<p>What a wonderful explanation, mythmom! That really answers my question of why D.H.Lawrence and Henry James and not E.M.Forester or some like him.</p>
<p>I don’t know if others would agree, but a couple of novels that seemed like hidden gems to me when I read them were:</p>
<p>“In Custody” by Anita Desai.
“Love Medicine” by Louise Erdrich.</p>
<p>I am also a fan of William Trevor. More recent discoveries of mine are David Bezmozgis and Denis Johnson.</p>
<p>Probably not for the canon, but an author that I have been loving is Thrity Umrigar (The Space Between Us, The Weight of Heaven, If Today be Sweet) </p>
<p>My D also loved Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen - enough to by me a copy as suggested reading 
It was an IB World Lit school read for them.</p>
<p>Some authors’ names I recognize and realize that I haven’t gotten to their novels.</p>
<p>Booklady, happy to come across someone else who knows L. P. Hartley.</p>
<p>As I returned to this thread, I noticed the Book Club thread. I know Ondaatje, but had missed publication of The Cat’s Table.</p>
<p>As a hidden gem, I’ll add Stoner by John E Williams. I found it unexpectedly at a favorite independent bookstore. </p>
<p>In looking for a useful, quick link, I came across this: <a href=“Stoner by John Williams - Essay by Morris Dickstein - Book - The New York Times”>Stoner by John Williams - Essay by Morris Dickstein - Book - The New York Times;
<p>Mathmom, good luck with your task. Where is the exhibit? I find what makes his work difficult to assess is weighing the difference between illustration and “Art”. </p>
<p>In the context of this thread’s topic, similar to illustration vs art, there must be works of fiction that wouldn’t be considered part of a literary canon, yet, in their own way, be hallmarks or epitomize a particular genre.</p>
<p>Well for anyone keeping track of that Times 100 Novels List we can now cross out Red Harvest. While I’ve seen movies made from Hammet (The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon), I’m not sure I had ever actually read him, though the style is so familiar from the movie narrations you feel like you have. This is barely a detective story though there is a bit of an amusing twist at the end.</p>
<p>It’s not spoiling much too say that…</p>
<p>I have never read a book with such a high body count.</p>
<p>Mixed feelings about the book - I have a hard time with books where I don’t like at least some of the characters - and the protagonist is a bit of a cipher while everyone else is pretty much worthless.</p>
<p>Even though it was crossed off this thread’s list of unread books because it was read by Tuppence, I am reading “Loving” by Henry Green from the Time 100 Novels list.</p>
<p>I like it. It is intended to be gently comedic and is written in a wry, quirky style. It is about servants in a mansion owned by Anglo-Irish residents of Ireland during World War II.</p>
<p>The book was written in 1945, and the most interesting thing about it, to me, is the reflection of some of the attitudes and prejudices of the time. Almost all of the servants are English, and they don’t think much of the Irish. They are worried about the bombing in England and wonder what would happen if the “Jerries” invaded. The men also wonder about whether or not they should return home and let themselves be conscripted.</p>
<p>There is a frequently mentioned substance called “waterglass” which I eventually figured out was a preservative!</p>
<p>The story takes place in the summertime, but the servants keep peat fires burning in the hearths of the mansion’s rooms to help preserve the paintings!</p>