Where to start for a beginner?

[DiceyWriter]

I usually read genre fiction (epic fantasy, YA, sci-fi, urban fantasy), but I am enjoying Casual Vacancy right now and liked Ghostwritten (will read other Mitchell work).

I'm looking for some modern literary novels to put on my to-read list, preferably something relating to city life, drug culture, music, writing, traveling, and so on. Arty and cool and indie culture, not dry and boring tales of families :P. Obviously I have no clue where to start.

Thanks for any recommendations!

[Charles Darnay]

On The Road seems to fit most of your criteria.

[DiceyWriter]

On The Road seems to fit most of your criteria.

Heh. That's one I do plan on reading soon, but by 'modern' I mean last ten twenty years. I have searched for these types of books before, but this type of novel seems sparse? Trainspotting is something I've come across though.

Short stories and novellas are fine too though.

[DiceyWriter]

Oh, I like the avatar (you?) by the way. Reminds me of a picture of Robert Jordan that I can't link to.

[TheFifthElement]

Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan might hit the spot.

Ghostwritten remains my favourite Mitchell book (sigh). Number9Dream is also excellent and very eclectic, and Cloud Atlas is pure brilliance. He's a remarkable writer. If you enjoy Mitchell you will also probably enjoy Don DeLillo and Tom McCarthy…thinking about it, Men in Space may also meet your criteria.

[T.C. Seiko]

Haruki Murakami would fit the bill (minus the drug culture). "A Wild Sheep Chase" is fun to read and may be a good introduction to his work.

His two favorite works abroad seem to be 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' and 'Kafka on the Shore'. 'Kafka on the Shore' is a real page-turner.

To get a taste of his writing style, read this short story (7 pages):
Haruki Murakami: On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning

[I can't post any URLs yet, so you have to google the story]

[TheFifthElement]

Murakami is a good call.

Of course the main problem you'll have with asking this question on this forum is that surprisingly few people here read contemporary fiction.

Some other suggestions: In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut, Lost Paradise by Cees Nooteboom, Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor, The City and the City by China Mieville. They all have elements but probably not the whole of what you're looking for.

[Babyguile]

Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor.

Here's the small synopsis to save you time.

On a cold, quiet day between Christmas and the New Year, a man's body is found in an abandoned apartment. His friends look on, but they're dead, too. Their bodies found in squats and sheds and alleyways across the city. Victims of a bad batch of heroin, they're in the shadows, a chorus keeping vigil as the hours pass, paying their own particular homage as their friend's body is taken away, examined, investigated, and cremated.

All of their stories are laid out piece by broken piece through a series of fractured narratives. We meet Robert, the deceased, the only alcoholic in a sprawling group of junkies; Danny, just back from uncomfortable holidays with family, who discovers the body and futiley searches for his other friends to share the news of Robert's death; Laura, Robert's daughter, who stumbles into the junky's life when she moves in with her father after years apart; Heather, who has her own place for the first time since she was a teenager; Mike, the Falklands War vet; and all the others.

Theirs are stories of lives fallen through the cracks, hopes flaring and dying, love overwhelmed by a stronger need, and the havoc wrought by drugs, distress, and the disregard of the wider world. These invisible people live in a parallel reality, out of reach of basic creature comforts, like food and shelter. In their sudden deaths, it becomes clear, they are treated with more respect than they ever were in their short lives.

Intense, exhilarating, and shot through with hope and fury, Even the Dogs is an intimate exploration of life at the edges of society--littered with love, loss, despair, and a half-glimpse of redemption.

[ashulman]

Sounds like you should pick up Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue, about a white and black guy who co-own a bookstore in North Oakland. Got some good press, though I haven't read it.

[Bewat]

"White Noise" by Don DeLillo. Dark, funny, quick, and very post-modern.

[DiceyWriter]

Thanks for all the good recommendations! I will investigate each one farther.


(minus the drug culture).

No worries. I was only throwing out some ideas of what I would be interesting in. Sorta like Indie films in literary form.


Murakami is a good call.

Of course the main problem you'll have with asking this question on this forum is that surprisingly few people here read contemporary fiction.


I'm a China Mieville fan. King Rat being the first I read. Something like that, but without the Rat part and more into the music scene of London is a good description of the types of works I'm looking for.

Oh and yep, couldn't quite find the right forum, but this one had more present works and I saw mentions of GRRM, etc, so it seemed more 'general' here.


Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor.

Here's the small synopsis to save you time.

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I will definitely check this one out.


Sounds like you should pick up Michael Chabon's Telegraph Avenue, about a white and black guy who co-own a bookstore in North Oakland. Got some good press, though I haven't read it.

Sounds good too, thanks!


"White Noise" by Don DeLillo. Dark, funny, quick, and very post-modern.

This also looks to be very interesting.

[kev67]

I usually read genre fiction (epic fantasy, YA, sci-fi, urban fantasy), but I am enjoying Casual Vacancy right now and liked Ghostwritten (will read other Mitchell work).

I'm looking for some modern literary novels to put on my to-read list, preferably something relating to city life, drug culture, music, writing, traveling, and so on. Arty and cool and indie culture, not dry and boring tales of families :P. Obviously I have no clue where to start.

Thanks for any recommendations!

Possibly London Fields by Martin Amis. It has four main characters: a not very successful American author who seems to be dying of something; a manipulating nymphomaniac with a death wish; a rich, do-gooder liberal trying to escape his home life, and a sociopathic petty criminal and darts player. They interact unpleasantly.

Trainspotting is different to the film. It is really a series of rather unpleasant short stories written in Glaswegian dialect from different view points. However, it does relate to city life, drug culture and is arty and cool.