Wow, I came in to say that Moby-Dick is utterly riveting, but in a very unconventional way. That’s certainly not its reputation, and I was worried that I’d get nothing but scoff…and there you are, right by my side. I think I like you.
So since we obviously think alike, let me give my highest recommendation to the work of Tolstoy. It’s very different from Melville; Tolstoy was almost religiously opposed to stylistic flair. But nobody I’ve ever read gives a truer representations of real people and relationships. Plus, War and Peace, like Moby-Dick, is filled with fascinating digressions that paint a rich picture of life in the mid-19th century.
Ben-Hur, a Tale of the Christ, by Lew Wallace, is a crackling good page-turner. You don’t have to be Christian, or even religious, to enjoy this one. I would have also suggested Lloyd Douglas’ The Robe, excepts for a rather long digression into a farming community that takes approximately forever to get through. The rest of the novel is great (the Richard Burton movie is also pretty good, aside from Richard Burton - one of his weakest performances).
Kipling’s Kim is perhaps his best book & available here. Along with The Jungle Book–everybody should get to know Mowgli & the creatures that raised him. Of course Kipling is racist by today’s standards. But we know less about the racial attitudes of his contemporaries because so few of them ever bothered to portray non-white characters.
Gutenberg also has some stories from Galaxy Magazine of the 1960’s, with original illustrations. Fritz Leiber’sThe Big Time is a Hugo-winning short novel of the Time War; “No Great Magic” shows the same characters, a bit later in the War. A couple of stories by R A Lafferty. And Cordwainer Smiths Game of Rat & Dragon. (Maybe not what you requested, but I had a Galaxy subscription back then; these stories were among the ones that introduced a very young fan to non-Juvenile SF.)
The Count of Monte Cristo. Before there were summer blockbusters, there were Dumas novels. Just as exciting, just as improbable, with just as many plot holes it’s better to ignore.
Another one: most of Orwell’s books are available on Gutenberg. Homage to Catalonia is one of my favourites, though not a novel, rather an account of his time in International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.
If you’re looking for examples of classic novels that are good examples of plot and pacing, my #1 recommendation would be The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle, easily the best of the Sherlock Holmes novels (as opposed to the short stories).
I also enthusiastically second the recommendations of Jules Verne (his Around the World in 80 Days is a page-turner), Mark Twain, Jack London (loved The Sea Wolf), Rudyard Kipling, Wilkie Collins (The Woman in White; and if you like that, try The Moonstone), and Robinson Crusoe (particularly since you like the “practical details” aspect of Moby-Dick).
Charles Dickens might be worth a look. He’s not exactly known for his pacing, but Oliver Twist is perhaps his most concise and plot-driven novel.
I actually found Pride and Prejudice to be a page-turner (and certainly the most so of Jane Austen’s novels).
I see that a number of P.G. Wodehouse’s novels are available online. Wodehouse is a master of humor and plotting of his own particular contrived, silly sort and is very entertaining. If I had to recommend one in particular, I would reluctantly say Right Ho, Jeeves—reluctantly because I recently listened to the audio version read by Jonathan Cecil and enjoyed it so much that I really think that’s the best way to appreciate it.
I agree- it was 1400 pages, but everything flew by… EXCEPT Tolstoy’s second postscript, in which he belabored every point he had already made very subtly during the course of the novel itself.
A couple of other long classics that are more fun than you’d think:
Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment a and The Brothers Karamazov are, underneath it all, murder mystery novels. The difference being that The Brothers Karamazov is a whodunit, while*** Crime and Punishment*** is a Columbo episode (you KNOW who did it and how, the question is how he’s going to get tripped up and arrested)- quite literally.
I say literally because Levinson and Link, the creators of Lieutenant Columbo, admit they based him on the magistrate in Crime and Punishment.
Point being, there are good STORIES underneath all the metaphysical and theological speculation.
Can you get West With the Night by Beryl Markham? it’s not a novel, its an autobiography of sorts, but she had quite an interesting life. Its so good, people accuse Markham of not writing it herself but rather having it ghost written by Hemingway, rather a compliment I should think.
When I would go to summer camp my parents would send me with some books of my choosing and some of their choosing. “West With the Night” was my very favorite of 10 years worth of “boring, old” books my parents sent me off to summer camp with I’m afraid “The Moonstone” was a total dud in my eyes, however I enjoyed “The Three Musketeers” quite a lot. I also liked White Fang over Call of the Wild but they’re both good.
I heard it said once that the quickest way to teach an English boy French is to give him a copy of Around the World in 80 Days with only the first half translated. Once you get a few chapters in, it’s impossible to put down. I know a couple of folks have already mentioned it, but I don’t think I’ve seen any book, classic or not, that’s more of a page-turner.
It’s not a novel per se, but “Life on the Mississippi” by Twain READS like a novel and paints a vivid picture of what it was like to be a riverboat pilot in the heyday of the riverboat era.
I’m afraid “The Moonstone” was a total dud in my eyes, however I enjoyed “The Three Musketeers” quite a lot. I also liked White Fang over Call of the Wild but they’re both good.