What are some novels that are beautiful, graceful, and stylish?

[Anonymous No.8541329]

I read A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde with this intent but it's not even close. The writing is too contrived. Recommend me novels that are elegant and impressive.

[Anonymous No.8541394]

>Dorian Gray is contrived
You probably had a false first expression because Wilde is a excellent playwright and has marvelous prose but has trouble combining these two talents. But Dorian Gray is pure artistic expression, it's literally Wilde's manifesto about life and art, his admission of sin and above all, just a beautiful story. Also, Proust is probably the master of prose that is so elegant and fragile it's hard to believe, other candidates would be Faulkner (although he can get quite gothic and subversive), Thomas Mann or Hermann Hesse (Demian, while very influenced by adolescence, is probably the best constructed story I've ever read).

[Anonymous No.8541626]

The chess player from Stephen Sweig (a bit dark and psycho but vert elegant)

Zadig from Voltaire (more like a non headache philosophical odissey)

[Anonymous No.8541656]

>>8541329
My diary, desu

[Anonymous No.8541780]

Memoirs of Hadrian