war and peace-Tolstoy (I read lots of awesome books can't write all of them , It's the one that I remember first)
@ERVA- We got one here too :D
I would choose most of Tolstoy's other books before War and Peace. I think the setting and the fact they didn't have iphones etc is irrelevant, a good book is timeless because human emotions and relationships haven't changed. The daily life of the characters in his books may be alien to me but he can capture my interest in the relationships between characters better than any modern British writer - at least to me.
I'm not sure what the best novel I've read is. I've read some really well written and highly praised books but they didn't mean as much to me as others which were lesser so but they had more of a connection to my life and what I care about. The most recent book I really connected with was 'The Trick Is To Keep Breathing' - Jane Galloway.
Yes you're right on that there are two anna in the story for example and sometimes I read twice to understand:)
I know a lot of good writers and I can not say who is the best, but if we are talking about the novels, I prefer Remarque.