Interesting fiction recommendations?

[terober]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum but have read some of the threads and it seems like a good place to come for "read next?" suggestions.

Recently I've read Toby Litt - Deadkidsongs, David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas, We need to talk about Kevin, Margaret Atwood - Oryx and Crake. All of which I thought were fantastic, modern fiction.

I'm a big fan of crime novels, though have become a little bored of the usual stuff. I just finished John Burdett - Bankgkok Eight tonight and thought it was really refreshing.

Iian Banks writing I also think is great - although he hasn't written anything in ages.

If anybody has any recommendations I'd apprecaite suggestions and general discussion.

Terry.

 

[Stewart]

Crime novels, eh? How about The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco, When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro, or something by Raymond Chandler?

 

[terober]

Thanks - I've ordered The Name of the Rose sounds very intriguing.

Have just started The Dice Man by Luke Rhienhart. Seems interesting but trying to get to grips with the style of writing. It can be a bit off-putting at times.

 

[Stewart]

Thanks - I've ordered The Name of the Rose sounds very intriguing.

What I would say is that it's a bit more of a demanding book than some you might read. Sometimes it gets heavy on vocabulary and other times there are passages of untranslated Latin. Don't worry about the Latin as it doesn't advance the story in any way, although it's one of those things that can help to understand - at a deeper level anyway - the text. And the first hundred pages are frustrating as the author has stated that he wanted readers, like his monks would have done, to pay penance. After these hundred pages it becomes a fantastic murder mystery, which is more than I can say for the film adaptation with Sean Connery.

 

[imhere4beer]

If you liked "We Need to Talk About Kevin," you might like "Hide and Seek" by Clare Sambrook. It's about a boy who goes missing while on a field trip, told from the perspective of his 9 year old brother. I really enjoyed them both, even though they are quite sad.

You might also like "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's a strange one, but very compelling.

 

[Proofreader]

There is a new Iain Banks due out: "The Steep Approach to Garbadale"

I presume you also know his sf novels?