You would probably like Savage Detectives better. To be fair, 2666 was unfinished when Bolano died, so who knows what it ultimately would have looked like.

I felt that book so viscerally. Bolano numbs your senses so thoroughly with the dry descriptions of the murders. It’s such an effective demonstration of how we (society) can view catastrophe with such apathy.

No one reads Proust.

I loved The Turner House by Angela Flournoy. I’m not sure it qualifies under your criteria, since it was a National Book Award finalist but I rarely see it mentioned anywhere.

An aging matriarch reflects on her life as the value of her beloved Detroit home plummets after the financial crisis, leaving a burden for her children. It’s such a touching, well written book with the most relatable familial relationships, and it’s stayed with me for some years now.

Points for having a female character!