best book I've ever read.
Anything by Vonnegut will please on many levels.
David Sedaris' "Me Talk Pretty One Day" or Christopher Moore's "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal" are both laugh out loud.
Gore Vidal writes some terrific historical novels.
Dan Delillo is strong too.
Brothers K is supposed to answer all life's questions and I loved "The Alchemist" too.
You could also try Herman Hesse, "A Journey To The East" or "Siddharta".
FTR- "A Tale of Two Cities" was written by Charles Dickens.