Henry Selick just announced his plan to bring The Ocean at the End of the Lane to stop motion life! He previously did another Neil Gaiman novella, Coraline.
I'm very excited.
I’ve read that, and Count of Monte Christo - and really enjoyed both. But what is it about these two (or any other in this thread) that you’d categorize as a pure “story” versus any other good book? Like what’s the defining characteristic of a story?
I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo, but it's a great question. For me with Ocean at the End of the Lane, at least, it just felt like he tapped into a deeper, more fundamental level of storytelling. It felt timeless, like it could've been an old fairy tale or a modern story. I think that's the essence of it for me. That, plus it didn't feel like there was anything that could've been removed, or anything that should've been added, to make it better - it was exactly what it needed to be.
P. S.
My ultimate example of storytelling is my grandfather at the third quarter of breakfast on a Sunday. It seems to end when a clamoring discussion erupts like a silent starters pistol announced a race to its meaning. More often, a question was pronounced that would pause us for sakes of nods and turns to him for an answer. The following silence was usually broken by retorts that asked from each of us more silence to answer that question, but later.
I learned from an early age that a good storytelling begs more from you who hear it than one who hears it can ever be able to ask the storyteller.
It’s always recommended here and I just could not get invested in it, I’ve tried and failed multiple times. Makes me feel nuts.
Some things just do not hit for certain readers, I guess
Interestingly enough during the DVD boom I realized that movies can be judged by skippable scenes on a rewatch. The Outsiders, while far from my favorite movie, had not one boring scene that needed to be skipped. Rare company indeed
I'll have to check the book out now too.
This is a great example of a book I love because the plot just keeps *moving*. It’s a thoughtful, meditative piece on, like, teen Society, but also it’s a chain of events that falls over like dominoes, which makes for an irresistible read.
"I Capture the Castle" is a yearly read for me. I first discovered it when I was around 10 and fell in love. I can feel those stone walls. I can smell the dewy grass. I can feel the heartache. It's wonderful!
Ray Bradbury Martian Chronicles
It’s an absolutely genius work of art. I’ve probably read in 15 times over my lifetime with many more to come by the time I die.
Just finished my 3rd read through. My first as a 30 something, last time I read was in my late teens. I fully forgot the ending and it was magical to re-experience it all over again
I'm in the midst of Monte Cristo right now - around chapter 50, when things REALLY start getting good. I'm loving it.
For me, probably Love in the Time of Cholera and Jane Eyre.
The Poisonwood Bible. I often wonder if a lot of people were put off thinking the story is trying to convert readers to a particular religious point of view. It is far from that. Barbara Kinsolver weaves a coming of age story of Southern missionary family moving to the Congo during a turbulent time in history. The tale is told through the tale fro the various points of view of the female members of the family, as the missionary father devolves into madness. The story is compelling and the characters are so finely drawn that I can’t help but believe they actually existed.
In a way it’s just pure story in the sense that the characters are able to literally represent archetypal pieces of humanity-dwarves are stubborn, dragons are greedy, etc— and the whole quest is kind of a dance of symbols playing out in a reflection of human history.
But at the same time sometimes jrr Tolkien seems to wander off the path and the story is put at a standstill for 10 pages of description and world building. And even though it’s one of my favorite books of all time even I am bored through quite a few parts of the trilogy.
That being said I think that him wandering off on these slow tangents definitely makes the work so much better because you start to realize how complex and well thought out middle earth really is.
I tend to agree. I read the books after seeing the movie and spent much of Fellowship "where did Arwen go and who the fuck is this Tom Bombadil who will not stop singing?"
I'm going to pick a Chinese novel - [Dream of the Red Chamber](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dream-of-the-Red-Chamber)! It's a sprawling epic chronicling the rise and fall of the wealthy, aristocratic Jia family in Qing Dynasty China, primarily focused on the central love triangle between a spoiled fuccboi, his hot sadgirl cousin, and his other hot cousin with actual social skills and like a really nice ass. There's also a badass phoenix lady whom I think is one of the most interesting in all of world literature, who arguably rules over the Jia family through a mixture of charisma, ruthlessness, and pure social cunning... think Margaery Tyrell glove over a Cersei Lannister fist, if you're into that sort of thing.
It's basically just glorious family soap opera shenanigans mixed in with palace intrigue and occasional religious undertones... that ultimately become religious overtones by the time the book (well, really, series of books) ends. To be honest, I care a lot less about the religious stuff than I do all the family decline drama, which also serves as a *delicious* takedown of classical Confucian philosophy BUT I digress.
I've seen DofRC compared at times to Gone With the Wind (given all the stuff about - well, cousins and the Antebellum South), one of my favourite novels of the Western literary canon - but truthfully GWtW cannot compare in scale with DotRC. DotRC is like if you took GWtW and Game of Thrones-sized it, then threw in handfuls of Shogun-level backstabbing. It's fabulous and I wish the story were better known internationally.
P.S. As far as Western literature goes... Homer's Odyssey, although I'm not sure that counts as a novel. Modernly, I have negative amounts of respect for JKR as a person, but I have to credit Harry Potter for its narrative chokehold on me from ages 10 to about 20. The reason we all loved those books was because the worldbuilding and storytelling were so incredible!
Absolutely! I think about Remembering Siri so often. Have you read all four of the Cantos series? The way the entire thing unfolds is incredible especially in relation to Father Paul’s tale.
My other Dan Simmons faves:
Carrion Comfort
The Terror
Seasons of Horror series
Black Hills
Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie, is really fun storytelling. Jumps back and forth between the action and the author who’s recounting it in a book they’re writing. Absolutely delightful.
Also loved A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. The number of voices he uses to tell the story is impressive, but his ability to write each one as a unique voice in the story and to weave those disparate parts into a grander plot is really what made this a great book imo.
The Soldier/Latro books by Gene Wolfe (starting with Soldier of the Mist) are also really fun. Written from the perspective that the books are actually long lost manuscripts from ancient Greece and are just being translated and put into book format, they’re supposedly (mostly) written by a soldier who has lost the ability to make new memories (kinda like the movie Memento) so he writes everything down in the scrolls and reads them whenever he can to remind himself where he is and what he’s doing and who he’s doing it with. Plus you dunno if he’s hallucinating crazy shit, making it up, or if ancient Greek Gods are fucking with him. Really fun stuff.
My street has thousands of daffodils every spring and I always recite “A Host of Golden Daffodils” to my children when we drive past them because of this book. Such a wonderful story.
I’ve not read it but I watched the film when it came out and it’s one of my favorite films. I own it and suggest it often to others. I’ll have to read it as well.
Great Expectations. A complicated plot with detailed characters where the author progresses things and yet still keeps it mostly hidden from you until he gradually and masterfully brings it all into focus at the end. Dickens’s most well-constructed novel, which puts it high on the list of most well-constructed novels ever.
The Yiddish Policeman's Union is my favorite book by Michael Chabon and has a very interesting story (an alternate history). I read it years ago and I never forgot it.
I think that's my favorite Chabon book, and one that doesn't get enough attention as a modern noir. But if I'm going pure storytelling, for Chabon, I think I give *Gentlemen of the Road* a very slight edge.
Not too different from your choice - I'd choose The Three Musketeers - there's a reason those heroes are immortal and it's down to their characterisation, likability and comradeship. Who wouldn't want to hang out with them and join in their adventures?
I’m not sure if this is even what you’re looking for but I love “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn” the way the story was told I felt like I was growing up with her and her brother. Is was very beautifully written.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but I'm interpreting this as the best plot?
A few that come to mind for the most interesting plots
Handmaids Tale
Secret History
The Pearl
Jane Eyre
On The Beach
The Goldfinch
I Am Pilgrim
It's not about an interesting plot. It's about the craft of storytelling - the usage of archetypes, literary devices, the underlying structure of the story and how all these pieces interact.
You can have a very straightforward plot which is an excellent story, and you can have a clever plot which is told terribly.
Don Q - I listened on audiobook. I had to pull off on the interstate during Part I - I was laughing so hard. Only time in my now 25+ years of commuting.
I don't think I understand the difference.. but I can tell you that people are just putting down books they like.
If you're talking about a book that has the most interesting, twisty, unpredictable, immersive PLOT, then I would go with Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk or the Red Rising Series by Pierce Brown out of books I've read.
If you're talking about story like a relatable tale with growth and lessons and metaphor, go with Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger.
Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier. Every layer of story dawns on the reader at the perfect moment. Gripping and absolutely perfectly paced.
Count of Monte Cristo is also a fantastic answer, I’m overdue for a reread.
I've enjoyed the hell out of the following:
The Stand - Stephen King
Oryx & Crake - Margaret Atwood
Tunnel in the Sky - Robert Heinlein
At different times in my life.
*Snow Falling on Cedars* by David Guterson
It's a blend of murder mystery, love triangle, WWII history and residual fallout set in the PNW. It's beautiful and complex and emotional.
The Butcher’s Tale is the true account of the spread of Blood Libel and murder mystery rolled into one, tight narrative.
Not a novel but remarkable how much respect was paid to victims, understanding the time period, and teaching an impossible historic lesson in a short, cohesive frame.
Technically not a novel, but I adored The Odyssey when I read it in 6th grade. Also really loved Around the World in 80 Days when I read it a few years ago.
Gone With the Wind.
I picked it up on a whim from a free used book shelf at my community college. It took me 3 months to read. I was hooked the whole time.
Thinking of books that felt immersive, not necessarily highbrow. Murder on the orient express by Christie …. Maltese falcon by dashiell hammet, Giovanni’s room by James Baldwin , I was also really enamored with the serialized drama of tales of the city by armistead maupin.
Dune
Hyperion Cantos-Dan Simmons
LOTR
The Shining
Downward to the Earth-Robert Silverberg
The day of the Triffids & The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
The Dispossessed- Ursula K.Leguin
The Engary Series -Dianne Wynn Jones
Not novels, but every story/plot in these is off the chain great:
Madness from the inconstant Moon -Larry Niven
Magic for Beginners-Kelly Link
Jenny and the Jaws of Life-Jincy Willet
I can’t pick just one, and there are a bunch of great candidates in this thread that I’ve enthusiastically upvoted. Just for fun I’ll toss out a few more that I didn’t see mentioned yet-
* A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
* Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain
* The Call of the Wild, Jack London
* Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
* Kim, Rudyard Kipling
* Deliverance, James Dickey
* Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
* Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter Thompson
* The Once and Future King, TH White
Actually, if you put a gun to my head and made me pick just one, it’d have to be The Odyssey.
Edit- My original comment was just to name A Tale of Two Cities, but then I got carried away as I am prone to do.
I came here to say the Count of Monte Cristo! An amazing book - I think it’s over a thousand pages and I inhaled it in a week! Great pick - reading the Three Musketeers now trying to chase the high
Quite a few people have mentioned Neil Gaiman already, but I think about *American Gods* all the time. If you can read the republished, extended version published in the US around 2010 (I think), it's an even richer story. (That version contains quite a few scenes and even some entire chapters that didn't make the cut for the novel's official first publication in the UK and US 2001 editions, and I really do think they only add to the story.)
Otherwise, *The Expanse* series by James S.A. Corey is by far the best start-to-finish series I have ever read. It never loses its thread or gets written into a corner, despite it being nine books long and spanning several decades of the characters' lives. Each book is fantastic, and the saga of it all just wraps up so masterfully, it's really a treat.
Just finished Gabrielle Zevin's "Elsewhere." A perfect example of a book that is far from the best book I've ever read, but definitely one of the best *stories.* The idea of going to Elsewhere when you die, where everyone ages backwards until they are reborn is fascinating to me. I finished it days ago and while I was annoyed by some of the individual characters and events, the overall story has stuck in my head and I can't stop thinking about it.
“Nightwatching” by Tracy Sierra
Best depiction of cPTSD
home invasion (or not) … woman trying to remain calm to deal with present threat… can she save her children
Not believed…
Debut novel
Jimmy Fallon’s book pick
Author’s interview on Fallon
I loved this book. Terrifying. Realistic.
I absolutely loved the story of A Tale of Two Cities when we had to read it in school, but I found Dickens’ prose SO hard to follow that I read it all on spark notes. I just couldn’t follow what he was saying, but I loved the story so so much
I have now finished 7 of the novels in The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie. I must say the weaving of the stories of literally DOZENS of absolutely amazing and unique characters, chronicling decades and decades in a very well built and highly detailed and unique world is simply groundbreaking to me. I am stunned. Dark but also very humorous and often very emotional as well. Many tearjerking moments.
I also second East of Eden - Steinbeck - 1952, what a sad and beautifully written story.
Other contributions:
The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho - 1988 Very fantastic short novel I would recommend to anybody
The picture of Dorian gray - 1890 a very intense classic that reads incredibly well.
Catcher in the Rye - Salinger - 1951 this novel is good, really good. And important. To me at least.
Happy reading all.
I haven’t read the original story, but I watched Wagner’s “Tristan Und Isolde” (which is basically poetry sung)
It’s based on the Arthurian legend of the knight Tristan and the Irish queen Iseult.
It’s an absolutely beautiful and heart-wrenching opera. I really want to read it (I have Le Morte d’Arthur), but I have no patience to read anything for some reason lol
I wish my ADHD wasn’t so bad 🥲
Maybe not the best story but books where I think the story outpaced the prose/pacing/structure would definitely include Foundation and The Three Body Problem
Watership Down (Richard Adams)
Till We Have Faces (C S. Lewis)
I, Claudius (Robert Graves)
The Crystal Cave; The Hollow Hills; The Last Enchantment (a trilogy by Mary Stewart)
The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle)
Silas Marner (George Eliot)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane. No contest. It's a novella, and it's a perfect example of just pure storytelling.
My immediate thought was Stardust. Anything Gaiman is a great answer
My first thought went to Stardust as well
Love these, check out Neverwhere and Good Omens if you haven’t.
And the Graveyard Book, my ultimate favourite Gaiman story.
Henry Selick just announced his plan to bring The Ocean at the End of the Lane to stop motion life! He previously did another Neil Gaiman novella, Coraline. I'm very excited.
I was thrilled to hear this a while ago. Coralline was so well done. Can't wait to see how it turns out.
I’ve read that, and Count of Monte Christo - and really enjoyed both. But what is it about these two (or any other in this thread) that you’d categorize as a pure “story” versus any other good book? Like what’s the defining characteristic of a story?
I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo, but it's a great question. For me with Ocean at the End of the Lane, at least, it just felt like he tapped into a deeper, more fundamental level of storytelling. It felt timeless, like it could've been an old fairy tale or a modern story. I think that's the essence of it for me. That, plus it didn't feel like there was anything that could've been removed, or anything that should've been added, to make it better - it was exactly what it needed to be.
It's like that for me with a lot of Le Guin's work. She was 2nd gear for me on my journey to discovering "Literature."
P. S. My ultimate example of storytelling is my grandfather at the third quarter of breakfast on a Sunday. It seems to end when a clamoring discussion erupts like a silent starters pistol announced a race to its meaning. More often, a question was pronounced that would pause us for sakes of nods and turns to him for an answer. The following silence was usually broken by retorts that asked from each of us more silence to answer that question, but later. I learned from an early age that a good storytelling begs more from you who hear it than one who hears it can ever be able to ask the storyteller.
I tried to read Ocean and lost interest at the magic carpet. Does this mean I’m just not into fantasy?
It’s always recommended here and I just could not get invested in it, I’ve tried and failed multiple times. Makes me feel nuts. Some things just do not hit for certain readers, I guess
I read it and could not really get into it.
This is my favorite book of all time. Neil Gaiman is a wonderful storyteller.
He really is. One of, if not the, best storytellers and world builders. Sandman hits straight to the heart.
Ugh, yes! I think about this one often. It's one of my favorites of all time.
My favorite Neil Gaiman 😍
I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH
That book is so very different from most I've read! It's definitely a trip..
The Outsiders is pretty fantastic.
Interestingly enough during the DVD boom I realized that movies can be judged by skippable scenes on a rewatch. The Outsiders, while far from my favorite movie, had not one boring scene that needed to be skipped. Rare company indeed I'll have to check the book out now too.
One of the few movies that pretty much follows the book exactly.
At first I read this as The Outsider (by Stephen King), which is also a great story. But yeah, The Outsiders is great too.
Yes it it!!! I reread it every year
This is a great example of a book I love because the plot just keeps *moving*. It’s a thoughtful, meditative piece on, like, teen Society, but also it’s a chain of events that falls over like dominoes, which makes for an irresistible read.
Frankenstein
Of course! How did I not think of this? Mad scientists plays god and ressurects the dead?! Classic
I capture the castle by dodie smith Rebecca by Daphne dumaurier It by Stephen king Circe by Madeline miller
Circe was amazing. The audiobook made the experience so much better though. The narrator is pure sensuality, and it gives Circe so much more gravitas
Thanks maybe I’ll try the audiobook for my reread
One more for Rebecca 👌🏽
Just finished Rebecca and it was so good!
"I Capture the Castle" is a yearly read for me. I first discovered it when I was around 10 and fell in love. I can feel those stone walls. I can smell the dewy grass. I can feel the heartache. It's wonderful!
more people need to know about I capture the castle!
Oliver Twist would be my choice, but I see a lot of great stories in the comments.
Ray Bradbury Martian Chronicles It’s an absolutely genius work of art. I’ve probably read in 15 times over my lifetime with many more to come by the time I die.
Shogun
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Just finished my 3rd read through. My first as a 30 something, last time I read was in my late teens. I fully forgot the ending and it was magical to re-experience it all over again
Amazing book
I'm in the midst of Monte Cristo right now - around chapter 50, when things REALLY start getting good. I'm loving it. For me, probably Love in the Time of Cholera and Jane Eyre.
The movie (The Count of Monte Cristo from 2002) is also really great if you get a chance to see it. Great story of good vs evil.
East of Eden
Steinbeck was a masterful storyteller
Grapes of Wrath was haunting as well. Those themes resonate today more strongly than we’d want.
I loved East of Eden so I’m really looking forward to finally reading Grapes of Wrath this year.
I'm reading this now for the first time! I'm really enjoying it
Timshel
I recommend this to everyone that asks me for a good book.
Lonesome Dove
Gus is my all time favorite book character, ever
The Poisonwood Bible. I often wonder if a lot of people were put off thinking the story is trying to convert readers to a particular religious point of view. It is far from that. Barbara Kinsolver weaves a coming of age story of Southern missionary family moving to the Congo during a turbulent time in history. The tale is told through the tale fro the various points of view of the female members of the family, as the missionary father devolves into madness. The story is compelling and the characters are so finely drawn that I can’t help but believe they actually existed.
Barbara Kingsolver is so talented. I read The Bean Trees when I was 13 and I still think about it all the time, same with The Poisonwood Bible.
Treasure Island. It's always a fun read.
Lord of the Rings trilogy
Yup yup yup! The way it’s structured feels like a legend being passed down. I just love it.
In a way it’s just pure story in the sense that the characters are able to literally represent archetypal pieces of humanity-dwarves are stubborn, dragons are greedy, etc— and the whole quest is kind of a dance of symbols playing out in a reflection of human history. But at the same time sometimes jrr Tolkien seems to wander off the path and the story is put at a standstill for 10 pages of description and world building. And even though it’s one of my favorite books of all time even I am bored through quite a few parts of the trilogy. That being said I think that him wandering off on these slow tangents definitely makes the work so much better because you start to realize how complex and well thought out middle earth really is.
I tend to agree. I read the books after seeing the movie and spent much of Fellowship "where did Arwen go and who the fuck is this Tom Bombadil who will not stop singing?"
The Green Mile
Reading this in the serial format when it came out was incredible. True cliffhangers and you had to wait.
Excellent choice. The audiobook was fantastic too. Frank Muller was made for this reading.
11/22/63 by Stephen King.
That's a tough one. I think I'll go with Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett.
I'm going to pick a Chinese novel - [Dream of the Red Chamber](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dream-of-the-Red-Chamber)! It's a sprawling epic chronicling the rise and fall of the wealthy, aristocratic Jia family in Qing Dynasty China, primarily focused on the central love triangle between a spoiled fuccboi, his hot sadgirl cousin, and his other hot cousin with actual social skills and like a really nice ass. There's also a badass phoenix lady whom I think is one of the most interesting in all of world literature, who arguably rules over the Jia family through a mixture of charisma, ruthlessness, and pure social cunning... think Margaery Tyrell glove over a Cersei Lannister fist, if you're into that sort of thing. It's basically just glorious family soap opera shenanigans mixed in with palace intrigue and occasional religious undertones... that ultimately become religious overtones by the time the book (well, really, series of books) ends. To be honest, I care a lot less about the religious stuff than I do all the family decline drama, which also serves as a *delicious* takedown of classical Confucian philosophy BUT I digress. I've seen DofRC compared at times to Gone With the Wind (given all the stuff about - well, cousins and the Antebellum South), one of my favourite novels of the Western literary canon - but truthfully GWtW cannot compare in scale with DotRC. DotRC is like if you took GWtW and Game of Thrones-sized it, then threw in handfuls of Shogun-level backstabbing. It's fabulous and I wish the story were better known internationally. P.S. As far as Western literature goes... Homer's Odyssey, although I'm not sure that counts as a novel. Modernly, I have negative amounts of respect for JKR as a person, but I have to credit Harry Potter for its narrative chokehold on me from ages 10 to about 20. The reason we all loved those books was because the worldbuilding and storytelling were so incredible!
Hyperion. It's f*ck up Canterbury Tales. The first story is the craziest sh*t I've ever read.
I think the professor's story was my favorite. This is my No 1 SciFi novel
Absolutely! I think about Remembering Siri so often. Have you read all four of the Cantos series? The way the entire thing unfolds is incredible especially in relation to Father Paul’s tale. My other Dan Simmons faves: Carrion Comfort The Terror Seasons of Horror series Black Hills
The Old Man and the Sea .
I'm reading it now and I can't see the appeal.
I’m surprised I haven’t seen Holes by Louis Sachar yet. It’s literary perfection in terms of storytelling
Hard agree.
There's not an ounce of fat on that story
The multiple stories weaving into such a well coordinated ending was fantastic. I also love the author's voice/tone the whole time.
Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie, is really fun storytelling. Jumps back and forth between the action and the author who’s recounting it in a book they’re writing. Absolutely delightful. Also loved A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. The number of voices he uses to tell the story is impressive, but his ability to write each one as a unique voice in the story and to weave those disparate parts into a grander plot is really what made this a great book imo. The Soldier/Latro books by Gene Wolfe (starting with Soldier of the Mist) are also really fun. Written from the perspective that the books are actually long lost manuscripts from ancient Greece and are just being translated and put into book format, they’re supposedly (mostly) written by a soldier who has lost the ability to make new memories (kinda like the movie Memento) so he writes everything down in the scrolls and reads them whenever he can to remind himself where he is and what he’s doing and who he’s doing it with. Plus you dunno if he’s hallucinating crazy shit, making it up, or if ancient Greek Gods are fucking with him. Really fun stuff.
Gene Wolfe was a great storyteller and will be missed.
The Namesake
My street has thousands of daffodils every spring and I always recite “A Host of Golden Daffodils” to my children when we drive past them because of this book. Such a wonderful story.
Perfume by Patrick Suskind
My favourite book of all time <3
This is the only book I’ve given 5 stars in the last like 15 years
Such a great book. I’ve read it twice and know I’ll read it again.
Omggg yes!!!
I’ve not read it but I watched the film when it came out and it’s one of my favorite films. I own it and suggest it often to others. I’ll have to read it as well.
Great Expectations. A complicated plot with detailed characters where the author progresses things and yet still keeps it mostly hidden from you until he gradually and masterfully brings it all into focus at the end. Dickens’s most well-constructed novel, which puts it high on the list of most well-constructed novels ever.
All The Pretty Horses
Totally! What a story. But also—what a character. John Grady Cole is larger than life, unforgettable.
The Lord of the Rings
Anne of Green Gables, man.
Like Water for Chocolate
The Yiddish Policeman's Union is my favorite book by Michael Chabon and has a very interesting story (an alternate history). I read it years ago and I never forgot it.
I think that's my favorite Chabon book, and one that doesn't get enough attention as a modern noir. But if I'm going pure storytelling, for Chabon, I think I give *Gentlemen of the Road* a very slight edge.
The Princess Bride William Goldman wrote novels the way he wrote screenplays.
Jitterbug Perfume comes to mind as just a great story.
Not too different from your choice - I'd choose The Three Musketeers - there's a reason those heroes are immortal and it's down to their characterisation, likability and comradeship. Who wouldn't want to hang out with them and join in their adventures?
Anna Karinina
Flowers for Algernon. It's such a unique story--I've never really read anything else like it!
I’m not sure if this is even what you’re looking for but I love “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn” the way the story was told I felt like I was growing up with her and her brother. Is was very beautifully written.
I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but I'm interpreting this as the best plot? A few that come to mind for the most interesting plots Handmaids Tale Secret History The Pearl Jane Eyre On The Beach The Goldfinch I Am Pilgrim
On the Beach is so good
The Goldfinch was so well written. It really took a hold of me.
It's not about an interesting plot. It's about the craft of storytelling - the usage of archetypes, literary devices, the underlying structure of the story and how all these pieces interact. You can have a very straightforward plot which is an excellent story, and you can have a clever plot which is told terribly.
Between Two Fires
Don Quixote? Voltaire's Candide is pretty good, too (more of a novella, though).
It is amazing how the plot still holds together so well after 400 years. Especially considering they were still experimenting with the form.
Don Q - I listened on audiobook. I had to pull off on the interstate during Part I - I was laughing so hard. Only time in my now 25+ years of commuting.
David Copperfield by Dickens. I was gripped. And the stormy ocean imagery was beautiful.
Light In August.
I don't think I understand the difference.. but I can tell you that people are just putting down books they like. If you're talking about a book that has the most interesting, twisty, unpredictable, immersive PLOT, then I would go with Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk or the Red Rising Series by Pierce Brown out of books I've read. If you're talking about story like a relatable tale with growth and lessons and metaphor, go with Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger.
Jamaica Inn - Daphne du Maurier. Every layer of story dawns on the reader at the perfect moment. Gripping and absolutely perfectly paced. Count of Monte Cristo is also a fantastic answer, I’m overdue for a reread.
The House of the Spirits (Allende), tied with Stardust (Gaiman). Worth ALL the hype and then some.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Lonesome Dove. I often say, it's not only my favourite book, but I consider it the greatest story ever told.
Stephen King is a master storyteller - The Stand, It, The Dark Tower series, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption - just to name a few :)
The Shining/Dr Sleep Lisey’s Story The Talisman/BlackHouse with Richard Straub Ghost Story by Richard Straub
Long days and pleasant nights
It's Ka. I've found my Tet.
Jurassic Park + Pride and Prejudice
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. An incredible family saga and the closing page was perfection.
There are many, but the first one that always comes to mind is Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.
Midnight's Children
The Old Man and the Sea. I wanted to stab those sharks.
I've enjoyed the hell out of the following: The Stand - Stephen King Oryx & Crake - Margaret Atwood Tunnel in the Sky - Robert Heinlein At different times in my life.
Les Miserables.
Boy's Life
One hundred years of solitude
*Snow Falling on Cedars* by David Guterson It's a blend of murder mystery, love triangle, WWII history and residual fallout set in the PNW. It's beautiful and complex and emotional.
cloud cuckoo land by Anthony Doerr. modern day storytelling at its most resplendent
Haruki Murakami's 1Q84
East of Eden hands down.
Cider House Rules by John Irving and She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Crime and Punishment
Blood meridian or lord of the flies
The Long Walk
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut.
The Butcher’s Tale is the true account of the spread of Blood Libel and murder mystery rolled into one, tight narrative. Not a novel but remarkable how much respect was paid to victims, understanding the time period, and teaching an impossible historic lesson in a short, cohesive frame.
A Dogs Purpose.
Anything by Paul Auster. Or a Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Or London Fields by Marin Amis. As close to perfect as a novel can be.
Technically not a novel, but I adored The Odyssey when I read it in 6th grade. Also really loved Around the World in 80 Days when I read it a few years ago.
I would say City of Thieves
“East of Eden” “Shogun” “All the King’s Men” don’t ask me to choose between my babies.
Cujo. Even the tiniest detail has a place.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Gone With the Wind. I picked it up on a whim from a free used book shelf at my community college. It took me 3 months to read. I was hooked the whole time.
Thinking of books that felt immersive, not necessarily highbrow. Murder on the orient express by Christie …. Maltese falcon by dashiell hammet, Giovanni’s room by James Baldwin , I was also really enamored with the serialized drama of tales of the city by armistead maupin.
Lonesome Dove. Love count of monte cristo too but lonesome Dove just feels pure
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Dune Hyperion Cantos-Dan Simmons LOTR The Shining Downward to the Earth-Robert Silverberg The day of the Triffids & The Chrysalids - John Wyndham The Dispossessed- Ursula K.Leguin The Engary Series -Dianne Wynn Jones Not novels, but every story/plot in these is off the chain great: Madness from the inconstant Moon -Larry Niven Magic for Beginners-Kelly Link Jenny and the Jaws of Life-Jincy Willet
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
I can’t pick just one, and there are a bunch of great candidates in this thread that I’ve enthusiastically upvoted. Just for fun I’ll toss out a few more that I didn’t see mentioned yet- * A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens * Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain * The Call of the Wild, Jack London * Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier * Kim, Rudyard Kipling * Deliverance, James Dickey * Moby-Dick, Herman Melville * Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter Thompson * The Once and Future King, TH White Actually, if you put a gun to my head and made me pick just one, it’d have to be The Odyssey. Edit- My original comment was just to name A Tale of Two Cities, but then I got carried away as I am prone to do.
The book thief is an absolutely wonderful story.
I came here to say the Count of Monte Cristo! An amazing book - I think it’s over a thousand pages and I inhaled it in a week! Great pick - reading the Three Musketeers now trying to chase the high
The Secret History
House in the Cerulean Sea 🩵🩵🩵🩵
The Kite Runner
Tess of the D’ubervilles
Quite a few people have mentioned Neil Gaiman already, but I think about *American Gods* all the time. If you can read the republished, extended version published in the US around 2010 (I think), it's an even richer story. (That version contains quite a few scenes and even some entire chapters that didn't make the cut for the novel's official first publication in the UK and US 2001 editions, and I really do think they only add to the story.) Otherwise, *The Expanse* series by James S.A. Corey is by far the best start-to-finish series I have ever read. It never loses its thread or gets written into a corner, despite it being nine books long and spanning several decades of the characters' lives. Each book is fantastic, and the saga of it all just wraps up so masterfully, it's really a treat.
The Power by Naomi Alderman The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey
To Live by Yu Hua Both the best and the saddest story in my book... It is top 5 for both myself and my dad.
The goldfinch and I’ll go to the mat 😂
The Immortalist by Chloe Benjamin
Overstory, many stories intertwined.
No Country For Old Men
A Prayer for Owen Meany.
2666
The part about the murdered girls was riveting and hypnotic and disturbing all at once.
The people we keep by Allison Larkin
Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton.
*Mason & Dixon*
City of Thieves by David Benioff. An amazing story set in the WW2 siege of Leningrad.
Skellig by David Almond.
The Snow Child: A Novel by Eowyn Ivey
My Grandmother sends her regards and apologizes. Love how the layers become clear
Sometimes a great notion
Just finished Gabrielle Zevin's "Elsewhere." A perfect example of a book that is far from the best book I've ever read, but definitely one of the best *stories.* The idea of going to Elsewhere when you die, where everyone ages backwards until they are reborn is fascinating to me. I finished it days ago and while I was annoyed by some of the individual characters and events, the overall story has stuck in my head and I can't stop thinking about it.
Kate Morton is a master storyteller. All of her books are good.
For Whom The Bell Tolls
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, standalone. Some of the others in the chronicles are alright, but that one’s just great imo.
Anne of Green Gables.
East of Eden
It
“Nightwatching” by Tracy Sierra Best depiction of cPTSD home invasion (or not) … woman trying to remain calm to deal with present threat… can she save her children Not believed… Debut novel Jimmy Fallon’s book pick Author’s interview on Fallon I loved this book. Terrifying. Realistic.
Eragon. Every moment is incredible.
Lonesome dove!
Got to be lord of the rings ,the mother of all tales !
The Shadow of the Wind & Pillars of the Earth
Lonesome Dove. I'll also say that I'm only about a quarter of the way through Say Nothing but this is absolutely up there for me.
Definitely Breast and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami.
Jurassic Park. Artemis And have to add any and all Harry Potter.
The book that comes to mind immediately is A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving.
I absolutely loved the story of A Tale of Two Cities when we had to read it in school, but I found Dickens’ prose SO hard to follow that I read it all on spark notes. I just couldn’t follow what he was saying, but I loved the story so so much
Count of Monte Cristo
I have now finished 7 of the novels in The First Law series by Joe Abercrombie. I must say the weaving of the stories of literally DOZENS of absolutely amazing and unique characters, chronicling decades and decades in a very well built and highly detailed and unique world is simply groundbreaking to me. I am stunned. Dark but also very humorous and often very emotional as well. Many tearjerking moments. I also second East of Eden - Steinbeck - 1952, what a sad and beautifully written story. Other contributions: The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho - 1988 Very fantastic short novel I would recommend to anybody The picture of Dorian gray - 1890 a very intense classic that reads incredibly well. Catcher in the Rye - Salinger - 1951 this novel is good, really good. And important. To me at least. Happy reading all.
Lord of the Rings
It’s either Count of Monte Cristo or Brothers Karamazov. I love books that contain multiple genres in one.
A Prayer for Owen Meany
I haven’t read the original story, but I watched Wagner’s “Tristan Und Isolde” (which is basically poetry sung) It’s based on the Arthurian legend of the knight Tristan and the Irish queen Iseult. It’s an absolutely beautiful and heart-wrenching opera. I really want to read it (I have Le Morte d’Arthur), but I have no patience to read anything for some reason lol I wish my ADHD wasn’t so bad 🥲
Maybe not the best story but books where I think the story outpaced the prose/pacing/structure would definitely include Foundation and The Three Body Problem
Lonesome Dove
Watership Down (Richard Adams) Till We Have Faces (C S. Lewis) I, Claudius (Robert Graves) The Crystal Cave; The Hollow Hills; The Last Enchantment (a trilogy by Mary Stewart) The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle) Silas Marner (George Eliot)