Reddit reviews The Moviegoer

Well, my favorites are

The Moviegoer

The Road

A Confederacy of Dunces

Rendezvous with Rama

Watchmen

Snow Crash

Slaughterhouse-Five

Cat's Cradle

The Big Sleep

The Maltese Falcon

American Gods

A Clockwork Orange

Preacher

Fahrenheit 451

1984

Akira

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Lolita

Love in the Time of Cholera

Naked Lunch

Animal Farm

The Sandman

At the Mountains of Madness

The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Tales

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Brave New World

We

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

I don't remember what I read that finally made me understand that writing was called "great" for a reason. But Gatsby is something I think you learn to appreciate later in life, after time has passed and emotional costs maybe have risen. It's an endless mystery to me why it's often taught in high school (other than because it's short), as there's just no way teenagers could understand the loss that hides between the lines in that book.

Other books sometimes you have to read in the context of their times, as sometimes they speak of things that weren't spoken before but have been examined in detail since.

Also, sometimes you're just not ready for books. For instance, the first time I tried to read Catch-22 in my early 20s, I just was not interested. But I tried again last year (never mind how many years later) and LOVED IT. Maybe because I'd been out in the business world a while, maybe observed people's behavior, who knows.

Your mention of it does remind me though of a book I've recommended to others, A Confederacy of Dunces. It's got a heartbreaking story of lost potential behind its publication, but I've never met anyone who's read it who didn't think it was marvelous.

Also, because of his involvement in the publication of Toole's book, I should mention Walker Percy. The Moviegoer was his first, but The Second Coming or Lancelot may be his best.

Also, you might want to try reading James Jones. He only finished the two novels, but boy were they doozies.

Bottom line: great writing is out there, and it has enriched my life so much, I can't even say how much I appreciate it. But it does sometimes have to be hunted down.

Walker Percy's The Moviegoer

Images: My Life in Film(Bergman)

The Hammer Story

Beautiful Dark

Random books off the top of my head...

'The Movie Goer'

The Boy Who Was Raised as a Girl

Gang Leader for a Day

Ender's Game series

Pre-order Mindy Kaling's book