[Captain]

I'll go for an author instead of a book.

You being a man appreciative of language Paul, I would recommend Ernest Hemingway. He is a favourite of mine. Perhaps some of his short stories would be a place to start, although many of his novels are magnificent.

Or you could simply start with his first significant novel, The Sun Also Rises. A masterpiece in it's joy and sadness, lightheartedness and gravity.