<p>Anything post-Prufrock from T.S. Eliot’s works.
Vladimir Nabokov’s Pale Fire - About a 1000-line poem whose author died after writing the 999th line, along with fictional commentary on the poem. The relationship between the author and commentator is very confusing.
Thomas Pynchon likes twisty plots and bizarre postmodern themes, as does David Foster Wallace.
Many of Faulkner’s books are considered quite complicated…</p>
<p>Then, of course, come philosophers.
Bertrand Russell is a clear writer, but the concepts in some of his works are somewhat mind-boggling. Lacan, Foucault, and Derrida are notoriously confusing postmodernists (in fact, Foucault attacked Derrida for this), and among other philosophers, Kant, Hegel, Carl Schmitt, Kierkegaard, and Leo Strauss wrote many confusing works.</p>
<p>Faulkner is usually good for people who want to completely confuse themselves :). Try “As I Lay Dying.” Lots of people hate it because it just seems so random and unorganized. The plot itself is ridiculous and even trivial. But what makes it interesting is the characters. They’re just really deep and it takes a lot of time and thinking, but if you really analyze the book, there’s a lot of stuff going on.</p>
<p>And 1984 has a strong message but I personally didn’t like it. I respect the fact that it’s deep, and Orwell is putting across an important point, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.</p>
<p>Lol, I’m studying for a Catch-22 test right now.</p>
<p>Catch-22 doesn’t use conventional time-line methods, and the prevalent lack of logic and circular reasoning in the characters’ conversations adds to the insanity.</p>
<p>I haven’t read it personally, but my prof who went to Pomona said when he was there this guy gave a seminar to some college freshman and assigned that book and it owned them.</p>
<p>^^ A Clockwork Orange is also another amazing book, but it’s more complicated in the sense that it is written in complex slang language (known Nadsat) created by the author. It might be a little discouraging at first to grasp it, but otherwise, it’s a fantastic piece of literature.</p>
<p>Ulysses, Crime and Punishment, East of Eden, Notes from Underground, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Pride and Prejudice, Brothers Karamazov, Father’s and Sons, 1984, Kafka on the Shore, Hard Times</p>