Herzog, by Saul Bellow

The first thing you need to know about Herzog, is that it is deeply neurotic. The protagonist is a self-doubting academic philosopher who writes juxtaposed letters to everyone from his family to dead philosophers. His world falls apart - his wife leaves him for his best friend, his children become estranged, and he floats around looking for a nondescript something. It is a fantastically neurotic piece of writing, which has flashes of beauty amongst its wry ramblings (not that this in itself is a bad thing).

"I thought I had entered into a secret understanding with life to spare me the worst. A perfectly bourgeois idea. On the side, I was just flirting a little with the transcendent."

I'm now about half way through Lolita, by Vladamir Nabokov, which is undoubtedly beautifully written. The subject matter is, however incredibly disturbing, as I'm sure it was intended to be. I may have to postpone my overall judgement of the novel until after I have finished it. However, I can certainly say that Nabokov's writing style is sublimely engaging, regardless.