{"id":107,"date":"2003-09-18T13:29:45","date_gmt":"2003-09-18T17:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=107"},"modified":"2022-10-09T12:49:37","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T16:49:37","slug":"recommended-reading-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=107","title":{"rendered":"Recommended Reading: Fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>And now for the <b>Fiction<\/b> recommendations.  (See the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=106\">Non-Fiction <\/a>ones below)<\/p>\n<p>Choosing books out of all the books I love is rather torturous for me.  So this is an impulsive, scanning-the-bookshelves-with-mine-eyes and writing titles down spur-of-the-moment kind of list.<\/p>\n<p>Here we go.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>FICTION<\/h3>\n<p><b>1. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0141040386?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0141040386\"><i>Jane Eyre<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0141040386\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>, by Charlotte Bronte<\/b><br \/>\nOne of the creepiest weirdest most subversive books ever written. It stands alone.  <\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=1503278190&#038;asins=1503278190&#038;linkId=L6QX4JNY3OMGTCE6&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n<b>2.  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0312282990?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0312282990\"><i>The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier &#038; Clay<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0312282990\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/> by Michael Chabon<\/b><br \/>\nWinner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2001.  I loved Chabon&#8217;s first novel, <i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0060790598?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0060790598\">Mysteries of Pittsburgh<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0060790598\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/><\/i>, which he wrote at 22.  But <i>Kavalier and Clay<\/i> is a tour-de-force.  The story of two comic-book creators in 1930s New York &#8230; but God.  It is so much more than that.  It&#8217;s a love story dedicated to New York City, to comic books, to America.  The characters, again, live and breathe.  I did not want this book to end.  I dreaded saying good-bye to these people.  And holy crap, can Chabon write.  <b>Don&#8217;t miss this book.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=0812983580&#038;asins=0812983580&#038;linkId=NOENXWDI5VXPWMPF&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n<b>3. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0679735909?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0679735909\"><i>Possession<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0679735909\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>, by A.S. Byatt<\/b><br \/>\nI have recommended this book to friends before, and none of them could get into it.  But that does not dim my recommendation!  I have read it 10 times, maybe more.  And I will read it again.  Literature and poetry buffs will love it.  But it&#8217;s also a mystery.  And not until the very last sentence of the book (which is a KILLER &#8211; if you pick up this book, do not peek ahead at the last page &#8212; DO NOT) do you understand the full story.  Byatt&#8217;s a great writer, in an old-school kind of way.  I read one great review of her stuff, &#8220;Byatt writes as though James Joyce never existed.&#8221;  I laughed out loud when I read that.  It&#8217;s true.  Additionally, and on a personal note, this book makes me believe in the kinship  of Intellect and Love.  For those of us who live primarily in the mind, love &#8211; passionate love, being &#8220;possessed&#8221; by another human being &#8212; can be daunting and difficult.  I mean, love is difficult, anyway!  This book gives me hope.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=0679735909&#038;asins=0679735909&#038;linkId=5FAGKZXKL6G2XUKQ&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>4. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0679734503?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0679734503\"><i>Crime and Punishment<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0679734503\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>, by Fyodor Dostoevsky<\/b><br \/>\nI came to this book late, reading it for the first time a couple years ago.  I literally could not believe how good it was.  The writing brought me to tears at times.  The insights into psychology, crime, the MIND (all before Freud, before self-help, before feng shui) are breathtaking.  Dostoevsky is a genius.  If you have a question about crime that is not answered by this book, then my guess is that it is a stupid question and not worth asking.  Just my opinion.  Great book.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=0486415872&#038;asins=0486415872&#038;linkId=OGKY2KCKDTEHI6D2&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n<b>5.  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0393978516?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0393978516\"><i>The Dead<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0393978516\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>, by James Joyce<\/b><br \/>\n<i>The Dead<\/i> is the greatest short story ever written.  <\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=0140186476&#038;asins=0140186476&#038;linkId=Y7UK2P3XWRPQWYQU&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>6.  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0307387151?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0307387151\"><i>Atonement<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0307387151\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>, by Ian McEwan<\/b><br \/>\nI read this one recently.  I can&#8217;t really speak about it articulately because it is one of the most tragic books I ever read.  It affected me almost physically. I finished it, and sat still, stunned.  I could feel myself trying to block it out IMMEDIATELY, I could feel myself trying to talk myself out of the implications of the book.  So all I can say is: this book had an enormous impact on me.  Also:  The man can write.  He is one of the best there is.  <b>I consider this one a Must-Read<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=038572179X&#038;asins=038572179X&#038;linkId=U53G6MZCZMZ7WQHQ&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n<b>7.  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/054739117X?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=054739117X\"><i>The Things They Carried<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=054739117X\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>, by Tim O&#8217;Brien<\/b><br \/>\nOh, what an incredible book!  Tim O&#8217;Brien also wrote the famous <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0767904427?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0767904427\"><i>Going After Cacciato<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0767904427\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/> &#8211; another amazing book &#8211; but I read <em>The Things They Carried<\/em> first, so I have a soft spot in my heart for it.  It is a book of short &#8220;stories&#8221; about Vietnam.  I put quotation marks around stories because that is not exactly the correct term.  I kind of don&#8217;t want to boil this book down.  It&#8217;s too BIG for that.  It&#8217;s too GOOD.  Let&#8217;s just say that it is emotional, very well-written, angry, insightful &#8211; It&#8217;s a perfect book.  And the title-essay, <em>The Things They Carried<\/em> is heart-wrenching.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=0618706410&#038;asins=0618706410&#038;linkId=VIVFGEAO6ALFBKV2&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n<b>8.  <i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0316769177?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0316769177\">The Catcher in the Rye<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0316769177\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/><\/i> by JD Salinger<\/b><br \/>\nThe &#8220;Smells like Teen Spirit&#8221; of literature.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=0316769487&#038;asins=0316769487&#038;linkId=EISJUGE3M7J6LLRH&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n<b>9.  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0199535728?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0199535728\"><i>Moby Dick<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0199535728\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>, by Herman Melville<\/b><br \/>\nYes, I know, I know, the book, on some level, is a big mess.  The narration starts out first person: &#8220;Call me Ishmael.&#8221;  But somewhere in the middle of the book, Melville switches to omniscent narrator.  We are privy to Captain Ahab&#8217;s private moments, his private thoughts, which Ishmael could not know.  We get 30 separate chapters on every different part of the whale.  You start off the book with a normal plot, and somewhere along the way, you find yourself in a marine biology class.  YES, I KNOW ALL THAT.  But still:  this BOOK!  Oh my GOD!  This BOOK!!  You just have to GO with it, you have to give up your expectation of a linear plot, and just let Melville take the wheel.  I read it in high school and grumbled my way through it, and read it again, a couple of years ago &#8211; and found it to be, second only to <i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0394743121?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0394743121\">Ulysses<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0394743121\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/><\/i>, the most <b>exciting<\/b> book I had ever read.  Not because of the plot.  But because of the un-touched mastery and brilliance of the writing.  My favorite chapter?  &#8220;The Whiteness of the Whale&#8221;.  Oh, this book!  This is one of those books, like <i>Catcher in the Rye<\/i>, where I felt like my soul actually <i>grew<\/i>, during the reading of it.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=1503280780&#038;asins=1503280780&#038;linkId=Q2QGR3YE6M6ZMSTY&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n<b>10.  <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0440416795?ie=UTF8&#038;tag=thesheivari-20&#038;linkCode=as2&#038;camp=1789&#038;creative=9325&#038;creativeASIN=0440416795\"><i>Harriet the Spy<\/i><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.assoc-amazon.com\/e\/ir?t=thesheivari-20&#038;l=as2&#038;o=1&#038;a=0440416795\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" alt=\"\" style=\"border:none !important; margin:0px !important;\" \/>, by Louise Fitzhugh<\/b><br \/>\nHarriet was my idol when I was 10 years old, and Harriet remains an idol today.  She is why I first took up a pen and paper.  She&#8217;s as immortal a literary character as Anna Karenina.  This book is one of my all-time favorites, ever, always.<\/p>\n<p>\n<iframe style=\"width:120px;height:240px;\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&#038;OneJS=1&#038;Operation=GetAdHtml&#038;MarketPlace=US&#038;source=ac&#038;ref=tf_til&#038;ad_type=product_link&#038;tracking_id=thesheivari-20&#038;marketplace=amazon&#038;region=US&#038;placement=0440416795&#038;asins=0440416795&#038;linkId=Q6QK33TK36IBOB5E&#038;show_border=true&#038;link_opens_in_new_window=true\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And now for the Fiction recommendations. (See the Non-Fiction ones below) Choosing books out of all the books I love is rather torturous for me. So this is an impulsive, scanning-the-bookshelves-with-mine-eyes and writing titles down spur-of-the-moment kind of list. Here &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=107\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,28],"tags":[81,931,104,684,2208,75,266,2468,691,92,932,35,85,685,692,103,815,1017,150,740,888,578,2466,907,2315],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177886,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions\/177886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}