A Drop of Patience by William Melvin Kelley

A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh

candles turned turtle ("turned upside down?")

A Different Drummer by William Melvin Kelley

"he's serious as a man sitting naked in a barrel of razor blades"

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Terrific dense 1989 novel from my favorites author of 1979.  Didn't catch this one first time around, but it's miles ahead of GARP.

The ALL-CAPS voice of Owen Meany, while at first worrisome because, you know, all caps, is a singular achievement.  Indelible character drawn mainly through his voice. Owen is also a prime mover in the passive life of his best friend Johnny Wheelwright, who quietly narrates the novel.

Weaknesses: the "present-tense" narration of the narrator's current spiritual life as an expatriate in Canada drags and drags on.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

GREAT graphic novel.  Like the show OCR too, but it seems to be just the sheen of the novel without the grit. Going to see it March 10.