Trying to expand my artistic horizons, looking for a philosophically gripping book with a confident artistic vision!

I’m really dying for a good book. My whole life I’ve been really passionate about storytelling, but the people I grew up around never really had a culture of reading. I love art and passionate/confident auteur-driven storytelling, but I’ve never been able to find novels that speak to me. I’m wondering if anyone here would have some suggestions!

**Here are the books I’ve tried to get into:**

* War and Peace- Only thing I liked about it was the characterization of Napoleon. Everything else was very difficult to parse, and not very emotionally effective for me.
* Crime and Punishment- Very bleak, liked the thematically driven storytelling, not too crazy on the moment-to-moment prose or the religious overtones.
* World War Z- Kind of shlocky, liked it but didn’t finish it. I thought the world-building was too inconsistent, and a little melodramatic.
* Harry Potter- No hate, but for me it felt like the novelization of a bad anime targeted towards 13-year-old girls.

**Here’s the other narrative-driven media I’ve liked:**

(BOOKS)

* 1984- Basically the only novel I reread casually. Very immersive and gripping.

(GAMES)

* Pathologic 2- My favorite piece of fiction, ever. So gripping and visceral. Has a mechanic where the developers take away the ability to hug your best friend after a murder/suicide attempt. I had 5 cures for the in-game plague, and then the game made all 7 of my children sick. Passionate, experimental, and subversive.
* Frostpunk- Maybe a bit simplistic, but a gripping story about the steadfast will of the human spirit.
* Omori- Super compelling exploration of guilt. Wholesome and genuinely creepy at the same time.
* Spec Ops: The Line- A horror story pretending to be a Call of Duty competitor. So weird and so cool.

(TELEVISION)

* Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul- Such good pacing, so much intriguing morality, and a very poignant introspection on masculinity.
* Sopranos- Don’t like the mob/family stuff so much as Tony himself. His therapy/dream sequences are some of the best TV I’ve ever seen.
* House MD- Very high highs, and very low lows. Love House as a character, don’t like what the writers do with him past season 7.

(Sorry! I know that’s a lot to read, but I’m really hoping I can get a recommendation that will connect with me! Contemporary stuff would be better for my tastes I think, but I’m open to anything. Tysm!)

by tyeishing