" The Wedding" by Dorothy West. This was West's first and only novel because she didn’t get around to storytelling until she was in her last decade. She breaks rules and makes it work. She also makes us understand a portion of black history and black intolerance that many of us didn’t know existed. And she inspired one of the chapters in my multi award-winning, out-of-print novel, “This Is the Place” available on Amazon new and used feature only. (That means I get no royalties!) "Travels with Charlie” by John Steinbeck is not fiction but it is literary. You might enjoy seeing nonfiction written with passion and style and artistry. Charlie was the last book Steinbeck wrote and the culmination of years of honing his craft.
"Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury is a touching novel that will be loved by those who liked the first book on this list. It beats his “Fahrenheit,” though far less famous.
"Dr. Zhivago" by Boris Pasternak. This book is worth the struggle required to sort out the Russian names. Hundreds of thousands of readers did it a few decades ago when we weren’t all so spoiled by authors who too often now cater to short attention spans and formulaic writing. Okay. So that's 10. I'll make it a baker’s dozen. No, more than that. A gift for readers who love nonfiction best. (Keep reading.)
“Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy. This is a novel that holds up over the decades, especially for women (and men) who still suffer from gender prejudices.
"This is the Place" (see above) by Carolyn Howard-Johnson. It's a little romantic, a little memoirish, a little historical, a little women's. They're all good categories but I prefer a little literary. If I didn’t include this book among my favorites, I wouldn’t be giving you the truest list possible. Maybe my next novel should examine the mirror image twins of false pride and false modesty as its premise.
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