Need a recommendation

[DG Lewis]

Since I see discussion of high school English classes, I'll toss out a situation and ask for recommendations.

Situation: HS Freshman "Honors Literature and Writers' Workshop" (top-end honors Freshman honors English class, only 28 kids out of a class size of about 575). Student (14-year-old boy) is a voracious reader, mostly history (fiction and non-fiction), some SF (mostly Star Wars and Star Trek novels, although I've gotten him to read the Naomi Novik Temeraire series and Little Brother), some military fiction (e.g. WEB Griffin), and a range of YA (the usual suspects like Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket, Muchamore, Paolini, Applegate, the Higson Young James Bond series...).

Assignment is to read and report on an adult-level novel by a non-American author that "couldn't be made into a movie".

Digging through my collection, the best that came to mind were either Singularity Sky (Stross) or one of the Discworld books. Singularity Sky might be a bit deep -- Glasshouse might be a better Stross, or the first of the Family Trade books might appeal to him.

Any other suggestions?

[ora]

Doesn't have to be a brit author, and the question is a bit weak in a way as with the dubious joys of CGI and bluescreen, it becomes hard to think fo soemthign that couldn't be made into a film.

They are quite intense but I'm a big fan of Haruki Murkami, a well known Japanese author who writes surreal and sometimes sfish novels.

Best I can come up with is the Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Italian Umberto Eco. Eco is best known for The Name Of The Rose, which was made into a film. Loana is one of his easiest to read, he's pretty intense and passes over a huge volume of literary, philosophical and historical data while remaining beautifully written. Wikipedia says he is a "medievalist, semiotician, philosopher, literary critic and novelist".

Loana is about a guy who wakes up after an accident with no memory of his life, but perfect recall of every book, comic or magazine he has ever written. He has to reconstruct his life from his literary past. The book is interspersed with fragments of the books and comics, even adverts that he remembers. I can't think of any reasonable way top make it into a film.

[DG Lewis]

I agree that "couldn't be made into a movie" is a pretty weak criterion. I'd settle for meeting the other conditions with something that would appeal to his interests.

[Wonko]

Wow! The possibilities.

"Cooking with Fernet Branca" by James Hamilton-Paterson who is an English author. The writing is very engaging and I'm pretty sure you'll hear laughter erupt from the bed room while this one is being reviewed. I couldn't stop laughing. While it *could* technically be made into a movie it never will be. The subtle humor of this novel would quickly be lost in a screen play.

“The Algebraist” from Iain Banks. If this kid likes sci-fi space operas then he’ll love this book. I still secretly drool over the needle ships and they’re just a tiny fraction of this wonderful story. Honestly, this is one of those novels you finish, after reading its nearly 500 pages in a single sitting, cursing the author for not making it longer. You’re safe because distillation of this masterpiece would require an epic movie series lasting lifetimes and the author is Scottish.

“Excession” by Iain Banks. Earlier work than the above, incredibly engaging story about thinking space ships and the people who ride in them. Not a movie possibility because thinking space ships are not visually engaging nor are they cute.

“2001: Space Odyssey” by Arthur C. Clark. While it *is* a movie the book is better and it’s from another brutish author. If you’ve seen the movie you’ll know what I’m talking about and just run out and buy the book. Penguin has moved it to its Reader series so its maybe two clams.

“The Silmarillion” by J.R.R. Tolkien. While not movie material probably one of the best creation stories ever concocted. Really give the subsequent books (There and Back Again and the Trilogy) a depth you couldn’t imagine they had.

“Leave it to Psmith” by P.G. Wodehouse. More humor and then some, make sure you get a copy with the foreword by Wilfrid Sheed.

“40,000 Miles in a Canoe and Sea Queen” by John C. Voss. You’ll thus loose this child to the sea, but she’s not a bad mistress. This is a collection of accounts from about a man who sails three seas in a 19-foot yawl.