7 of the Best Fiction Books
My Book Recommendations
Some time ago, I wrote an article about reading (you can find it here). In it, I argue that reading is necessary for anyone who seeks to improve and wishes to make a positive change in this world. For me, reading is not a hobby. It is the most high-impact activity we can undertake if the objective is to grow. Grow personally, professionally, intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally. We should prioritize reading as much as realistically possible in today’s fast-paced world of constant distractions.
In this article, I won’t go too much into why reading is important but try to offer you a list of fiction books that are must-read in my opinion and a few thoughts as to why. This is based on a discussion I had with my friends as we were on a long car ride yesterday, coming back from a Brazilian jiu-jitsu camp. Yes, do not be shocked — martial artists also love literature. :)
Of course, making recommendations about literature, just as any other art form, is highly subjective. Tastes differ. There are works of fiction others swear by, that just did not work for me (Kafka, Proust, to name a couple). I am sure some would say the same about the books I recommend. Let’s not forget the guilty pleasures — books that we adore, but that will never be in the running for examples of the best literature. Still, there are books that very few people will argue against — and that is the bulk of the list below. Plus a couple of my personal favorites.
A disclaimer: three of the books in the list below are by Russian writers. I have a special relationship with Russian literature and have written about it too (check out my article Why Read Russian Literature). Trust me, I could easily add more Russian novels to the list and it would still be amazing.
So, here is my list, enjoy!
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 1877
This is my favorite fiction book. Dostoevsky called it a “flawless work of art”. In my opinion, this is the place to go if you want to understand human beings, human emotions, love, family, pain, and consequences. It is also a book that appeals to a mature reader, so I would typically not recommend it to teenagers.
The tragic fate of the titular character Anna Karenina, the journeys of Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatsky, and the challenges and choices faced by Alexei Vronsky, Alexei Karenin, and many others. So many themes — being a woman in 19th-century Russia, going against the established moral codes, the hardships, and prejudices all characters have to deal with, all this is set against a broader social analysis of Russia, where two countries seem to exist — one with its majestic cities and aristocracy, and the other with the disconnected (and massive) countryside and peasantry.
Every character is depicted masterfully — it could be people living today, people we can imagine, or even people we know. Every tiny action and emotion of the characters is described beautifully and intentionally. The choices the characters make are human, at times contradictory to their personalities, letting us observe their dilemmas, mistakes, and of course the consequences of these choices. We struggle to identify the heroes or the villains in the story, it is all just human beings with their admirable sides and their weaknesses.
This is the book about the progressive versus traditional, glamorous versus poor, complex versus simple. It is about the consequences of picking either side of the spectrum. And the benefits of seeking balance instead.
- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1967
Incredible. I am not sure how to describe it really. This book belongs to the genre of magic realism — a strange phrase, isn’t it? Let’s see — magical realism is the genre where magic and fantasy are injected into the real world, everyday reality. And this book is arguably the best example of this.
The story is about several generations of the Buendia family in the town of Macondo. And by telling the story of this family, Marquez is also telling us about aspects of the history of Latin America — how a small town becomes open to the outside world, how politics come and divide the populace, how civil war takes place, how its consequences continue impacting the life for years after the war is over, how technology and the arrival of foreign businesses change everything, and so on. The symbolism of the magical occurrences intertwines with the realism of the events, some of which Marquez bases on real-life incidents.
It is strange, it is absurd, and at times difficult to follow. Time flows unusually, people are unusual, and places are unusual, yet oddly familiar. It is fatalist, yet full of hope. I don’t know, you just need to read it to see for yourselves.
- Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, 1967
This is a book I have read several times. And I think I will read it several times still. There are two main plotlines. The first is the story is about a visit by mysterious Woland (the devil in disguise of a foreign professor) and his companions —Behemoth a black talking cat, a demon/hitman Azazello, and witch Hella and a never-smiling dark knight/valet Fagotto to — wait for it — the 1930s in communist and atheist Moscow, Soviet Union. Already brilliant, no? Wait for it. The second plotline is Jerusalem, focusing on Pontius Pilate’s trial of certain Yeshua (Jesus of Nazareth), leading to Yeshua’s execution.
Amidst the events unfolding in Moscow, we are introduced to Master — a writer whose novel was rejected by bureaucrats and is in despair, and his devoted lover, Margarita. I have said enough. :)
Not only a powerful satire of the Soviet Union (written by someone who lived there!) but also an attempt to object to atheistic propaganda of the time (doubly impressive), Master and Margarita is considered the best or one of the best Russian novels of the 20th century. It was banned for two decades and ended up being published after Bulgakov had passed away.
- The Count of Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, 1845
Mindblowing. One of the best adventure stories of all time. I would say, the best revenge story of all time. I remember reading it when I was a teenager and I could not put the book down. As much as I loved Dumas’ other books, from Three Musketeers to Queen Margot, this book — The Count of Monte Cristo is undoubtedly his best work.
Briefly, The Count of Monte Cristo is a story about a young man who is betrayed by his three friends and ends up spending 14 years in prison. He reinvents himself and returns to the fold as a powerful count, focusing all his attention on revenge. The intrigue, the love story, the twists and turns. This is the adventure book that all adventure books try to be. I am going to stop here because pretty much anything I say will be a spoiler. :)
- The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1880
I mentioned Tolstoy and Bulgakov. One is a painter of Russian reality at the grandest of scales, the other is a surgeon masterfully pinpointing the problems of Soviet life through fantasy and satire. But Dostoyevsky was something else entirely. The way I like to describe him is — he was the best psychologist among the writers. The way Dostoyevsky describes his characters’ thought processes often sent chills down my spine. His incredible insight into the human condition, mixed with his analysis of philosophy and religion, as well as social and political problems facing Russia created a number of masterpieces — I could easily replace Brothers Karamazov with The Idiot, Demons, or Crime and Punishment and this list would not suffer one bit.
Brothers Karamazov is a story of three brothers. It is, strangely enough, somewhat of a detective story. It is a courtroom drama. It is also an exploration of Dostoyevsky’s views on faith and atheism through the exploration of the personalities, views, and the relationship between two of the brothers — Alesha and Ivan. It is a story of a dysfunctional relationship between a father and his sons. It is an exploration of free will and moral responsibility. It is not a light reading and will require time and focus. I say it is worth it.
- Martin Eden by Jack London, 1909
This book is essentially a Cinderella story about a man. It tells a story of a young sailor, who falls in love with a girl from a bourgeois family. Sounds banal, I know, but stay with me. Martin Eden is also a story about how skill development, and how the individual’s growth has to be in the service of a right purpose. How pride and ego can be destructive, and how the very process of getting to where we think we want to be can make us disillusioned and indifferent in the end. Be careful what you wish for.
We then go through Martin’s quest to become worthy of Ruth, simultaneously doing all the right things to get closer to a chance of being with her, while also undergoing the kind of changes in himself that makes being with her challenging. And that, for me, was one of the interesting parts of this book — how Ruth, a bright and kind representative of the middle class, the intellectual, who truly cares for Martin, also fails to understand, to truly understand the pain Martin battles with.
- Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien, 1954
This, in my view, is the best fantasy work of fiction ever. Lord of the Rings consists of three books. But before you dig into the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I would recommend you read The Hobbit or There and Back Again, which will give you a background and help understand the events of the trilogy.
It is a story of a somewhat reluctant and unlikely band of heroes going on a quest to save their world. Pitted against the ultimate evil being — Sauron, the group of humans, hobbits, an elf, and a dwarf have to overcome significant obstacles to destroy Sauron’s ring, which is the only way to defeat the evil. If you don’t know the story, this description makes it sound like it is a story for children. Well, it is and it is not.
Drawing on multiple influences including mythology, languages, religions, archaeology, and literature, Tolkien has created a complex world of Middle-Earth with multiple species of humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, and goblins. He created a unique geography, history, and politics of this world. In this fantasy world, Tolkien explores the themes of good and evil, fate and free will, the corruption of power, sacrifice, suffering, love, friendship, and so much more. It is an epic saga of the forces of good working together to overcome the seemingly much stronger forces of evil. While children may enjoy Lord of the Rings, it really is a story for adults.
If you have not read Lord of the Rings, I am truly jealous.
I am going to stop at 7 books for now. I know, I know. Where are the works of Oscar Wilde, Jane Austen, Bronte, Hemingway, or Cervantes? Or Orwell? Or Chekhov? Where is Robinson Crusoe or Gulliver’s Travels? Dracula or Frankenstein? Paulo Coelho? Where are War and Peace or Crime and Punishment? And no sci-fi novels at all? Well, maybe I will revisit this topic at a later point and recommend a few more, let’s see how it goes. In the meantime, read these seven works of fiction if you haven’t already, and let me know if you like them!
