Usually most of the books we choose to read come from the recommendation from friends, family or from reviewing sites. Some of the books we read just because it’s everywhere you look for recommendation and we can’t resist ourselves picking up a copy. Often, we read popular and best-seller books by a popular author; but we don’t really check out other less popular book by those authors. An avid reader would know each novel written by their favorite authors but most of us have not heard about it even.
So here is a list of underrated and less popular book by the famous authors you may not have heard or read.
Kazuo Ishiguro
Most Popular Books: The Remains of the Day; Never Let Me Go
Less Popular Book: An Artist of the Floating World
Most of us fell in love with Ishiguro’s writing through Never Let me Go. It was a hauntingly beautiful story of free will and empty promises. The Book is narrated by Masuji Ono, an ageing painter and set in post-WWII Japan. Masuji looks back on his life and how he has lived it. The main conflict in the book deals with Ono’s need to accept responsibilities for his past actions. The book also deals with the evolving nature of people in rapidly changing environment.
Gabriel García Márquez
Most Popular Books: One Hundred Years of Solitude; Love in the Time of Cholera
Less Popular Book: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
Two hours after wedding, Angela Vicario was dragged back to her parents. The reason was, her husband, Bayardo San Roman, discovered that she’s not a virgin. After beating from her mother, Angela force to reveal the name of the man. Angela’s twin brothers set-off to kill the man to avenge the insult to their family honor. Incorporating with humor and sharp-witted social commentary, this book narrates a plausible situation in a fantastical way.
Jennifer Egan
Most Popular Book: A Visit from the Goon Squad
Less Popular Book: The Invisible Circus
A Visit from the Goon Squad was a bestseller and also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. But do you know which was Jennifer Egan’s debut novel? Yes, Egan’s first book, The Invisible Circus was published in 1995. It’s story of an 18 years old girl Phoebe. She sets off for Italy to discover the place where her dead sister spent her last days. It has also adapted into a movie starring Cameron Diaz released in 2001.
Audrey Niffenegger
Most Popular Book: The Time Traveler’s Wife
Less Popular Book: Her Fearful Symmetry
Published in 2009, Her Fearful Symmetry is a literary ghost story set in London’s Highgate Cemetery. Story revolves around twin sisters, Julia and Valentina, who discover that their aunt died and bequeathed her apartment to them. The apartment was located beside Highgate Cemetery in London. The story jumps between perspectives of the sisters and the aunt, whose ghost still haunts the apartment. The inspiration of title of the novel came from a poem, The Tyger, by an English poet William Blake.
Jonathan Franzen
Most Popular Book: The Corrections; Freedom
Less Popular Book: Strong Motion
Both novels, The Correction (2001) and Freedom (2010), have garnered similar praise for author. It led him to the cover of Time Magazine with the headline “Great American Novelist”. The Strong Motion, published in 1992, was his second book. In book, earthquakes mysteriously hit the American east coast. The earthquakes used as a metaphor for the quakes that occur in the family life of the Hollands. The novel was not a financial success at the time of the publication.
Douglas Adams
Most Popular Book: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy
Less Popular Book: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Published in 1987, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency is a humorous detective novel by Douglas Adams. The author described it as a ‘thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who-dunnit-time-travel-romantic-musical-comedy-epic’. The book features aliens, time travel and murder! The book has a sequel titled The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. Author Douglas Adams unfortunately died before completing The Salmon of Doubt, the third book of the series.
Joseph Heller
Most Popular Book: Catch-22
Less Popular Book: Good as Gold
The novel was well-regarded by fans and literary critics. Similar to satire on army in Catch-22, Good as Gold works as satire on the U.S. government. Published in 1979, the story of novel revolves around Bruce Gold, a Russian-American Jew. Government offered him a chance to be America’s first-ever Jewish Secretary of State. He has to face consequences of this opportunity, such as divorcing his wife and alienating his family.
David Mitchell
Most Popular Book: Cloud Atlas
Less Popular Book: Black Swan Green
If Cloud Atlas was about an individual’s role in the world; then Black Swan Green is about how the world impacts an individual’s life. Black Swan Green is semi-autobiographical book by David Mitchell. It mainly focuses on protagonist’s psychological and moral growth. Published in 2006, this novel has 13 chapters; each represents one month – from January 1982 through January 1983 – in the life of Jason Taylor, a 13-year-old boy. In this book, Mitchell expertly created the world of the awkward teenager.
George Orwell
Most Popular Book: 1984; Animal Farm
Less Popular Book: Coming Up For Air
The story combines premonition of the menacing war with images of a blissful childhood. The novel is pessimistic and depicts that speculative builders, capitalism and commercialism are killing the best of rural England. George Orwell didn’t possess the hopeful view of the future in his books; but he makes us think most of the time.
