a really fabulous fiction book
 

I'm going to Europe this summer for my fourth trip. I've made all my reservations, confirmed my itinerary, I've done all I can do at this point, largely thanks to the comments on this forum. But now what I really need is a book recommendation. I mean I want a thick, fiction, cannot-put-down book that will help me ignore how afraid I am to fly. I mean I want a book that is so good I will be really sorry when it is done. Yes, I've read all the Micheners and DeMilles and Grishams and Crichtons and all that mass market stuff. You are all educated and thoughtful people. Please give me the titles of books that really took your breath away. I'm sure many people could benefit from these suggestions. Please help! I can't wait to see what you come up with. Thanks in advance. Gina

A few books that you might like are: <BR>"The Ground Beneath Her Feet" by Salman Rushdie. Also read "The Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood and "The God of Small Thigns" by Roy Arundahati (sp?). I loved all three of them and they are all in paperback. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip! <BR> <BR>Nan <BR> <BR>

The funniest book I've ever read is Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Read it 3 times and it just gets more enjoyable each time.

Mark Halperin (sp) A Soldier of the Great War.

For big books, try Ahab's Wife by Sena Naslund or Caesar: Let the Dice Fly High by Colleen McCullough. I know--it's history, but she is such a good story teller. They are small, but there are four of them in paperback, English-cozy mysteries by Jeanne Dams with heroine Dorothy Martin. You could read them back to back like eating airline peanuts.

Where in Europe are you going? I always like to read a novel or two relating to the place I am visiting. Also, do you prefer romance, historically-based fiction, mystery, or some other genre? It helps to know because I can name many of my favorites, but they may bore many people to tears.

Thanks for the replies so far, keep 'em coming! I am starting in Germany for the Passion Play in Oberammergau and then continuing to Tuscany and Rome, then to Paris. And yes, I do love historical fiction. I really appreciate this!

Sebasian Faulks- Birdsong and Charlotte Gray <BR> <BR>Charles Frazier- Cold Mountain <BR> <BR>Graham Greene- The Third Man <BR>

Gina, <BR>If you haven't already read She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb, that's the one I'd pick to forget my fear of flying. I've read and enjoyed some of the other books recommended here, but She's Come Undone is the only one that so enthralled me that I forgot my surroundings. <BR> <BR>Aside from that, I have to say that The First Man by Albert Camus is one of my all-time favorite reads: gorgeously written and emotionally compelling, it took my breath away! <BR> <BR>Look them up on Amazon for more details. <BR> <BR>Start either of these the day before your flight so you're totally involved, and you won't be sorry! <BR> <BR>Enjoy the book and your vacation!

The previous poster mentioned Wally Lamb. I actually preferred his "This Much I Know Is True" over "She's Come Undone" and talk about thick!! (I think it is over 900 pages) I loved it and I felt like grieving when I finished it.

I second the "She's Come Undone" nomination, I was reading that one while walking down the street, in the elevator, it was FABULOUS. <BR>I'd add "One True Thing" by Anna Quindlen and also "The Glass Lake" by Maeve Binchy.

Tara Road by Maeve Binchy, The Charm School by Nelson DeMille. Another favorite is The Godfather by Mario Puzo.

I started posting before I'd even read all the replies, because I thought immediately of Sebastian Faulkes' "Birdsong" -- now I see someone else mentioned it; I agree completely! WWI setting in France. Compelling.

CORELLI'S MANDOLIN. <BR> <BR>you will not be able to put this down, trust me. you will want a LONGER flight to be able to finish it. It is about 400+ pages... I found myself still absorbed in it, even as we were landing & people were milling about getting their stuff. <BR> <BR>and I love to fly - I wasn't trying to escape anything. <BR> <BR>It is set in WWII Greece, and you will want to pack your bags and go there, post haste. I have not yet made my plans (I just finished it last month) but a friend of mine who read it while traveling purposely changed some of his plans to go to Kefallonia (Cephallonia) <BR> <BR>You will laugh, you will cry. I did both on the plane while reading this (and didn't even care if anyone was looking). <BR> <BR>DO NOT HESITATE. run to the store right now and buy this book. look at amazon.com if you don't believe my testimony. <BR> <BR>Beth

Anything by Trevanian <BR> <BR>Brother Cadfael stories <BR> <BR>Simenon anthology <BR> <BR>Scarlet Pimpernel <BR> <BR>Three Musketeers <BR> <BR>

Dear Gina, <BR> <BR>If you like history-based mystery, you will enjoy Steven Saylor's Gordianus series: The setting is ancient Rome at the end of the republic and they reflect life in the city quite truthfully. <BR> <BR>I enjoyed the novels enormously and have even tried to find the scenes when I was staying in Rome last year (at the very least, I found the domus aurea). <BR> <BR>Start with "Roman blood" and go on with "the arms of nemesis". <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip <BR> <BR>Phil.

I tend to lean more toward the "classics" than any other type, so here are a few recommendations. <BR> <BR>France <BR> <BR>Germinal - Emile Zola - unless reading about claustrophobic mines hits too close to home while sitting in your plane seat <BR> <BR>The Red and the Black - Stendahl <BR> <BR>Sentimental Education - Gustave Flaubert - a socially relevant romance <BR> <BR>Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert - you probably already know this one <BR> <BR>The American - Henry James (actually American of course) - story of an American businessman in Paris (1870s I think) who plans to marry a woman from a noble French family. Much of Paris, especially the Louvre, is included in the book. A lot about the clash of cultures and social classes. A touch of mystery too. This would be my pick of the list. <BR> <BR>Germany <BR> <BR>Buddenbrooks - story of an important merchant family - I think it was set in Hamburg. <BR> <BR>Hermann Hesse - Siddhartha - German author but Indian setting with a young man trying to find enlightenment - not a particularly big book though <BR> <BR> <BR>Also, how about a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories? <BR> <BR> <BR>

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood--I haven't laughed and cried so much over a book in a long, long time. It's on the thin side but you might be ready to start over once you finish it. Has nothing whatsoever to do with Europe, but it's a wonderful book.

My favorite travel fiction has been the literate English mysteries by Elizabeth George. They are really more like novels with wonderful character development and plotting.

Gina, <BR> <BR>I can't compete with the fine recommendations already given, but I have two page-turners that I have read and given as gifts. Each time, I get a phone call shortly thereafter indicating that the recipient loved the book. Unfortunately, they are not fiction, but they are still great. <BR> <BR>The first is "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer (?). It is the true story of a Mt. Everest climb. I read it cover to cover from 9:00 p.m. to about 4:00 a.m. Fascinating! <BR> <BR>The second is Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt. Funny and sad at the same time. <BR> <BR>Thanks for a wonderful post.

Sorry, the author of Buddebrooks is Thomas Mann. <BR> <BR>I found a great site when someone asked a question like this a year or so ago. It is www.galleyslaves.com. You can get lists of books by country.

This is wonderful! Thanks so much! Many of the suggestions are for books I've already read but hopefully other people will benefit. I agree, Birdsong, I Know This Much is True, The Charm School, Angela's Ashes, and Into Thin Air, and Cold Mountain are just fabulous reading. Coincidentally, someone just gave me the suggestion of Corelli's Mandolin so I just bought it. All Maeve Binchy's are good for getting deeply absorbed. Many of you have suggested books I've never heard of so I will check on those via Amazon. I just appreciate this so much. Keep the titles coming!

'Girl with the Pearl Earring' by <BR>Tracy Chevalier and 'Girl in Hyacinth Blue' by Susan Vreeland. - great if you love art and art history - fact and fiction mingled together. <BR> <BR>Both of these novels relate to the artist Johannes Vermeer - a Dutch painter who only painted 35-40 pieces over his lifetime. The 2nd book I listed fictitiously traces a painting he did from present day back to when it was painted - wonderful book with each chapter being different depending on the owner of the painting. <BR> <BR>Also - anything by Peter Mayle, esp. if you are heading to France! A great flight read. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip - thanks for asking this too as I have a long flight to Australia in 3 weeks and will be selecting some of these titles! One I've already picked up, by the way, is 'A Walk in the Woods'. Forget who the author is, but hear wonderful things about it - about hiking the App. Trail.

I second the suggestion for the wonderful nove, A Soldier in the Great War by Mark Halperin. It is wonderous and very fine, a good companion to where you are going, Gina. I cannot suggest it strongly enough--to all of you!

Gina, I wa so glad to read Beth's recommendation of Corelli's Mandolin, and that you have bought it; this is one of my all-time favorite, "stays-with-you-when-you're-through" books and I have literally insisted that several people read it. Perservere through the history at the beginning, and you will become completely absorbed! <BR> <BR>Another one no one has yet mentioned that had a similar effect on me was A Widoe for One Year, by John Irving. I've read many of his books, but this is the only one I literally couldn't put down, and which stayed with me the rest of the day after I finished it. It's very emotionally affeting, in a similar way to I Know This Much Is True, albeit with a different kind of story. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip!

Just out of interest, is it marketed as "Corelli's Mandolin" in the US? Here it's "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" It is, of course set in Cephalonia, bu hey, who cares? <BR> <BR>Three other non German/ French books are Nicholas Evans's "The Loop", Anita Shreve- "The Pilot's Wife" and "Antartica-a novel" by Kim Stanley Robinson. And I just remembered how much I liked "The Shipping News" by Annie Proux, tho' I've never been able to finish anything else she wrote. For classics try Dickens's Tale of two Cities or Victor Hugo "Hunchback of Notre Dame"

Sheila, yeah, it's Corelli's Mandolin in the US and appears to be Captain Corelli's Mandolin everywhere else. BTW, I read somewhere that a movie is being made of it...

What a great thread. And so many I agree with. Yes, to Elizabeth George. (I am partial to page-turning mysteries on long flights). Also Ludlum in his earlier years. A year ago, I bought Bridgette's Diary in Heathrow and finished it as we touched down in Houston, and that was with a nap and a movie, too. Peter Mayle is good, I agree, especially if you go to France. Try also some of his "caper" mysteries. If you are going to Italy, read Sixteen Pleasures It gives you insight into the great flood of Florence as well as the science of bookbinding. Go to Amazon.com and search with some key words. A great pageturner, whose title alas is neither in my memory or my bookshelf, has to do with the battle between the Sforzas and the Estes. Do a search, if you are interested, with Italy and history and fiction. <BR> <BR>Hey folks, keep 'em coming. I am getting all sorts of ideas. <BR> <BR>Karen

There are so many books that I love, but the one I HAVE to recommend is the one that accompanied me through every mile of my 6-week-long second trip to Europe: The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay. It's about an English boy growing up in South Africa under apartheid, and it was one of the most transporting reading experiences I've ever had. I bought it almost immediately upon arriving in London, and toted it with me through long train rides throughout eight countries. I can't count the number of times while reading it I would look up from the book, out the train window, unable to believe I wasn't actually in South Africa. There was something profound about travelling to new and wonderful places, and at the same time travelling in my mind to yet another place even more distant. I couldn't put it down, and when I was done, my boyfriend (who was travelling with me) read it cover to cover as well, and sometimes we would even read particularly lovely passages out loud to each other. <BR> <BR>I don't have the boyfriend any more, but that beloved and bedraggled paperback is still on my shelf. It meets all your criteria: THICK, FICTION, and CANNOT- PUT-IT-DOWN.

Try Marge Piercy's Gone to Soldiers -- her finest work and too often overlooked. It's historical fiction about the lives of those NOT at the front during WW 2, so it's not about the evil enemy or combat but rather about people's lives in an extraordinary period -- mostly but not exclusively American women. <BR>

gina, <BR>I'll be the third one to recommend Halprin's "Soldier of the Great War," a great novel with *gripping* scenes. I also recommend Normal Mailer's "Harlot's Ghost" and anything anything anything at all by John LeCarre (LeCarre's stuff may not be long, but it's e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y good stuff, so buy two). <BR>s

Great recommendations so far! <BR> <BR>Going along with Dan, when on travel I favored fiction related to the destination. So, I would recommend 'Stones from the River' by Ursula Hegi, 'Perfume" by Patrick Suskind (somewhat dark, but fascinating), 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco, and/or 'The Pillars of the Earth' by Ken Follett. <BR> <BR>For enthralling reading anything by Ellis Peters and Barbara Vine (also writes under Ruth Rendell). <BR> <BR>Right now I am reading 'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver. Absolutely fascinating, absorbing epic story of a missionary family in the 1960's Congo. Incredibly compelling.

I'm on an Italian jag -- recommend Galileo's Daughter and Ian Pear's art history mysteries -- latest in paperpack is Giatto's Hand.

My absolute favorite piece of fiction: One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ( he also wrote Love in the Time of Cholera). <BR>Sophie's World - Jostein Gaarder. <BR> <BR>Currently working through "The Italians", essays by Luigi Barzini. I just finished the YaYa Sisterhood, a light read but very funny. Just to let you know, there is a very nice bookstore in Florence, the name of the street escapes me. Across from the Prada boutique, down from Gucci, etc.

I have to put this out there (at the risk of revealing my apparent juvenile taste in literature) - the Harry Potter books are an incredibly absorbing read. Each time a new one comes out, I try to arrange my time so that I can read as much as possible (I have a full-time job and a full-time 4 year-old, so it can be challenging :-)). There are three in the series so far, all available in paperback I believe. They would be great for a long plane ride.

Great idea for a post! Thanks for the question Gina. I've loved reading the suggestions here and plan to look for some of those books myself. <BR> <BR>If you like historical fiction, and since you're going to Paris, try Sandra Gulland's trilogy about the life of Josephine Bonaparte. They are written as a series of fictional diary entries from Josephine. The first book begins when she is 14 years old on the island of Martinique, follows her to Paris, through the French Revolution, and ends with her marriage to Napoleon. The second book begins the day after their wedding, relates Napoleon's rise to power, his military campaigns, and finally his overthrow of the revolutionary government. Haven't read the third book yet (don't think it's out yet) but am really looking forward to it. They are not thick books, but they were engrossing for me. The book titles are "The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B." and "Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe." <BR> <BR>Another suggestion is "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose, about the 18th century Lewis & Clark expedition. And, although you've probably already read it, my vote for all time favorite historical fiction is still "Gone With the Wind." Now that's a thick one!

I had forgotton about Sophie's World--even though it's in my bookshelf! A nice tour of western philosophy wrapped up in a mystery, and not hard to read at all.

Wendy -- I just wanted you to know that you are not the only juvenile out there. Harry Potter was an absolute godsend on a long flight on a trip that I didn't particularly want to take (family obligation). Completely absorbing and escapist. I was going to mention it as soon as I saw this thread, but I guess I embarass more easily than you do! My latest reading at home, I hasten to add, has been T.C. Smout's (sounds like a Harry Potter character, doesn't he?) A History of the Scottish People, which is a classic of social history, but I find that on a plane I do better with something a bit less, er, academic.

Gina, <BR> <BR>What Fun!!! Boy do you have everyone going. I like to take along several different types of books for various moods...1. Ken Follets' Pillars of the Earth (historical novel set in middle ages focusing on the construction of the cathedral.) 2. EM Forrester..Where Agels Fear to Tread...small book set in Italy..wonderful. 3. The Magus by John Folkes (I think that's his last name.) Really good page turner. I'm so jealous of your fabulous trip. Have fun.

I dreamed of Africa - a movie has been made, which I have not seen but I loved the book. Barbara Kingslover's books are great. I love this post!