+ Which books are grossly underrated and have the most fleshed out characters?

Not really looking for any thrillers, but literature with heart. Very touching stuff like Ask the Dust, Narcissus and Goldmund, or The Jungle.

+ Which books are grossly underrated and have the most fleshed out characters?
Books that grab the soul and won't let go? I can't say they're underrated or that you'll hold them as closely as I do, but I can give you two of the best in my opinion





The Night Trilogy-- Elie Wiesel


Yes, Oprah blew up The Night which is the first book in this collection, but, though it was a touching biography, I don't think it can be read without the other two accompanying it.


The other two books in it, Dawn and The Accident, are about one man trying to deal with "life after death." I find The Accident the most touching as a man is hit by a car and he faces a long time in the hospital, contemplating life, death, existance, and the overwhelming question in his head-- was being his just an accident?





The Chosen-- Chaim Potok


I found this at a bookstore about a week ago and finally had the chance to pick it up and read. I'll admit I'm only on the fourth chapter, not even a quarter into the book, but less than a quarter through it, it has already been embedded deep into my mind and I don't think I'll be able to let it go when I'm finished.
Reply:I love A Separate Peace, To Kill a Mockingbird, altho' they are not underrated; they are excellent and I think about them 45 years later.
Reply:One book I really loved, but is not well known, was Susan Straight's first novel, I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots. Talk about bringing a character to life!


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385470...





Really amazing for a first novel. I haven't liked any of her books since as much--in the next book she moved some of the same characters from NC to LA, and it wasn't the same for me. I recently heard an interview with her about her new book, A Million Nightingales, on NPR (I think it was). I wasn't crazy about that book, but it does at least show that her writing is now getting positive critical attention.





You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I believe I'll read that book again!
Reply:"The New Centurians" and "Choirboys" by Joseph Wambaugh. Really from the heart and, because he was so intimately familiar with the complex nature of the kind of personality that chooses police work, dead on in creating realistic characters that were both flawed and heroic. Unfortunately, when Hollywood discovered him, it seemed to forever corrupt his narrative soul. Bummer.
Reply:"A Suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth





Loved it. Love it. Will always love it. A family story with depth and meat and I believe those charactes are still out there living their lives...
Reply:I think Joyce Carol Oates novel "Beasts" is one of those books whose characters grip your heartstrings. One of my favorite quotes "Go for the jugular!"
Reply:Um....maybe Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons...it sort of drags toward the end though.





One of the ones that really grabbed me is The Timetraveller's Wife. That was a good one.





A good kids one is The Forgotten Door. It could be read by an adult in a couple of hours, but it is amazing!