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Books That Go off on Long Tangents

Since the 18th century, a steady-growing literary technique slowly began to take hold of the collective imagination of astute, post-modern readers: the unnecessary tangent. That's where the narrator, in order to flesh out the world and characters of the book, suddenly spends an excess of several pages ranting about some trivial topic that distracts from the thrust of the main narrative. It's tedious, it's tiring, but there's a method in the madness... sometimes.
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The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
1
J.D. Salinger
Lolita (Vladimir Nabokov)
Lolita
2
Vladimir Nabokov
War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy)
War and Peace
3
Leo Tolstoy
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Mark Haddon)
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
4
Mark Haddon
Moby Dick (Herman Melville)
Moby Dick
5
Herman Melville
Bridget Jones's Diary (Helen Fielding)
Bridget Jones's Diary
6
Helen Fielding
The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
The Bell Jar
7
Sylvia Plath
American Psycho (Bret Easton Ellis)
American Psycho
8
Bret Easton Ellis
Ulysses (James Joyce)
Ulysses
9
James Joyce
The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
The Name of the Wind
10
Patrick Rothfuss
House of Leaves (Mark Z. Danielewski)
House of Leaves
11
Mark Z. Danielewski
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
Life of Pi
12
Yann Martel
Infinite Jest (David Foster Wallace)
Infinite Jest
13
David Foster Wallace
Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie)
Midnight's Children
14
Salman Rushdie
Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
Les Miserables
15
Victor Hugo
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
The Sound and the Fury
16
William Faulkner
A Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin)
A Game of Thrones
17
George R.R. Martin
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Hunter S. Thompson)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
18
Hunter S. Thompson
A Confederacy of Dunces (John Kennedy Toole)
A Confederacy of Dunces
19
John Kennedy Toole
Like Water for Chocolate (Laura Esquivel)
Like Water for Chocolate
20
Laura Esquivel
Room (Emma Donoghue)
Room
21
Emma Donoghue
Gravity's Rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
Gravity's Rainbow
22
Thomas Pynchon
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
Atlas Shrugged
23
Ayn Rand
Bleak House (Charles Dickens)
Bleak House
24
Charles Dickens
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Muriel Spark)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
25
Muriel Spark
Finnegans Wake (James Joyce)
Finnegans Wake
26
James Joyce
Absalom, Absalom! (William Faulkner)
Absalom, Absalom!
27
William Faulkner
The White Tiger (Aravind Adiga)
The White Tiger
28
Aravind Adiga
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (Italo Calvino)
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
29
Italo Calvino
Pale Fire (Vladimir Nabokov)
Pale Fire
30
Vladimir Nabokov
Tristram Shandy (Laurence Sterne)
Tristram Shandy
31
Laurence Sterne
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Haruki Murakami)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
32
Haruki Murakami
Jazz (Toni Morrison)
Jazz
33
Toni Morrison
Notes From Underground (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Notes From Underground
34
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Life: A User's Manual (Georges Perec)
Life: A User's Manual
35
Georges Perec
The Recognitions (William Gaddis)
The Recognitions
36
William Gaddis
Wittgenstein's Mistress (David Markson)
Wittgenstein's Mistress
37
David Markson
Tampa
Tampa
38
The Mezzanine
The Mezzanine
39
The White Album
The White Album
40
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