What books are you surprised more people haven't read? I'll get started with Joe Haldman's Forever War. It seems like such a strong honest story of war, good and bad and indifferent, that it seems like it would have a bigger following.
While the truest answer is my own (I mean, seriously, come on, they're funny and insightful and complex, and I wish I didn't have to resort to braggadocio to convince you), in the wider world I'll say Will Christopher Baer. He's fairly popular around these parts—a writer's writer—but he should be huge, with his disturbing neo-noir unreliable-narrator swagger.
Steve Erickson's the next one who comes to mind, with his dreamlike plotting and surreal cityscapes. That sounds like the kind of thing I'd hate, but he's a master, and underread.
I thought William Gay would be bigger than he was, especially given the rise in popularity of southern gothic. Though they did adapt one of his books, so maybe he was more widely known than I thought.
I would say Paul Quarrington, one of my top 5 authors ever. I assume that in Canada he is more well known, but even people there seem to have never heard of him. Maybe in like, Toronto he might be known by more than a handful of people.
I agree wholeheartedly with Gordon. In fact, my roommate works at a used bookstore and I got him to read the first two Phineas novels, and now he is ordering them for the store.
I would add: Nathaniel West's Miss Lonelyhearts.
Miss Lonelyhearts was pretty good.
But, (not to throw a wrench) I'm not surprised that any particular book isn't read more. There are a ton of books out there. It's more surprising when a book becomes so widely read they do a news story on it. A book going mostly unnoticed seems to be the norm, even for good ones.
It's only surprising when said book hasn't been on Oprah, or The Guardian, or NPR, or what have you... These certain books tend to be acknowledged only after the author has died, or by some sort of black magic. A cult following.
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
I am always blown away when people not only haven't read "Giovanni's Room", but have no clue who James Baldwin is. In a time when gay rights are making important strides and are even somewhat fashionable, this should be a go-to book. It's written beautifully and has a gorgeous pace and feel to it.
Many, many books. From Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk (which discernibly changed my life) to The Informers by Bret Easton Ellis (which I thought was as good as Less Than Zero honestly) to a couple of Tom Spanbauer books (Faraway Places is a gem of a novella, and Now is the Hour left me stunned).
Most recent one though is Dermaphoria by Craig Clevenger, which I just finished the other day and am already rereading. Whenever a book pulls itself off so masterfully, it leaves me feeling kind of drunk or something. Dermaphoria left me wanting to explode! I'm surprised it didn't make more waves outside of like this community. I'd never even heard of it until LitReactor.
@Churtward
Oh man, kudos for naming Hempel! I love her collected short stories book!
Hempel's collection is my desert-island choice. Well, honestly, that would be my Kindle with a solar charger (and containing several survival titles), but you know what I mean.
Every coupla months I re-check it out at the library. What I love most about it is that it's this massive book of short short stories, so everytime I have it, flip it open while sitting on the can or bus or whatever, BOOM there's a new gem by Hempel. Her work has more layers than I can even process, in such small spaces.
