The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks.
My bro' is 4 yrs wiser than I & he read it at 17 so I guess I nicked it & read it before I was 15, I actually re-read it last year & it's still a mesmerising read. Knowing what's going on only makes it all the more gripping actually.
i've only read the wasp factory but i can confirm that its immediately engrossing
If anyone hasn't read The Wasp Factory & wants a serious book that engages you from the first sentence then you have to pick it up & read it. It's fucking ace.
Anyway, onwards with this impossible task...
The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe.
The subject matter might not be the stuff of literary classics but the depth of feeling & admiration for the trail-blazing men it documents is astonishing.
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things - Jon McGregor.
Absolute poetry. Not literally but it's so beautifully written it might as well be.
Brighton Rock - Graham Greene.
Ok, it's a thriller but if there's a better villain than Pinkie in the history of UK literature I'm a dutchman (you can call me Dirk).
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
Need I elaborate?
I've been looking for some new authors to read; I bought War & Peace recently, everyone's got to read it at some point right? I expect to be back in here if only to catch up on some recommendations from the good folk of RAWK; well the good people whose opinions I've grown to like & value...