36. D H Lawrence – Lady Chatterley’s Lover

Although this book is most notorious for its sex scenes I felt it was probably the book that was closest to Lawrence’s philosophy. It was set in the post-war Britain and was in many ways an anti-war book. The injured officer deprived of his manhood through injury. It was also about the class system and the purity of love. A lot of things going on.

37. Ken Kesey – Sometimes a Great Notion

This was the second masterpiece of Ken’s. A totally different book in a different setting. Unlike Cuckoo’s nest this was set in the big outdoors and logging. The story was captivating. I liked the was he depicted the same scene from different viewpoints in the same paragraph. It was very Faulknerish.

38. Salman Rushdie – Midnight’s Children

This is the second of Rushdie’s masterpieces. I read this at the same time as Gunter Grass’s Tin Drum and felt that they both carried that same multitextured, multilayered wonder. It was a tale to get lost in and one of those books you did not want to end.

39. John Steinbeck – East of Eden

The second work of genius from John Steinbeck. This told the tale of brothers and a big ranch. It was another sprawling tale that sucked you in. One of my all-time favourites.

40. Iain Banks – Whit

This seems quite topical when we’ve got cults like ISIS running amok in the world and a Marxist cult leader imprisoned for rape and imprisoning his own daughter. Iain is a brilliant story teller in both Sci-fi and mainstream. This is the story of a religious cult done brilliantly. I love all his books. They were all so varied. It’s a sad loss.

Well these five selections went against my original plan to try to stick to one book per author.

Rules? There are no rules!