What, IYO, is the greatest novel ever written?

I'm still trying to make my way through the classics, but the one that's really blown me away is The Grapes of Wrath.

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expert readers here

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I'm not this, and there are a lot of classics I have not read. But of the books I have read I'll go with Infinite Jest. It's a very tough read and the first time through was a love/hate relationship. But it is brilliant as hell and well worth the effort in the long run. But it also took multiple readings to really start understanding it.

I think a common answer from many professors would be Joyce's Ulysses. For a more traditional answer you could go with Huckleberry Finn. I am personally partial to Animal Farm.

War and Peace. Breathtaking in both scope and execution.

Brave New World in addition to many included here.

I also could not answer this, but some of my favorites not named are:

Of Mice and Men
Old Man and the Sea (named already)
The Count of Monte Cristo
Catcher in the Rye
Great Expectations
1984


I do think the Divine Comedy might be the Greatest thing written, but it is not a novel.

Some newer ones I liked:

Life of PI
The Alchemist



And the funniest book I have ever read:
Lamb: The Gospel According the Biff, Jesus's childhood best friend.

I picked up Don Quixote the other day, it was like $5 at Barnes and Noble. I'm looking forward to it but it sure is a big book.

Greatest: The Brothers K
My personal choice: One Hundred Years of Solitude

Unfortunately I've never read it, but a lot of people whose opinion I hold in high regard consider The Brothers Karamazov to be it.


My vote would go to To Kill a Mockingbird. The way Lee created the lovable character of Scout, forced the reader to see the issue of race through her eyes and in turn challenge their own views, was brilliant. Especially given the time it was written.