What makes a novel good for you?

In priority order, do you need a good yarn? Action? Meaty characters? Lots of characters? Only a few? Are you into words and the use of delicious words, or do words get in the way and you want it simple and direct (like Hemingway)? Try to dissect what makes an ideal novel for you, describe that, and then give an example or two from novels published in the last few years.