posted December 04, 1999 09:30 AM            

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Stone Junction by Jim Dodge, a very invisible story.

And something completely different and very old fashioned but utterly existential 'A Fearful Joy' by Joyce Carey

Or a childrens book with big Echoes
'The Sword in The Stone' by TH White. It makes the existence of the Disney Film look like human rights abuse.

All these books have warmed and informed my life.

posted December 04, 1999 12:50 PM            

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'Sleeping in Flame' by Jonathan Carroll.

'Hermetech' by Storm Constantine.

(Wonders whether to post this then thinks 'what the hell')
'Cry to Heaven' by Anne Rice.

posted December 04, 1999 01:59 PM            

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Paul Bowles--the novel The Sheltering Sky or some of the short tories, especially "A Distant Episode."

They'll give you clarity, for sure. Mind you, though, you might not like what you see...

posted December 05, 1999 11:10 PM            

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Sometimes a Great Notion, by Ken Kesey. If it seems too hard to read the first time, put it down, give it a month, then try again. It's worth the effort.

This is the Great American Novel.

Oh - also stuff by John Irving or Joseph Heller leaves a certain clarity within.

m.

posted December 06, 1999 10:04 PM            

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Martin Amis's London Fields.

Anything by Will Self.

posted December 06, 1999 11:14 PM            

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Oh, and Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann.

m.

posted December 07, 1999 12:32 AM            

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Tread lightly, Jackie. Argue the work on its merit, if you must, but let's not go slagging people on matters of taste. Taste is a matter of... well... taste. And, as the saying goes, there is no accounting for that thing. Accept that. If you must "lose it," do so off-line.

Don't make threats in this Library. Let's be kind to each other.

posted December 07, 1999 05:17 PM            

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Dammit, Smith, I was going to say The Dharma Bums. I find it lifts my spirits and centers me when I let life get away from me.

Also, for a Robert Anton Wilson newbie, I'd skip Illuminatus and head straight for The Cosmic Trigger. It will blow your mind.

posted December 07, 1999 05:23 PM            

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I didn't see if anybody else here mentioned them, but try the Cosmic Trigger Series by R.A. Wilson.

Remarkably eye-opening stuff, 1 & 2 are better than 3, in my opinion.

posted December 08, 1999 12:33 AM            

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eh, I don't know anything about no moments of clarity, but for sheer writerly brilliance and the highest per-page ratio of drop-the-book-stare-at-the-ceiling-and-marvel-at-use-of-the-English-language moments, try Vladimir Nabakov. My favorite is _Ada, or Ardor_, but you can't go wrong with his later, English-original stuff. _Lolita_, _Pale Fire_ (this year's model for writing school students, I'm told, _Pnin_, _Look at the Harlequins_, etc. All great stuff.

For strictly pyrotechnic and gymnastic reasons, Mark Leyner is the funniest man alive. Try his latest, _The Tetherballs of Bougainville_. It's absolutely hilarious.

Of course, the funniest book I've read all year was... Marylin Manson's Autobiography!!!! I got a copy from the Barnes and Noble bargain book section (anything from bargain books is reccomendable. I've gotten Rushkoff, Colin Wilson, Terrence McKenna, and too many other queer things to mention). The best part about the Manson book was that it was a used LIBRARY copy!!! Some poor librarian in Connecticut ordered Mr. Manson's book for god knows what reason. And now the kids can no longer check it out. Oh well.

posted December 08, 1999 03:25 AM            

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i'll second -- or, i guess third -- Robert Anton Wilson's Cosmic Trigger. the gee whiz and "whoa" factors in this crazy book are pretty high. especially if yr the type who walks around thinking that odd coincidences in yr life are of dire importance. and it'll make you "believe" in beings from the future/other dimensions, if you don't already. and then it'll make you throw the word "beleive" right out of yr lingu-closet.

ALSO -- and i wonder if anyone else has dealt with this book -- "You Bright And Risen Angels," by William Volman, is extraordinarily mind boggling. really a mind boggling piece. anyone else on that one?

posted December 08, 1999 05:06 AM            

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Books by Australian author Janet Turner-Hospital, particularly "The Last Magician" are quite breathtaking. Also "Leaning Towards Infinity", by Sue Woolfe (also australian) is good - about an amateur mathematician who discovers a new type of number.

m.

posted December 09, 1999 01:28 AM            

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Oh, anyone who has read the RAW canon should check out Martin Gardner's "Fads and Fallacies" for the "other side" of General Semantics, Reich, and a whole bunch of other heresies. Gardner is a mathematician famous for Scientific American Columns (Continued by the fabulous Doug Hofstader), an annotated edition of Alice in Wonderland (which I believe has just entered a new, updated printing), and other books about science including one that influenced Nabakov's last book.

I say this not to take the piss out of anyone who is a ferevent RAW fan, but it's always good to read a critical and well thought argument against theories that might make a lot of sense intuitively and artistically but perhaps less so scientifically.

posted December 10, 1999 04:15 AM            

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"My God, Watson! Do you know what this is?!"
Holmes was holding the ancient book in his shaking hands and looking at me with an excited, paranoid look.
"This is the

gsgsgadtadg+6+9+217*B OÍ+fm}ʤ+

posted December 10, 1999 08:46 AM            

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That kinda reminds me:

The Necronomicon by that funloving arab Abdul Alhazerad!

Dont know about moments of clarity , but you'll never sleep again!