Comments on: Looking for more fantastic adventure literature. Any suggestions?

Question: Looking for more fantastic adventure literature. Any suggestions?

BigBrownBear — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 09:42:44 -0800

Looking for more fantastic narrative adventure literature. Any suggestions?

I'm not sure what to call the genre, but I like those long, winding narratives usually told from multiple voices. Some example: Paul Auster's "Mr. Vertigo", Nicholas Christopher's "A Trip to the Stars", Carlos Ruiz Zafon's "La Sombra del Viento (The Shadow of the Wind)". Can you guys think of any other books like these? I just read Michael Chabon's "The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier & Clay". I didn't like it very much, but I think it also fits the genre.

By: scarylarry

scarylarry — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 09:46:20 -0800

I haven't read any of the books you listed, so I don't know how well this fits in with those, but Pynchon's Mason & Dixon is a wonderful "long, winding adventure narrative." And there is a mechanical duck.

By: goo

goo — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 10:13:15 -0800

Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 10:25:57 -0800

The abridged Journey to the West called Monkey.

By: misteraitch

misteraitch — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 10:26:48 -0800

Jan Potocki’s The Manuscript Found in Saragossa.

By: delmoi

delmoi — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 10:29:07 -0800

the baroque cycle should keep you busy for a while.

By: dirtynumbangelboy

dirtynumbangelboy — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 10:48:43 -0800

Tad Williams' Otherland series is sci-fi in packaging, but definitely fantastical too.

By: justkevin

justkevin — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 11:21:33 -0800

Perhaps Wilkie Collins' "The Woman In White"? Definitely fits the winding narrative told by multiple narrators criteria.

By: garfy3

garfy3 — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 11:23:52 -0800

i just finished correli's mandolin after amassing several recommendations from good friends, and i loved it. it certainly meets your criteria of multiple narrative voices and many story/plot lines. well written also (...but it is sort of a love story set in wartime, something to consider if you're not into such things).

By: BigBrownBear

BigBrownBear — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:57:06 -0800

i dont know any of these - which is great! I'll check them out. Any other suggestions are appreciated!

By: BigBrownBear

BigBrownBear — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 12:59:19 -0800

The Manuscript Found in Saragossa looks very interesting!

By: mattbucher

mattbucher — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 13:36:51 -0800

You should check out anything by Amitav Ghosh. I really liked In an Antique Land and The Calcutta Chromosome. I would also recommend Brian Kiteley's I Know Many Songs But I Cannot Sing.

By: futility closet

futility closet — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 13:39:13 -0800

I second Wilkie Collins. His prose is beautifully clear, if that matters.

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 14:07:02 -0800

The Manuscript Found in Saragossa looks very interesting!

It's also a terrific film.

By: AmbroseChapel

AmbroseChapel — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 14:39:51 -0800

Vikram Chandar's Red Earth and Pouring Rain. It's lots of stories-within-stories rather than one big one, but it might suit you.

By: AmbroseChapel

AmbroseChapel — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 14:40:44 -0800

D'oh! Vikram Chandra.

By: hwestiii

hwestiii — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 16:32:14 -0800

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke.

What didn't you like about Kavalier and Klay? I thought it was terrific. It prompted me to try "Wonder Boys", but that didn't do anything for me despite my having enjoyed the film.

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 17:51:12 -0800

Carter Beats the Devil

By: BigBrownBear

BigBrownBear — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 02:40:54 -0800

re: kavailier and clay - i thought the writing was somewhat stilted and kept losing interest at various points throughout the story. anyone who liked it should try some of the other books I listed above - all of which, I think, are better written and more exciting.

By: greatgefilte

greatgefilte — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 08:27:25 -0800

English Passengers, by Matthew Kneale. Sounds like it's just what you're looking for.

By: Emperor SnooKloze

Emperor SnooKloze — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 08:38:50 -0800

Stuff by Andrea Barrett. I'd recommend Voyage of the Narwhal.

By: coevals

coevals — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 14:45:19 -0800

I did not see this listed, forgive me if I am being redundant, but Rashoman, by Ryonosuke Akutagawa, both in book and film is a wonderful mutliple perspective narrative. Then read all the Akutagawa you can find.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 19:39:55 -0800

Daniel Mason's debut novel, The Piano Tuner, is the mesmerizing story of Edgar Drake, commissioned by the British War Office in 1886 to travel to hostile Burma to repair a rare Erard grand piano vital to the Crown's strategic interests.