Smith: Elric is amazing... but remember that we had a tactile understanding of the world.. We picked up the (very) slim volumes of Elric, featuring a slim, and insanely white hero, with a sense of humanity that befits anyone who has actually lived, as I think you have.

Michael Moorcock, despite his odd name, is an absolutely wonderful writer. He did a series of novels set in Russia that blew my socks off. Some people, as it turns out, are just better than others, and he's one of them.

My favourite writer is Dostoyevsky (I know...), particularly his 'The Possessed'. Moorcock actually, and honestly, comes close to a similar understanding of what it means to be human.

So read Elric. Please do. But it's less 'good' than 'meditative'.

I really hope that it brings something to your life.

As a side note: you would probably love Steinbeck (not Mice and Men),

Aerotrain.