a friend just asked me a question that made me think. if i were to suggest one book, and only one book what would it be? out of all of the books i have read (about 75 per year for the past 4-5 years and i should get to over 100 this year) which one would i choose to suggest? would it be divine misfortune by a. lee martinez, a wonderful book that follows a couple as they attempt to choose a god who can bring them some ease in life. would it be jonathan strange and mr. norrell by susanna clarke, a novel that follows two magicians in their trek to become the best at what they do? would it be musashi by eiji yoshikawa, a novel set in the edo period in japan and following the exploits of the famous samurai ronin, miyamoto musashi? perhaps i would choose the eyre affair by jasper fforde, a book that is perfect for bibliophiles? or maybe i would choose the hunger games by suzanne collins, a dystopian novel that elicits multiple emotional reactions.
no, the novel that i would choose is house of leaves by mark z. danielewski. it is a fantastic post-modern work that follows a tattoo parlor employee and he searches out the truth behind a documentary called the navidson report. it is told is a large amount of footnotes and with a style that mirrors what is happening in the story. for example, at one point mirrors play a large role. when this is happening the text in the book is backwards, thus making the reader hold the novel up to a mirror in order to read it. it follows in this manner throughout the book thus making it an intimidating read, but one that is totally satisfying. it has some horror elements, but it is more than a horror story. i would highly suggest this to anyone who wants a great read...and it is probably my favorite book.
well there it is. so tell me, what book would you pick?
No comments:
Post a Comment