What's the most well-written book you've ever read?

Asked by David Perell

What's the most well-written book you've ever read?

Save
Share on Twitter Copy link
In his journal, Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck called East of Eden “the first book,” and indeed it has the primordial power and simplicity of myth. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the
www.goodreads.com
Charles Miller 2mos

East of Eden Though not my favorite author, Steinbeck is the best writer I’ve ever read

Nick Kennedy 2mos

East of Eden. As a bonus we can also read his journal he wrote while writing East of Eden. It’s called Journal of a novel. It is quite a treat to get into Steinbecks head and very meta.

Adam Knorr 2mos

Grapes of Wrath. Alternatively, East of Eden, although I’m late to the comment party on that one. Steinbeck is just a master of prose. Incredibly vivid.

For readers of Atul Gawande, Andrew Solomon, and Anne Lamott, a profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir by a young neurosurgeon faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis who attempts to answer the question 'What makes a life worth living?' At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a
www.amazon.com
Akpevweoghene 2mos

Currently reading When Breath becomes Air. There's something about memoirs, but Paul Kalanithi is such a fine writer.

Kyle Brennan 2mos

I'm only halfway through but Paul Kalanithi's writing in When Breath Becomes Air is phenomenal

Blood Meridian is an epic novel of the violence and depravity that attended America's westward expansion, brilliantly subverting the conventions of the Western novel and the mythology of the Wild West. Based on historical events that took place on the Texas-Mexico border in the 1850s, it traces the
www.goodreads.com
Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here This short novel, already a modern classic, is the superbly told, tragic story of a Cuban fisherman in the Gulf Stream and the giant Marlin he kills and loses—specifically referred to in the citation accompanying the author's Nobel Pr
www.goodreads.com
Web 2mos

Old Man & the Sea. Not a wasted word

Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what mi
www.goodreads.com
Debasmita 2mos

All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr Plot aside, that book has incredibly easy but beautiful writing, not too basic, not extravagant or verbose. Just perfect.

Alexandra Allen 2mos

All the light we cannot see. It’s both gripping and poetic, beautiful and sad.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission--and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he
www.goodreads.com
Melissa Horine 2mos

Project Hail Mary has been a really fun audio book!

From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, brin
www.amazon.com
Michael Yules 2mos

Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles, since you already mentioned Shantaram! It’s more than the writing which is beautiful, but also the structure. Loved hearing from Amor on this podcast too

Rajiv Khaneja 2mos

A Gentleman in Moscow. Beautiful use of the english language.

The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich Karamazov and his three sons―the impulsive and sensual Dmitri; the coldly rational Ivan; and the healthy,
www.goodreads.com
Recommended by Luis A and Nasar
The brilliant, bestselling, landmark novel that tells the story of the Buendia family, and chronicles the irreconcilable conflict between the desire for solitude and the need for love—in rich, imaginative prose that has come to define an entire genre known as "magical realism."
www.goodreads.com
Luis A 2mos

In Spanish, surely One Hundred Years of Solitude and in English, The Satanic Verses.

Nasar 2mos

Talking about fiction, it would either be To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf or One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Exquisite is the word. Flawless comes to mind too.

Recommended by Alex Norman and Pasha Serves
Alternate Cover Edition ISBN: 0743273567 (ISBN13: 9780743273565) The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story is of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsb
www.goodreads.com
Pasha Serves 2mos

One of the most well-written books I've ever read: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It's a classic that has stood the test of time. It is still widely read and studied today. The writing is beautiful and evocative. The characters and themes are timeless.

Middlesex tells the breathtaking story of Calliope Stephanides, and three generations of the Greek-American Stephanides family, who travel from a tiny village overlooking Mount Olympus in Asia Minor to Prohibition-era Detroit, witnessing its glory days as the Motor City and the race riots of 1967 be
www.goodreads.com
too many lizards 2mos

Middlesex - beautiful story about immigration, gender, social classes

Recommended by Felix and Kyle Brennan
Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game
www.goodreads.com
Felix 2mos

I'd recommend F.Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" as the best one I've ever read!

Load More
Personalize your experience

Join our community of people discovering and sharing the best content out there.

Sign in with Twitter