Intense narrative writers
Discover gripping tales from the most intense narrative writers. Explore our curated list of books that masterfully blend deep storytelling with compelling prose.
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Kafka on the Shore
by Haruki Murakami
NATIONAL BESTSELLER ⢠From the acclaimed author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and one of the worldâs greatest storytellers comes âan insistently metaphysical mind-benderâ (The New Yorker) about a teenager on the run and a deceptively simple old man. Now with a new introduction by the author. Here we meet fifteen-year-old runaway Kafka Tamura and the elderly Nakata, who is drawn to Kafka for reasons that he cannot fathom. As their paths converge, acclaimed author Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder, in what is a truly remarkable journey. âAs powerful as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.... Reading Murakami ... is a striking experience in consciousness expansion.ââChicago Tribune
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A Wild Sheep Chase
by Haruki Murakami
A New York Times bestselling authorâand âa mythmaker for the millennium, a wiseacre wisemanâ (New York Times Book Review)âdelivers a surreal and elaborate quest that takes readers from Tokyo to the remote mountains of northern Japan, where the unnamed protagonist has a surprising confrontation with his demons. An advertising executive receives a postcard from a friend and casually appropriates the image for an advertisement. What he doesnât realize is that included in the scene is a mutant sheep with a star on its back, and in using this photo he has unwittingly captured the attention of a man who offers a menacing ultimatum: find the sheep or face dire consequences.
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Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
by Haruki Murakami
The contemporary and the mythic collide in this hard-boiled tale of computers and conspiracy theories, unicorns and ancient lands.
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Norwegian Wood
by Haruki Murakami
From the bestselling author of Kafka on the Shore: A magnificent coming-of-age story steeped in nostalgia, âa masterly novelâ (The New York Times Book Review) blending the music, the mood, and the ethos that were the sixties with a young manâs hopeless and heroic first love. Now with a new introduction by the author. Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman. Stunning and elegiac, Norwegian Wood first propelled Haruki Murakami into the forefront of the literary scene.
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The New York Trilogy
by Paul Auster
First published by Sun & Moon Press in three volumes in 1985 and 1986, The New York Trilogy has since been translated into many languages. It was ranked 87 in The ĂLondonè Observer's list of "The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time."
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Leviathan
by Paul Auster
NATIONAL BESTSELLER ⢠A âcompellingâ (Los Angeles Times) novel of friendship, betrayal, estrangement, and the unpredictable intrusions of violence in the everydayâfrom âa literary original who is perfecting a genre of his ownâ (The Wall Street Journal) âRich and complex . . . with fully fleshed characters, a fast-paced plot, thematic sophistication, and narrative cunning.ââThe Boston Globe âSix days ago, a man blew himself up by the side of a road in northern Wisconsin.â So begins Peter Aaronâs story about his best friend, Benjamin Sachs. Sachs had a marriage Aaron envied, an intelligence he admired, a world he shared. And then suddenly, after a near-fatal fall that might or might not have been intentional, Sachs disappeared. Now Aaron must piece together the life that led to Sachâs death. His sole aim is to tell the truth and preserve itâbefore those who are investigating the case invent an account of their own. Leviathan is a daring and immensely moving story by an author whom The Times Literary Supplement has called âone of Americaâs most spectacularly inventive writers.â
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Moon Palace
by Paul Auster
A âbeautiful and hauntingâ (San Francisco Chronicle) novel of an orphanâs search for love, for his unknown father, and for the key to the elusive riddle of his fate, from New York Times bestselling author Paul Auster âAuster is a master storyteller . . . Moon Palace shimmers with mysteries.ââThe Washington Post Book World Marco Stanley Fogg is an orphan, a child of the sixties, a quester tirelessly seeking the key to his past, the answers to the ultimate riddle of his fate. As Marco journeys from the canyons of Manhattan to the deserts of Utah, he encounters a gallery of characters and a series of events as rich and surprising as any in modern fiction. Beginning during the summer that men first walked on the moon, and from there moving backward and forward in time to span three generations, Moon Palace is propelled by coincidence and memory, illuminated by marvelous flights of lyricism and wit. Here is an entertaining and moving novel from an author well known for his breathtaking imagination.
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In the Country of Last Things
by Paul Auster
From New York Times bestselling author Paul Auster, a dystopian, post-apocalyptic novel âreminiscent in many ways of Orwellâs 1984â (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). âPowerful, original, imaginative, and handled with artistry . . . One of the better modern attempts at describing hell.ââThe Washington Post Book World In a distant and unsettling future, the masses are homeless, theft is so rampant it is no longer a crime, and deathâby arranging either a suicide or an assassinationâis the only way out. It is in these circumstances that Anna Blume begins her search for her brother, a one-time journalist who may or may not still be alive, in an unnamed city whose destitute inhabitants dig through garbage and elusive government provides nothing but corruption. In her struggle to survive, Anna becomes a scavenger of objects from the past to sell for food and shelter. But she will also find friendshipâand even loveâin this devastated world. In the Country of Last Things is a tour de force that reaffirms Paul Austerâs stature as one of the most accomplished and singular talents of his generation.
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Clive Barker's Books of Blood 1-3
by Clive Barker
Rediscover the true meaning of fear in this collection of horror stories from New York Times bestselling author Clive Barker. âThe most provocative tales of terror ever published.ââThe Washington Post Everybody is a book of blood; wherever we're opened, we're red... With the publication of Books of Blood, Clive Barker became an overnight literary sensation. His tour de force collection of brilliantly disturbing tales demonstrated a genius for dark invention that rivaled Poe and Sade. He was hailed by Stephen King as âthe future of horror,â and won both the British and World Fantasy Awards. Now, with his numerous bestsellers, graphic novels, and hit movies like the Hellraiser films, Clive Barker has become an industry unto himself. It is his powerful writing style and arresting imagery that have made Books of Blood a classicâand Clive Barker a cult phenomenon.
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The Great and Secret Show
by Clive Barker
In the little town of Palomo Grove, two great armies are amassing; forces shaped from the hearts and souls of America. In this New York Times bestseller, Barker unveils one of the most ambitious imaginative landscapes in modern fiction, creating a new vocabulary for the age-old battle between good and evil. Carrying its readers from the first stirring of consciousness to a vision of the end of the world, The Great and Secret Show is a breathtaking journey in the company of a master storyteller.
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Imajica
by Clive Barker
From master storyteller Clive Barker comes an epic tale of myth, magic, and forbidden passionâcomplete with new illustrations and a new Appendix. Imajica is an epic beyond compare: vast in conception, obsessively detailed in execution, and apocalyptic in its resolution. At its heart lies the sensualist and master art forger, Gentle, whose life unravels when he encounters Judith Odell, whose power to influence the destinies of men is vaster than she knows, and Pie 'oh' pah, an alien assassin who comes from a hidden dimension. That dimension is one of five in the great system called Imajica. They are worlds that are utterly unlike our own, but are ruled, peopled, and haunted by species whose lives are intricately connected with ours. As Gentle, Judith, and Pie 'oh' pah travel the Imajica, they uncover a trail of crimes and intimate betrayals, leading them to a revelation so startling that it changes reality forever.
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Weaveworld
by Clive Barker
Clive Barker has made his mark on modern fiction by exposing all that is surreal and magical in the ordinary world --- and exploring the profound and overwhelming terror that results. With its volatile mix of the fantastical and the contemporary, the everyday and the otherworldly, Weaveworld is an epic work of dark fantasy and horror -- a tour de force from one of today's most forceful and imaginative artists.
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The Damnation Game
by Clive Barker
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER âONE OF THE BEST HORROR NOVELS IN A VERY LONG TIME...do not miss it!ââUSA Today There are things worse than death. There are games so seductively evil, so wondrously vile, no gambler can resist. Amid the shadow-scarred rubble of World War II, Joseph Whitehead dared to challenge the dark champion of lifeâs ultimate game. Now a millionaire, locked in a terror-shrouded fortress of his own design, Joseph Whitehead has hell to pay. And no soul is safe from this ravaging fear, the resurrected fury, the unspeakable desire of... THE DAMNATION GAME
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Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
A stunning tour de force filled with transcendent awe and wonder, Hyperion is a masterwork of science fiction that resonates with excitement and invention, the first volume in a remarkable epic by the multiple-award-winning author of The Hollow Man. On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hopeâand a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands. Praise for Dan Simmons and Hyperion âDan Simmons has brilliantly conceptualized a future 700 years distant. In sheer scope and complexity it matches, and perhaps even surpasses, those of Isaac Asimov and James Blish.ââThe Washington Post Book World âAn unfailingly inventive narrative . . . generously conceived and stylistically sure-handed.ââThe New York Times Book Review âSimmonsâs own genius transforms space opera into a new kind of poetry.ââThe Denver Post âAn essential part of any science fiction collection.ââBooklist
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The Fall of Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
âState of the art science fiction . . . a landmark novel.ââIsaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine Now, in the stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, Simmons returns us to a far future resplendent with drama and invention. On the world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothingânothing anywhere in the universeâwill ever be the same. Praise for The Fall of Hyperion âOne of the finest SF novels published in the past few years.ââScience Fiction Eye âA magnificently original blend of themes and styles.ââThe Denver Post
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Kitchen
by Banana Yoshimoto
Relates the experiences of two free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan.
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Disgrace
by J. M. Coetzee
An uninspired college teacher's affair with a student is discovered, and he seeks solace on his daughter's farm in South Africa. A violent attack launched by three black men alters how he perceives many things including his daughter and the rights of South Africa's aggrieved majority.
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Waiting for the Barbarians
by J. M. Coetzee
Allegory of the war between oppressor and oppressed.
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Life and Times of Michael K
by J. M. Coetzee
From author of Waiting for the Barbarians and Nobel Prize winner J.M. Coetzee. J.M. Coetzee's latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus, is now available from Viking. Late Essays: 2006-2016 will be available January 2018. In a South Africa turned by war, Michael K. sets out to take his ailing mother back to her rural home. On the way there she dies, leaving him alone in an anarchic world of brutal roving armies. Imprisoned, Michael is unable to bear confinement and escapes, determined to live with dignity. This life affirming novel goes to the center of human experienceâthe need for an interior, spiritual life; for some connections to the world in which we live; and for purity of vision.
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Age of Iron
by J. M. Coetzee
As an elderly woman's health deteriorates, so does the condition of her country, South Africa.
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The Woman in the Dunes
by Kobo Abe
The Woman in the Dunes, by celebrated writer and thinker Kobo Abe, combines the essence of myth, suspense and the existential novel. After missing the last bus home following a day trip to the seashore, an amateur entomologist is offered lodging for the night at the bottom of a vast sand pit. But when he attempts to leave the next morning, he quickly discovers that the locals have other plans. Held captive with seemingly no chance of escape, he is tasked with shoveling back the ever-advancing sand dunes that threaten to destroy the village. His only companion is an odd young woman. Together their fates become intertwined as they work side by side at this Sisyphean task.
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Another Roadside Attraction
by Tom Robbins
âWritten with a style and humor that havenât been seen since Mark Twain.ââLos Angeles Times What if the Second Coming didnât quite come off as advertised? What if âthe Corpseâ on display in that funky roadside zoo is really who they say it isâwhat does that portend for the future of western civilization? And what if a young clairvoyant named Amanda reestablishes the flea circus as popular entertainment and fertility worship as the principal religious form of our high-tech age? Another Roadside Attraction answers those questions and a lot more. It tell us, for example, what the sixties were truly all about, not by reporting on the psychedelic decade but by recreating it, from the inside out. In the process, this stunningly original seriocomic thriller is fully capable of simultaneously eating a literary hot dog and eroding the borders of the mind. âHard to put down because of the sheer brilliance and fun of the writing. The sentiments of Brautigan and the joyously compassionate omniscience of Fielding dance through the pages garbed colorfully in the language of Joyce.ââRolling Stone
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Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
by Tom Robbins
âThis is one of those special novelsâa piece of working magic, warm, funny, and sane.ââThomas Pynchon The whooping crane rustlers are girls. Young girls. Cowgirls, as a matter of fact, all âbursting with dimples and hormonesââand the FBI has never seen anything quite like them. Yet their rebellion at the Rubber Rose Ranch is almost overshadowed by the arrival of the legendary Sissy Hankshaw, a white-trash goddess literally born to hitchhike, and the freest female of them all. Freedom, its prizes and its prices, is a major theme of Tom Robbinsâs classic tale of eccentric adventure. As his robust characters attempt to turn the tables on fate, the reader is drawn along on a tragicomic joyride across the badlands of sexuality, wild rivers of language, and the frontiers of the mind.