readers advisory for all discussion

I'm so excited that this group is here. I know the goal is to be specific, but if you'll indulge me what I'm after is something rather vague. I am desperate for the kind of writing that forms condensation while its read and leaves me dripping. Nabokov has ruined me for ordinary living and ever since he's had his way with me I've been craving new wordsmiths that can make me gasp on my rack of joy. I don't really care what the book is about, although I would prefer it not to be too bleak. I would be delighted to know what you would recommend for someone looking for surprising, achingly beautiful, unique wordplay.

Moral Disorder: and Other Stories

This might fit what you're looking for. I've learned quite a few big words from reading this, like aquiline and verisimilitude. haha

I checked out some of the quotes for the book and liked what I saw. Reminded me a bit of Plath. Thank you : )

I don't know if you've read The Book Thief, but i'm absolutely in love with the way zusak writes.

Now don't laugh, Deliverance. Dickey writes prose like a poet (oh, that's right, he is one).

I think you might do well to examine Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Magnificently crafted prose.

oh, definitely Justine. his language is phenomenal

Gotta mention my favorite when it comes to beautifully crafted prose... The Great Gatsby

Fitzgerald was a great wordsmith who I sometimes wish was a better storyteller.

My favorite bit...
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/3993...

I just love the phrase "commensurate with his capacity for wonder"

Thank you so much for the recommendations. I can't wait to check them out but ... butttt .... seriously??? Deliverance??? So many people have said it's a beautifully written book but for someone who hates that movie so very much I just can't fathom it. Which of course peaks my curiosity. Which means I'll probably check it out. *shuddering*

And Gatsby was delicious.

You should definitely try anything by Milan Kundera.

Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea is one of my favorites.

Snow Country by Kawabata is amazing....

and If you have the patience for a longer novel, Orhan Pamuk's writing is absolutely poetic.

Ann Patchett's writing in The Patron Saint of Liars, Chang Rae Lee in A Gesture Life, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, or Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose.

I second The Book Thief.
Also check out:
Night Film
The Monsters Of Templeton
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
A River Sutra
Franny and Zooey
Of Bees and Mist
The Picture of Dorian Gray
And I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but Stephen King's Duma Key really got to me. Like you, I really gobble up superior writing!

The magical realism movement in Latin America produced some gorgeous writing. Marquez has a particularly fantastic translator.

I second Chang Rae Lee. Also, if you like Nabokov, you should check out some of Percival Everett's novels, like I am Not Sidney Poitier, The Water Cure, or Percival Everett by Virgil Russell.

You might really enjoy The God of Small Things by Arandhati Roy.

A.S. Byatt, and I second Fitzgerald and Pamuk.

I'm now reading Nocturnes for the King of Naples and the prose in that is like a painting or a particularly vivid dream. The pacing is slow and the story may not be to everyone's taste but the writing is worth the reading.

Also, anything by Wendell Berry.

"We went from room to room, fracturing the silences."

To the person who recommended Justine - wait, it would be ungrateful of me not to look up and see who that was - oh Karen, of course! Well, yet again, thank you Karen : ) This was exactly what I was looking for. I'm a few pages in, don't particularly like the characters, but it doesn't matter, the writing is intoxicating!

On a side note, I love reading books set in hot climates - there's something so romantic in the descriptions ... maybe its because, thanks to my cruddy health, they would surely be the death of me.

Thank you so much for all the ongoing contributions to this thread. There are so many i can't wait to get my hands on!

oh, man - that's great!! that characters aren't likeable per se, but it's a gorgeous reading experience. you may come around on a couple of them, but the narrator himself is never a favorite of mine

First thing I thought of was Middlemarch. I think the Quotes section will tell you if it's what you're looking for.