So it got me to thinking, if I really had to distil my
collection down to the absolute favourites, the books from which I could not
bear to be parted. And I’ve racked my brains, and weighed and measured and
examined the pros and cons and listened to the innermost workings of my heart
and here, with some trepidation, is my list of the top 5 books I couldn’t bear
to live without.
In no particular order (goodness, selection was hard enough.
Ordering? Impossible):
Grendel by John
Gardner
Grendel was recommended to me by a particularly literary
friend. Not being familiar with the Beowulf story, the name was not immediately
known to me but, in the end, it didn’t need to be. Grendel is a lushly written
re-imagining of the Beowulf story, told from the perspective of the monster which
Beowulf kills to cement his hero status. Here we find the ‘villain’ coming to
terms with his role, his ugliness, his hatedness, his realisation of the power
of words in spinning a role for us all. That in order for there to be heroes,
there must first be villains. I wouldn’t like to give away too much about this
one, but I think it’s close to the most perfect book ever written. Beautiful
and diamond sharp. Poetic. Magical.
The Magic Toyshop by
Angela Carter
I discovered the work of Angela Carter by accident. I was
studying English Literature at Sixth Form College and one day we had a trainee
teacher and she got us to study an extract of a story about a female vampire.
It was gothic and atmospheric. Dense and richly written. A few weeks later I
tracked it down in a short story collection by Carter and there followed a life-long
love affair with the faded decadence of Angela Carter’s writing. And in
particular The Magic Toyshop. Perhaps I was just the right age to pick up this short,
coming of age story of the pampered Melanie, brought to poverty by the death of
her parents and sent to live with an unknown uncle, the sinister Philip, and
his Magic Toyshop. And Philip’s wife, Aunt Maggie and Francie and the dirty,
degraded, sullen and somehow most marvellous of all, Finn.
As with all of Carter’s work, there’s a sinister undertone,
an enveloping sensuousness, almost like a discovered velvet chair, dust laden,
languishing past its prime in a second hand shop. Beauty beneath the degradation.
A stunning tale of a girl’s growing up, first love and, perhaps, a first connection
with the realities, pain and joy, of human life.
Lost Paradise by Cees
Nooteboom
Another chance find, and another real beauty. Aside from the
prologue and epilogue (which to this day I still don’t quite understand) this
is a shot of ecstatic self-discovery told through two disparate but linked
tales. The first tale follows a German-Brazilian girl who, prone to fits of
black moods, drives one day into a rough part of town and ends up being gang
raped. Following the attack she and a friend decide to go to Australia, a place
they had both longed to visit, and whilst she is there she has an affair with
an aboriginal man, becomes an angel and discovers how to live with herself in
peace.
The second tale is that of a man, a journalist who writes
book reviews, who is suffering from a mid-life slump. His girlfriend sends him
to a private sanatorium to recover himself and, whilst there, he revisits in
his mind his own trip to Australia and the source of his discontentment.
The first time I read Lost Paradise I found myself in a
state of near ecstasy that lasted three days. Then I read it again. And again.
A sparsely written but amazingly effective little book that will stay with me
for all time.
Cloud Atlas by David
Mitchell
Or did I mean The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet? Or
Ghostwritten? Or Number9Dream? Oh, with Mr Mitchell it’s so hard to choose but
if limited to one, to only one, it would have to be this, the sweeping, time
travelling, interlinked story Cloud Atlas. With a dizzying range of styles and
a skill which is almost inhuman and therefore cruel, Cloud Atlas is the book
that convinces me, always, that I’m never going to be a writer. Because who can
measure up to that? It’s an historical drama, a detective thriller, science
fiction, futuristic dystopia, post apocalyptic western and gosh-darned clever
all the way through. Whatever you like to read, this book has got it.
The Dark is Rising
Sequence by Susan Cooper
Is it cheating to choose 5 books as one item? Oh well,
consider me a cheat then. I first read Greenwitch as a teenager and then, in no
particular order, The Grey King (still my favourite, if I had to pick one), The
Dark is Rising, Under Sea Under Stone, Silver on the Tree. It’s a story for
young adults, but great for adult readers nonetheless. Drawing on Arthurian
legend and British folklore (or primarily English and Welsh anyway) it also
carries all the hallmarks of a good fantasy novel and a classic childhood
adventure story. There’s mystery, magic, lots of darkness, sinister forces,
heroic children, adventure and running like a current through it all this timeless
wisdom that makes it more than a mere child’s book. I re-read The Dark is
Rising a couple of Christmases ago and resolved to read it ever year. Don’t be
put off by that dreadful movie adaptation (The Seeker – honestly, I nearly
cried), it doesn’t come close to doing anything resembling ‘justice’ (though
shooting whoever made it might...only kidding). A great, entertaining read for
readers of all ages.
No comments:
Post a Comment