I have a few I like to talk about with these sorts of questions.
- Macbeth: I've read this a fair number of times and every time I'm enthralled, I get chills, I want to cheer as Macduff walks in holding Macbeth's head at the end. It's chock full of everything English class tells people to look for in literature, except it's a thrilling read to boot. I want to see it performed so badly. It's probably the best thing I've ever read and the only downside is that it's actually a play.
- 2666 by Roberto Bolano: This is one of those books where there are so many layers to peel back that, as I read it, I spent a lot of time thinking deeply about what Bolano was trying to communicate and how the disparate storylines connected and what that all meant to me. It's such a sprawling narrative that it's hard to even describe what it is, except that it's vaguely about a reclusive author and a series of murders in a Mexican city. It hits on so many things that it's hard to even know what to say about it other than it's incredible.
- And as a maybe more normal recommendation for this community: The Malazan Book of the Fallen is far and away my favourite fantasy series. Incredible worldbuilding, so many fun and interesting characters, plots that coalesce into absolutely wild climaxes, and underlying themes that provide a bit of hope even in the face of a grim world and plot. Absolutely fantastic series.