| All the fiction books that have left a lasting impact on me have been long... A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22822858-a-little-life) It is emotionally intense, beautifully written, and is a hypnotic read. Larger than life characters centered around one enigmatic protagonist, Jude. It's about pain, friendship, love, and the brutality of memory and experience. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33600.Shantaram) An Australian gangster escaping his home country and falling in love with India (Mumbai). Lots of philosophy. A moral tale. Plenty of drama. And a love story with deep, dark characters. Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2122.The_Fountainhead) A novel on idealism for the irrational, real world we live in. Centered around an ideal man, Roark, who struggles to survive despite being a brilliant architect; he doesn't give up on his principles and never conforms. Not a typical novel, disliked by many. |