# Which books would you describe as "brilliant"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164 "2006-01-09T16:02:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/1 "2006-01-09T16:02:48Z")
Cafe Society has seen many threads devoted to the shortcomings and flat-out failings of purported Western classics. But which books–classic or popular–deserve acclaim for their sheer brilliance in insight or composition? Great literature or no, I’m talking about books that left you utterly dazzled. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/2 "2006-01-09T16:05:50Z")
Ira Levin’s “A Kiss Before Dying” and “Rosemary’s Baby” and his script for “Deathtrap” are all incredibly well crafted works. When Levin does it right, it’ perfection. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/3 "2006-01-09T16:12:04Z")
_Good Omens_. I’ve read it a zillion times. I’m re-reading it right now. I never get enough of it. It’s perfect. It’s what ideas want to be when they grow up. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/4 "2006-01-09T16:17:45Z")
I’m going to agree with **Priceguy** and nominate Good Omens, along with David Mitchell’s Cloud Nine and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. On the non fiction side, Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan is one I’ve re-read lately that I think is brilliant. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/5 "2006-01-09T16:18:31Z")
**The Sot-Weed Factor** by John Barth **Gravity’s Rainbow** by Thomas Pynchon **Catch-22** by Joseph Heller \*\*Dhalgren[b/] by Samuel R. Delany (the most brilliant person I’ve ever met). I made the mistake of reading it and **Gravity’s Rainbow** in succession and had to give up reading for awhile because there was nothing of a similar level. **Great Expectations** by Charles Dickens, though it took me my second time to realize it. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/6 "2006-01-09T16:30:46Z")
Absolutely love The World According to Garp and American Psycho (love most of B.E. Ellis’ work, actually). Small Gods (Pratchett, of course) was also a revelation and I’ll gladly jump on the Good Omens bandwagon. Laxness’ Independent People is stunning, as is Solon Islandus, but I doubt you fine people will ever get a chance to enjoy the latter. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/7 "2006-01-09T16:42:16Z")
Bound for Glory by Woody Guthrie. The first chapter knocked my socks off, the rest of the book was just as good. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/8 "2006-01-09T16:48:52Z")
Some days I do believe Davidson’s _The Oxford Campanion to Food_ is the finest book ever written. Were I to be trapped on a desert island, this would be one of my books. Thousands of entries on subjects from Penguin to Poland. Not a single recipe in the entire thing. Just the thing when you want to understand how the heck baking powder differs from baking soda, or if you have an idle hour to spend. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/9 "2006-01-09T16:57:47Z")
Anything that came out of Vladimir Nabokov’s pen, but particularly **The Real Life of Sebastian Knight** and **Ada, or Ardor**. Also, on the science side, I think Richard Dawkins’ **The Selfish Gene** and **The Blind Watchmaker** are pretty awesome. ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/10 "2006-01-09T17:00:23Z")
> [@yanceylebeef](#): > > I’m going to agree with **Priceguy** and nominate Good Omens, along with David Mitchell’s Cloud Nine and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Slight nitpick - Mitchell has written books called _Cloud Atlas_ and _Number Nine Dream_ (amonhg others). I’m guessing you’re referring to _Cloud Atlas_ and agree that it is a great book. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/11 "2006-01-09T17:07:33Z")
_The New York Trilogy_ by Paul Auster, especially _City of Glass_ _Foucault’s Pendulum_ by Umberto Eco and a true classic of literature, _Don Quixote_ by Cervantes ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/12 "2006-01-09T17:15:34Z")
Hugo’s _Les Miserables_. I read it my freshman year of college and my roommate would make fun of me for randomly laughing, snorting, muttering, crying and at one point even gasping so loud she thought that I had hurt myself or something. Tim Power’s _The Stress of Her Regard_ is what I would consider brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/13 "2006-01-09T17:33:01Z")
> [@snorlax](#): > > Slight nitpick - Mitchell has written books called _Cloud Atlas_ and _Number Nine Dream_ (amonhg others). I’m guessing you’re referring to _Cloud Atlas_ and agree that it is a great book. Aw Crap…I did indeed, although Number Nine Dream is also good, Cloud Atlas is an amazing read from beginning to end. Must have more coffee… ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/14 "2006-01-09T17:45:55Z")
**A Soldier of the Great War** by Mark Helprin was brilliant, hypnotic, lyrical, brutal and funny. Time to read it again. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/15 "2006-01-09T18:17:20Z")
First and foremost, Joyce’s **Ulysses**. To my mind this is simply the greatest and most fascinating book ever written. Modern/pop culture works: Anthony Burgess, **A Clockwork Orange** ; John Brunner, **Stand on Zanzibar** ; Wilson & Shea’s **Illuminatus!** trilogy; Neil Gaiman’s **Sandman** series. I’ve always liked **The Crying of Lot 49** much better than **Gravity’s Rainbow**. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/16 "2006-01-09T18:19:16Z")
Thirding _Good Omens_ and adding _1984_ and _Brave New World_. They should be required reading for any political science student. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/17 "2006-01-09T18:24:05Z")
_ **The Alienist** _, by Caleb Carr. I can’t even give my reasons. It’s just _that_ good. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/18 "2006-01-09T18:29:29Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > _Foucault’s Pendulum_ by Umberto Eco By far, the most “brilliant” book that I have ever read. I love that Eco assumes that the reader has at least a passing knowledge of Hebrew, Latin, 15th century Italian occultists, the effect of slavery on Brasilian religion, pinball, and a myriad of other far-ranging topics. A smart book for smart people. Excellent choice. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/19 "2006-01-09T18:33:05Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > _The New York Trilogy_ by Paul Auster, especially _City of Glass_ > and a true classic of literature, _Don Quixote_ by Cervantes Agree with both of these (haven’t read the new translation of _Don Quixote_ or anything else by Auster, though). I’d also nominate _Going Native_ by **Stephen Wright** (actually, all three of his books are great), _Woman in the Dunes_ by **Kobo Abe** , and **John Dos Passos** ’s America Trilogy. For non-fiction, I’d say _Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the 20th Century_ by **Greil Marcus** and _We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda_ by **Philip Gourevitch**. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164/20 "2006-01-09T18:40:32Z")
_The Book of Laughter and Forgetting_ by Milan Kundera _If on a winter’s night a traveler_ by Italo Calvino _Till We Have Faces_ by C.S. Lewis _The Satanic Verses_ by Salman Rushdie _God Knows_ by Joseph Heller _Winesburg, Ohio_ by Sherwood Anderson For a shortlist of recent favorites, anyway . . . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-books-would-you-describe-as-brilliant/339164.md?page=2)