THE BEST NOVELS

[neva]

In your opinion, which is the best novel ever written?
It does not matter if it was written in English, French, Spanish,...
I´m trying to read only the best and be sure that your opinion will be very important to me.

[Phil]

Well, in my opinion, best English novels would be Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, short stories by O.Henry are also superb and witty. In French, anything by Victor Hugo is pretty good, my favourite being the novel called '93.

[crisaor]

I don´t think there´s objectively a BEST novel. I do think there are some great ones out there. If you are looking for possible reading material, here are the ones I like (in no particular order): The Divine Comedy (Dante Allighieri), Paradise Lost (John Milton), the Iliad (Homer), the Odyssey (Homer), Dracula (Bram Stoker), Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), Catcher in the Rye (Salinger), the Eneid (Virgil), The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco), the 47 Ronin (no particular author, since it´s based on a real fact. My copy is written by John allyn), Faust (Goethe), and the Nibelungenlied (that´s probably the wrong title, but i don´t know the correct name in english). That´s all i can remember now.

Also, these may not qualify exactly as novels, but if you´re looking for good reading they´re a must: Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer´s Night Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Tempest. These are my favorite Shakespeare plays.

[chocoba]

In your opinion, which is the best novel ever written?
It does not matter if it was written in English, French, Spanish,...
I´m trying to read only the best and be sure that your opinion will be very important to me.

What about Chinese. A different taste I'm sure

[Eric, son of Chuck]

Jeez, you're not asking for a lot, are you? "What's the best novel?" Oh man. Ok, right, where to start... First off, in a 2002 survey of 100 world-class best-selling authors who were each asked to submit their favourite books, Don Quixote won with the most votes. I forget how many. Greatest book of all time, as voted on by top-notch authors. Bought it, haven't started it yet.

As to what I've read, well, I love "Something Wicked This Way Comes" - Ray Bradbury, "Paradise Lost" - John Milton, "The Odyssey" - Homer, "The Count of Monte Cristo" - Alexandre Dumas (good movie too, though not entirely true to the book), "Le Morte D'Arthur" - Thomas Malory, "1984" George Orwell, and "The Canterbury Tales" - Geoffrey Chaucer.

For other stuff, such as plays, short stories, and poetry, Henry V and Titus Andronicus are my favourite Shakespearean plays, I like just about anything by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, especially "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," "Bobok" by Dostoevsky, and I will agree with crisaor about the 47 Ronin.

Crisaor, do you speak Japanese too? Boku wa Kanadajin desu. Anata wa nan jin desu ka? (Keep in mind, I never said I was fluent, heh.)

Well, that's a start. I know I'll think of other stuff later.

[crisaor]

Here are some more: Niebla, Abel Sánchez (both by Miguel de Unamuno) and Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Gabriel García Márquez). This last one is his best work in my opinion, although most people i know (including the critics) prefer Cien años de soledad.
Those are the original titles in spanish, but i think they're manageable.

Eric, i'm sorry, but i don't speak japanese (wish i could, though ).

[Eric, son of Chuck]

Oh, no need to apologize. I was just wondering since you mentioned the 47 Ronin. Great story, isn't it?

[crisaor]

Indeed it is. Have you read Musashi?

[Eric, son of Chuck]

Alas, no, my Japanese is pathetic and I can't get any decent translations of ANYTHING out here.

[Ian Walkinshaw]

You seem to have had plenty of good advice on what to read! Read that lot and you can't go wrong. My favourites are: 'Of Human Bondage' by Somerset Maugham; 'The Quiet American' by Graham Greene; Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' (and don't even think of watching Apocolypse Now).

If you're feeling really adventurous, I noticed that some people are into Japanese writing. I'd recommend Kenzaburo Oe, esp. A Personal Matter, and Yukio Mishima's Confessions of a Mask - they're all available in English.

[Damian Reyna]

My favorite epic novel series is the Wheel of Time Series by Robert jordan. It may not be your type of literature, but I find it very interesting. Do not give up on these books even if they seem boring to you!!

[Zeno]

I would say some are Les Miserables by Hugo, Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevski, Moby Dick by Melville, Gulivers travels by Swift.

P.S.

The illiad and odyssey are not novels; They are epic poetry, like The epic of Gilgimesh, and the Bhagavad-Gita.

[csifreak]

As for a novel... I would have to say Lord Of the Flies, as I am still quite young and have had only a taste of the great novels out there.
:-? Also, I do not think it is a novel but Roots was the best book I have ever read.

[Shea]

My absolute favorite was Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) but I also liked Les Miserables (Victor Hugo) and I am currently thoroughly enjoying The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas). My parents feel that I should have been born about 200 years ago, what do you think?

I laughed out loud when I read Don Quixote (Miguel de Cervantes). I even recognized a print of a painting by Octavio (something or other?) I'm not good with artists names, but it's hanging in my fiance's house.

I still re-read childhood books like The Chronicles of Narnia (C. S. Lewis), The Secret Garden (Francis Hodgson Burnett) -even saw the broadway play-, and the Anne of Green Gables series.

There are soooo many more I would like to mention, but I'll pull back on the reigns so that you can get started.

Oh, Frankenstein (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly) was absolutely awesome too!

[Zeno]

Dracula is good too. I really only liked the opening of Dracula though
the "Dracula's Guest" part. I know many apreiciate the whole book though.