Basically what the title says: Is there any fiction book you’ve ever read that has emotionally or intellectually connected with you so much it changed the way you viewed the world, changed the way you viewed yourself or changed the way you viewed life (your own or in general)?
If so…
- What book was it?
- Why did it connect so well with you?
- How did it make you feel?
- And how did it change you?
Just to emphasize, I’m solely asking about works of fiction here. So nothing like reading just an academic book on philosophy or a self-help book or something.
"It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured. I realised, somehow, through the screaming of my mind, that even in that shackled, bloody helplessness, I was still free: free to hate the men who were torturing me, or to forgive them. It doesn’t sound like much, I know. But in the flinch and bite of the chain, when it’s all you’ve got, that freedom is an universe of possibility. And the choice you make between hating and forgiving, can become the story of your life.”
- Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
- I reread it in a secondhand bookstore while tripping on LSD, and it dawned on me that the first paragraph (above) was something I needed to internalize.
- I wept, having realized that I had to forgo the path of hateful vengeance which I had been spiraling down for years. I have not yet attained the grace necessary to forgive, but I have at least turned away from hate.
- I didn’t murder a woman-beating rapist former friend of mine and go to prison.
Solaris by Stanislav Lem. Changed how I view myself and the world and the things beyond our comprehension
Catch 22. Made me see a lot of things in a different light.
Reading that before and during basic training was a formative experience.
Same
Animal Farm
spoiler
!for me it was when the horse does so much hard work and then hurts his back (or legs) and then gets sent to the slaghterhouse - is told that they sent him to retirement or somthing.!<
The celestine Prophecy was a interesting read with a few follow up books on insights of life in general.
The Fall by Camus
The Dispossessed by Ursula K Le Guin, close runner up would be Ice by Anna Kavan
In agree, as my username shows.
I re-read The Farthest Shore during the first summer of the pandemic, just when everyone was realizing that there would be no easing up or return to normalcy in a few months. My thesis project had become impossible to complete, I was questioning dropping out of school, my summer camp job that Iiked very much had been canceled, and there was absolutely nothing for me to do but hang out and take psychedelic drugs with my equally depressed and anxious friends.
I know many people don’t like TFS as much as the other books in the series. I’ve read reviews where people complain that they’re unable to connect with the plot or the characters.
They’re just stupid, honestlyI think they weren’t or haven’t processed depression or existential anxiety like that book presents, but it was exactly what I needed in that moment. It was like Ged was speaking to me directly, addressing my thoughts and affirming to me that my feelings were okay. The metaphor of magic being forgotten for depression is so powerful and effective, and paralleled so well with the unfolding tragedy and apathy that the pandemic brought on. I recommend it to anyone dealing with depression, hopelessness, or coping with feelings about confronting death, of yoursef or of a loved one.Piggybacking on this, for me it was the earthsea series.
East of Eden when Samuel said “I bet you think you’re so large and tragic” or something similar. I think it made me take the reins of my own happiness, because I think happiness is every little choice you make in a day. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself just starting choosing better for yourself. Sorry if that’s preachy. it’s not my favorite steinbeck but it’s a super solid story. Cheers guys
I read this part some days ago and felt a little called out lol it’s a great book
Many, here are a few.
- The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
- Dr. Faustus… by Thomas Mann
- The General in his Labyrinth by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
- The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati
- Snow by Orhan Pamuk
- Mao II by Don Delillo
- The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
- The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
- Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman
Death of Ivan ilyich
Everyone one could with reading this as a young person.
There was a book called Nobody’s Boy. Sans Famille in French. It was a book about a boy who lived happily with his mother. Then one day a man showed up and his mom said it was his dad. The man didn’t like him and sold him. Turned out he wasn’t their biological son.
Why did it connect so well with me?
I was a boy living happily with my mom. Then a man showed up. My dad. He didn’t like me. He abused me and wanted to get rid of me. For years I didn’t dare to go anywhere alone with him because I feared he would sell me. There were nights I cried myself to sleep for fear that I wouldn’t see my mother again.
I told my high school English teacher I wanted a book with angst, so he told me to read Crime and Punishment.
I’d never read a book that was a classic and over a century old that gave me so much catharsis. I related to Raskolnikov’s anxiety, I needed Razumikhin’s humor, I loved Dounia’s independence, and Sonia’s grace. The villains made me rage and the heroes gave me hope.
He was a great teacher.
My first Dostoyevsky book too. I have now read them all. The idiot in my opinion is even move human with its zany cast of insane millionaires. Nastasia is such a well written broken person it is amazing. The brother kazamarov is no different with the amazing contrast between the different brothers. Alyosha is my favourite fictional character ever written hands down. Notes from the underground and winter nights are honourable mentions as well.
Demons though. Yeah. And if you want a 10 ish page bullshit story read Bobok by him as well.
The wonderful thing about Dostoyevsky and many writers from the past is that they still are great teachers. And that’s a heck of a legacy. Wondering how long their teachings will remain valuable and worthwhile…
I used to joke that the one condition I had for anyone who wanted to marry me was that they must have read that book and liked it.
My wife hasn’t read it, but that’s another story. It’s still my absolute favourite book from one of my favourite classic Russian novelists.
A Thousand Splendid Suns: made me reconsider how I view and handle my estranged relationship with my mom.
Pillars of the Earth: Aliena’s storyline resonated with me and I was compelled by her ability to overcome significant trials and setbacks. Silly as it may sound, I think of her storyline when I need a little encouragement in my own life.
Till We Have Faces: challenged my view of spirituality and religion significantly, to the point of pushing me away from agnosticism and nudging me towards religion.
Breakfast of Champions, my intro to Vonnegut, but it’s the sum of his work that affected me. His humor and his humanism cured my existential crisis. He helped me make peace with humanity; to fear it, to pity it, and most of all to laugh at it.
I grew up in a religious Catholic home. None of it ever made any sense to me. What I was hearing simply didn’t match what I was seeing in the world. One of my older brothers had a copy of Breakfast of Champions sitting around, and I read it. Completely blew my mind. Finally, here was someone speaking in an honest way about the way the world really is. Totally life changing for me.
Circus world.