I would like to nominate
The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot. I believe that it does qualify as obscure, and I would also argue as literary. That and I was disappointed that mythology/folktales never made it as a category in that other book club
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Quote:
The Kalevala is a 19th century work of epic poetry compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.
It is regarded as the national epic of Finland and is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. The Kalevala played an instrumental role in the development of the Finnish national identity, the intensification of Finland's language strife and the growing sense of nationality that ultimately led to Finland's independence from Russia in 1917.
The first version of The Kalevala (called The Old Kalevala) was published in 1835. The version most commonly known today was first published in 1849 and consists of 22,795 verses, divided into fifty songs The title can be interpreted as "The land of Kaleva" or "Kalevia". (from Wikipedia)
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It can be found at PG, and if an epub will do for you in the MR Library
here.
I would also like to nominate
Roman de la Rose by Guillaume de Lorris & Jean de Meun. Here is what Kenneth Clarke had to say about it in his book
Civilisation:
Quote:
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For two hundred years the Roman de la Rose was with Boethius and the Bible the most read book in Europe. I don't know many people who have read it through today, except perhaps in pursuit of a degree. But of course the effect of these romances on nineteenth-century literature was decisive . . .
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Ever since I read that I have been interested in reading the book that for 200 years was as read as the Bible
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I could not locate any ebook in English translation, but PG has it in the original French. Paperbooks in English are available though.