this so transparently.