I've been stubbornly reading mostly non-fiction for the past year and could use a fiction book to get lost in.
Thanks and solidarity.
Couple books which caught my interest in the last few years:
"The Fifth Season" - A sort of subversion of the typical medieval fantasy tropes in that it's set in the global south of their fantasy earth, with all that it entails.
"The Goblin Emperor" - All the court intrigue of A Song of Ice and Fire, but with extra racial tension connotations and less rape
"Piranesi" - Set in a strange World where there is nothing but an infinite sea, and an infinite series of Halls lined with Statues, and where only fifteen people have ever lived, and it's now down to only two.
The Goblin Emperor is such a breath of fresh air where you get to root for someone who's just genuinely good and also not stupid as he navigates his way through all the politics and scheming. Really loved that one.
Highly recommend Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. I read a lot of books, and I'm a very fast reader, but that book (which is huge) took me a long time to read since I found myself reading it much slower, enjoying my time up in the mountains and savoring it. You get lost in the labyrinths of the sanatorium, following the cast of characters as they navigate life, illness, and death.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It’s a retelling of the Iliad from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles’s partner. Yes they are gay with each other and it’s good, also some fighting in the Trojan War.
You've just reminded me of a poem that I haven't thought of for a long time: "The Shield of Achilles."
The three musketeers and The count of Monte christo by alexandre dumas. Very good novels
