This week, we’ve talked about classic books we should have read but didn’t, and books our Regency heroes would have read. (Advance apologies for no pictures; Blogger not so nice this morning).
Today I’d like to talk about books that no-one thinks everyone should read, except you. Yes, your Buried Treasure books, books that in your opinion are shockingly, shamefully overlooked in the canon of Great Literature.
I asked my Spouse which book he’d recommend, and after berating me for asking such a hard question, I answered for him, and he grunted a slight affirmative. It’s John Hawkes‘ Whistlejacket, which takes place in contemporary times and in flashback to when 18th century painter George Stubbs painted a portrait of a horse named Whistlejacket. It’s dark, intense, dangerously sexual, intricate writing that is not easy to read, but it is very, very compelling.
If posed the same question, I might answer Charles Willeford‘s Cockfighter. It’s a first person narrative by a mute cockfighter (and the story behind his muteness is amazing!), and again, it is incredibly written and powerfully compelling. Willeford is mildly famous for his Hoke Moseley series (Miami Blues, which was made into a movie), but his darker noir stuff is not as celebrated. If I could cheat, I’d also recommend his Burnt Orange Heresy, about art collectors in Florida.
In romance, I’d cite Kate Moore‘s Sweet Bargain, a traditional Regency with as much sexual tension as the most erotic of eroticas.
So what obscure book, romance or otherwise, would you recommend? And why?
Oh geez, that would probably be every science book I have! 🙂 I mean, there’s Steven Hawking’s “A Brief History of Time”. Then there is Albert Einstein’s Relativity, and one of my favorites is “God’s Equation: Einstein, Relativity and the Expanding Universe” by Amir D. Aczel. Of course there is also “Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein” by Abraham Pais. . . I better shut up now. 😉
Lois
PS – forgot to mention I do have 119 science books, so I could go on forever here. . . but those are good for people to start with. 😉
Lois
Gee, I am constantly impressed by my fellow Riskies and our Commentators! I must take my place as the least intellectual of the bunch.
But I do have a book to contribute:
Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard. I love a story about survival and triumph against adversity, particularly if it involves the survival of a child. The book Empire of the Sun is so much more detailed than the movie. I loved it.
And a Regency:
The Last Frost Fair by Joy Freeman. This book haunted me long after I read it.
Another book I loved:
Waterloo: Day of Battle by David Howarth, telling the story of the battle from the soldiers’ points of view. There is even a tragic romance in it!
Hmmmmmmmmm . . .
The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte (yeah, they butchered the hell out of it making it into the Johnny Depp film THE NINTH GATE, but don’t let that stop you from reading this AMAZING book).
Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell. Often overlooked by all those Sharpe fans, this is my favorite of Cornwell’s books. It’s set in post-Waterloo London and stars a cricket-star ex-officer down on his luck who gets dragged into a really nasty murder investigation.
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (make sure you get the Vintage translation!). Awesome book about the Devil’s ball in Moscow (yeah, that devil, and he carries a cane with a silver poodle head; such a lovely tribute to Goethe).
Only one??
“Daniel Deronda” by George Eliot because it doesn’t work but it’s brilliant and daring.
Janet
For me, definitely SWEET AND TWENTY, a Joan Smith Regency with wit, satire, politics, cat-throwing, stupid women (not the heroine), men who love stupid women (not the hero), and a heroine who triumphs through brains.
Also, three children’s/YA fantasy novels by Diana Wynne Jones: CHARMED LIFE, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, and DROWNED AMMET. Or make it four, and include ARCHER’S GOON. She’s been rising in fame ever since Harry Potter took off and drew more fans to the genre, but I think she’s still not given the respect she deserves. (And if you only want to read about kids at schools who can do magic, read her WITCH WEEK.)
I’m sure I have far more, but can’t think of them right now!
Cara
Hmm-most of my favorite books are pretty unoriginal choices, and not very “buried”! (I am definitely seeking out “Whistlejacket” and that Kate Moore book, though). I do have an old Russian novel I like called “Obolensky” about a man who just lies around on his couch all the time and lets life pass him by. Maybe that just goes along with my “fairy tale” comment about how much I liked stories dealing with sleep (like Princess and the Pea and Sleeping Beauty)–I just like naptime. 🙂
I just read two books that are definite keepers: Wet Grave by Barbara Hambly (nobody does descriptions better than Her) and YA fantasy novel, Crown Duel, by Sherwood Smith, which for some reason reminded me of Jane Austin (even though the setting is more Renaissance, Medieval).
Two of my favorite obscure romances are Indiscreet by Mary Balogh and Scoundrel by Elizabeth Elliott (and I have no idea where Miss Elliott is or when she is going to publish).
I am clearly incapable of coming up with a single answer to any question like this! But here are a handful of ideas:
Possession by A.S. Byatt is one of the best novels I’ve ever read.
Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis is the lead-in to her ancient Roman mystery series: it’s got mystery, romance, history, comedy, pastoral-historical-tragical…
In romance, Lady Elizabeth’s Comet by Sheila Simonson.
For nonfiction, I strongly recommend Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter.
For sci-fi fans, World out of Mind by J.T. M’intosh. (He was well-known at one time, but has slipped out of popular taste these days.)
And for non sci-fi fans who ought to appreciate that some great books have been written in sci-fi: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller and The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem.
OK, my work is done here. And then some! Happy reading, everyone, and thanks for your own suggestions!
Todd-whose-“to-be-read”-stack-is-already-ridiculous
Ooh, thanks for the Sherwood Smith recommendation, Sandy — I love YA fantasy, so I’ll definitely check it out.
Cara
Man, these recs are all FABULOUS! I agree with Kalen about Gallows Thief, too, btw; and Sandy and I have already bonded about Barbara Hambly. Love, love, love her. The rest that I haven’t read all sound great.
And I AM going to read another Joan Smith soon, Cara–I read Aunt Sophie’s Diamonds and LOved it.