I hope this question doesn't sound too elitist. I hope that someone in
a similar situation might be able to answer it.

I am a voracious reader (I used to want to be a literary critic.) I
love books: George Eliot, Faulkner, Henry James, Proust. I have a sort
of elitist streak in me that means I stick close to the "high lit"
tradition in modern fiction: people like David Foster Wallace, Toni
Morrison and Don DeLillo.

My mother would like to read more, but she doesn't know what to read,
and I don't know what to get her to read. I don't think she would get
along with someone like Wallace, or most of the people I read, because
she wouldn't go in for the verbal pyrotechnics. Older stuff (e.g.,
19th cent.) might not be such a good bet either since it might seem a
little distant -- although, I really don't know, she might love it.

But I don't want to get her some fluff, either: my Mom's a smart lady.
I am looking for the titles of a few recently published books (last,
say, twenty years) that have a plain prose style, aren't going to
suddenly start referencing T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets or something,
and most importantly, are good books -- not sentimental, sticky stuff,
or false self-important stuff -- that wouldn't pale sitting next to
the writers I myself love.

The problem is that I don't know any books like that. I know my mother
liked _The Lovely Bones_ (the last book she read), which might be a
start.

Since this question -- I hope! -- will be a fun, low research thing to
answer, the price is low, but for a good, helpful answer (that might
also help me think about how to think about this question) I will tip
very well.

---

Request for Question Clarification by omniscientbeing-ga on 21 Nov 2003 09:52 PST

Maybe she'd like a good techno-thriller like Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October?

This one is highly entertaining and well written, before he started
adding excessive narrative on technical details in the later books.

Anyway, another good one that's somewhat "higher brow" but still not
completely "literary" might be THE LAST WHALES, by Lloyd Abbey. All
the characters are whales, and only one line of dialogue in the entire
story is spoken by a human.

Some Chrichton's stuff is thought-provoking as well, including his
non-fiction such as TRAVELS.

Can you narrow it down any further given these choices and those
presented in the Comments? Stephen King? Maybe your Mom would love
Stephen King, even though you don't?

omniscientbeing-ga
Google Answers Researcher

---

Clarification of Question by rosalind-ga on 21 Nov 2003 16:05 PST

I don't think a techno thriller from Clancy qualifies as a respectable
book, sorry. Stephen King is a bit too "genre". I think I actually
have enough from the comments to go on for now, so thank you very much
to all who responded.

I recommend "Angle of Repose," by Wallace Stegner. My mother loved it.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/014016930X/qid=1069117644/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-4062523-8184812?v=glance&n=507846

What about "Possession" by A.S. Byatt? It won the Booker Prize in 1990
and is a good read: romance and mystery. Also from the Booker Prize
list (http://listsofbests.com/list/31/) is "The Blind Assassin" by
Margaret Atwood. She might also enjoy "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith,
which is beautifully written, set in London, filled with quirky
characters.

It's harder to find book recommendations online. My favorite site for
talking about books is Chicklit (http://www.chicklit.com). It's not
all about light fluffy stuff -- there's a lot of great discussions of
all kinds of books and authors in the forums.

I recommend Lovers' Leap by Horane Smith, my mother could not put it
down.  Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/075410589X/qid=1069133302/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/103-3958564-8169463?v=glance&s=books

No one should have to feel apologetic for being an intelligent reader
or having a preference for good literature.

Among the fine novels that I have read recently and would recommend are these:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Michael Chabon.
The God of Small Things.  Arundhati Roy.
An Equal Music.  Vikram Seth.
Second Nature.  Alice Hoffman. 
Sister of My Heart. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.
The Sparrow.  Mary Doria Russell.
White Oleander.  Janet Fitch.
Wicked.  Gregory Maguire.

Apteryx

Rosalind --

One of the nice things about a data-driven online model like
Amazon.com is that it comes up with recommendations based on past
reading.  Enter "The Lovely Bones" and you'll find what others who
have read Alice Sebold have purchased (Sue Monk Kidd, Yann Martel,
Emma McLaughlin, Ian McEwan, Ann Patchett).

Similarly, our public library had a Novelist section that allows
readers to discuss books online and make recommendations.

Finally, I find the New York Review of Books a bit more than I need. 
But you could send her The New York Times Book Review section every
week.  She'd probably like it better than getting a blue-highlighted
link:
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

Here's a nice collection of links to sites that recommend books and/or
authors. Many of these are of the "If you like [author A], then try
[author B]" type.

http://www.waterborolibrary.org/bklistif.htm

I would recommend books by frenchman Albert Cohen, if she hasn't read
them already... "Belle du seigneur" is specialy excellent. Not realy
recent, but what a masterpiece. I also loved "Diplomacy" by Kissinger.
enjoy.

Get her a copy of the recently published "Book Lust" by librarian
Nancy Pearl and I'm sure your mother will find some interesting books
to read:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1570613818

Get thee to a library and ask if they have a copy of "What Do I Read Next?" 

I'll second the recommendation for "Possession," but it is filled with
literary allusions.

This is a wonderful book that's still in print and is one of my favorites,

"I Capture the Castle," by Dodie Smith. 
http://www.holtzbrinckpublishers.com/stmartins/search/SearchBookDisplay.asp?BookKey=20836

Another really well done book was Martha Grimes' "Hotel Paradise."
It's nominally a mystery, but the writing was eloquent and the story
was haunting. The publisher's site has an excerpt of it available.

"Hotel Paradise," by Martha Grimes
http://www.randomhouse.com/BB/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0345394259

And since you mentioned The Lovely Bones--that was initially meant to
be a young adult book. In the last few years, the YA titles have
gotten really, really good. I've actually been reading a lot of these
since I took a class in young adult literature and frankly, they are
often as good if not better than what's out there for adults. You
could do worse than to hit that section of your public library or a
bookstore and ask for some title suggestions.

Regards,
Luciaphile-ga