The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. I read a lot of fiction (30+ novels a year) and this book really blew me away. Oh and by the way, it's not about Samurai or

The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt. I read a lot of fiction (30+ novels a year) and this book really blew me away. Oh and by the way, it's not about Samurai or Japan or anything like that. If you're interested in thinking about the nature of intelligence / learning while reading some beautiful prose, get this book.