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I mean, I am in literary awe of what John Irving did with A Prayer for Owen Meany. However, even though I find it a more flawed work, I get more satisfaction from his The World According to Garp. An artistic endeavor is a subjective thing that cannot be meaningfully quantified, and I cannot think of a single work that I love above all others.
Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian and The Road would certainly join Irving's works on my short list. Bowles' The Sheltering Sky would as well. Stephen King's The Shining might, too, along with lesser-appreciated novels, such as Trevanian's The Summer of Katya and Incident at Twenty-Mile.
But I still think 'my favorites' is more accurate than 'best'.
I'm not sure if Exodus was a novel, or historical fiction, or what, but anyway, it was the first "grown up book" I ever read, and I think I read it twice.
Not really a novel, but a series The Malazan Book of the Fallen which is an epic fantasy series with a huge cast and a massive plot. What ultimately sells it to me though beyond the world building is the philosophy and the focus on the human condition at both the personal and national level.
The book I go back to over and over again throughout the years is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.
The story is suspenseful and the characters superbly crafted. I first read it when I was probably 14 years old and I loved it just for the tale, but in subsequent readings I have found the author's writing to be masterful, not only in the gripping story line, lyrical use of language, and well delineated characters, but in how she creates atmosphere by her lush descriptions of the natural surroundings.
I would have to say "PHANTOMS" By Dean Koontz. I have read it about 6 times over the years. Despite the title, it has nothing to do with ghosts. But it is one of the most inventive supernatural horror stories i ever read
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