In January, I wrote of joining Goodreads and undertaking the
2013 Reading Challenge. Now, just in time, I have finished the final,
thirty-fifth book (Graham Joyce's intriguing Some Kind of Fairy Tale), and so I
wanted to review a few of this year's most memorable reads.
Best nonfiction: Your Voice in My Head by Emma Forrest. I
found this memoir of mental illness a little meandering, and I would have liked
more focus on the therapist character to whom it's dedicated. Having said that,
Forrest is a frank, funny and utterly fearless writer, and the book is full of
insight and wisdom concerning a subject that, in my opinion, is not talked or
written about often enough. For example: Time heals all wounds. And if it
doesn't, you name them something other than wounds and agree to let them stay.
Best reread: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. As I
wrote in a previous post, I was impressed all over again by Atwood's dystopian
classic, and the act of rereading it stirred up a lot of emotions about my
teenage years, and the closure of my old school.
Most surprisingly enjoyable classic: Catch-22 by Joseph
Heller. I had heard from various people that they hadn't been able to get on
with Heller's satirical World War Two novel, but I was giggling away from page
one, and had tears of laughter rolling down my cheeks by the 'flies in his
eyes' discussion. Of course, like all good satire, the clever humour ensures
the unfolding tragedy hits harder, making this both one of the funniest and
most affecting books I read in 2013. (Runner-up: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by
Thomas Hardy).
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Biggest commitment: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. When I worked
at Waterstone's, many moons ago, my colleagues were always raving about
Murakami. I'm afraid it's taken me this long to pick up one of his books - or
rather, three of them, for the surreal and unique 1Q84 was published as a
trilogy. Although I did feel the story was stretched too thinly towards the
end, I'm not sure I've ever experienced such a bonkers plot being told in such
clear, matter-of-fact prose. It's an irresistable combination.
Most disappointing read: The Unbearable Lightness of Being
by Milan Kundera. I try to finish each book I start because I truly believe I
can learn something from every story, even those I don't like. Yet I found this
novel so incredibly pompous and misogynistic, I'm not sure whether I should
have struggled through to the end. Awful. (Runners-up: Eowyn Ivey’s The Snow
Child and Robin McKinley’s Beauty. I expected to love these novelised fairy
tales, but found neither really had much to add to the stories they were
retelling).
Best children's/young adult book: A Monster Calls by Patrick
Ness. Having adored the author's Chaos Walking trilogy last year, I had high
hopes for his award-winning A Monster Calls, and still the novel completely
surpassed my expectations. I've since come to the conclusion that Ness just gets it: he gets teenagers, he gets stories,
and he gets that the things that really scare us are more complicated and
difficult to confront than any sharp-toothed, long-clawed thing that goes bump
in the night. (Runner-up: Unwind by Neal Shusterman).
Best book: The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht. Recommended by
the lovely Elodie Olson-Coons, I took to this novel straight away. I'm a big
fan of magical realism, especially when it's used as sparingly and effectively
as it is in The Tiger's Wife. I also love how Obreht has structured this
ambitious book; the way she has blended the folklore and the fantastical
storytelling with a gritty, realist narrative set during the Balkans conflict.
Obreht is, I have recently found out, just a few months younger than me. Perhaps I
should be envious of her, and the success of her first novel, but I'm not - I'm
inspired.
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