I was reading a book by Colleen McCollough - The Touch. It is definitely a must read. I have been always attracted to literature like this one. You know where there is a melancholic under current that the reader can sense discreetly, where the writing style more of narrative, where the characters are so strongly etched even though the upcoming events are predictable. The author has done lot of homework on characterization and I could after a point in time predict what the character would do. It was not like the movies or the books that come dime a dozen these days, where the author follows a story and the characters can give any kind of reaction irrespective of what their mindsets are. In this book, I could sense that the characters moved the story and not the other way round. It was a very good experience reading it.

Some of the other books that I have read with strong characterization are:

Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Casa Rossa by Francesca Marciano
All of Ayn Rand's works

All these works are extremely readable. I think the sense of tragedy and irony, especially the working of mind or heart or whatever it is, is the one that makes these so enjoyable.