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1fannyprice
We're making this list in another group I'm in - thought it might be fun to do the same over here.
I'll start (by copying from my other post....) These are not necessarily in order.
(1) Passage to Dusk by Rachid al-Daif - a short but lush and surreal novel about a young man losing his grip on reality during the Lebanese civil war. I've read this book three times and it never loses its power over me. It combines so many of my favorite literary techniques - unreliable narrator, shifting points of view, jumbled time - and contains passages that are both hilarious and heartbreaking (sometimes at the same time). For instance, in one of the scenes describing the narrator’s loss of his arm, he says: “It was humiliating, to have my blood lapped by rats. It was humiliating to have rats reach my shoulder before someone could offer me a hand, before someone could save me, move me to a hospital, a clinic, or a house….But nobody came. How I wished that some human being would come up to me before I died. But no one did. So I got up, carrying my wounds, rising above the pain….I walked on towards Barbeer {a hospital}. When I reached Barbeer, no one asked me what was wrong. It was obvious.” (Italics mine) After such a horrifying passage, I have to confess, I laughed hysterically at that last line.
(2) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - Duh, right. I mean, check out my username. This was probably my third or fourth Austen (I think I accidentally read her novels in chronological order). This is probably Austen's most problematic, contentious novel and that is part of why I love it. All her other heroines have rather charming faults and most of them are sparkling & witty. FP is not. Honestly, the first time I read this book, I thought that Mary Crawford would somehow end up being the heroine, as she initially appears to be much more like a typical Austen female lead than meek, retiring Fanny. This is basically the only Austen that drives me to seek out critical scholarship and debate, which - for me - is a sign that I love a book.
(3) The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West - Such a quietly shattering book. There were times reading this book when I was literally breathless with the weight of West's prose and would put the book down for days just to linger with the memory of a sentence she had written. For instance: "We had suffered no transfiguration, for we are as we are, and there is nothing more to us. The whole truth about us lies in our material seeming. He sighs a deep sigh of delight and puts out his hand to the ball where Margaret shines. His sleeve catches the other one and sends it down to crash in a thousand pieces on the floor. The old man's smile continues to be lewd and benevolent; he is still not more interested in me than in the bare-armed woman. No one weeps for this shattering of our world." (Sigh.... I feel overwhelmed once again.)
(4) After Dark by Haruki Murakami - I know this is almost no one's favorite Murakami; some fans violently despise this book. I admit its the only book of his I've read, so perhaps it is weak or derivative in some way that I do not understand. Although I cannot really explain it, I loved this book. Sparse, understated, a growing undercurrent of David Lynch-like menace that (almost) never seems to go anywhere. Experiments in perspective. Totally unresolved. Don't overthink it.
(5) The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz - consisting of three books: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street. This book did not leave me breathless the way the others mentioned above did, but it was still one of the best books I've read. Sure, it is weak and didactic at points - Palace of Desire is pretty much a political science lecture. However, Palace Walk is so wonderful and the cumulative effect of the three books is nearly perfect.
(6) We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - So creepy and well-written.
Other fantastic books but not ones that make me weak just thinking about them - The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go, Persuasion, and a semi-non-fiction about Iranian intellectual history right before and during the revolution The Mantle of the Prophet. That book is one of the best pieces of non-fiction I've ever read; lyrical, absorbing, reads like a novel.
I'll start (by copying from my other post....) These are not necessarily in order.
(1) Passage to Dusk by Rachid al-Daif - a short but lush and surreal novel about a young man losing his grip on reality during the Lebanese civil war. I've read this book three times and it never loses its power over me. It combines so many of my favorite literary techniques - unreliable narrator, shifting points of view, jumbled time - and contains passages that are both hilarious and heartbreaking (sometimes at the same time). For instance, in one of the scenes describing the narrator’s loss of his arm, he says: “It was humiliating, to have my blood lapped by rats. It was humiliating to have rats reach my shoulder before someone could offer me a hand, before someone could save me, move me to a hospital, a clinic, or a house….But nobody came. How I wished that some human being would come up to me before I died. But no one did. So I got up, carrying my wounds, rising above the pain….I walked on towards Barbeer {a hospital}. When I reached Barbeer, no one asked me what was wrong. It was obvious.” (Italics mine) After such a horrifying passage, I have to confess, I laughed hysterically at that last line.
(2) Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - Duh, right. I mean, check out my username. This was probably my third or fourth Austen (I think I accidentally read her novels in chronological order). This is probably Austen's most problematic, contentious novel and that is part of why I love it. All her other heroines have rather charming faults and most of them are sparkling & witty. FP is not. Honestly, the first time I read this book, I thought that Mary Crawford would somehow end up being the heroine, as she initially appears to be much more like a typical Austen female lead than meek, retiring Fanny. This is basically the only Austen that drives me to seek out critical scholarship and debate, which - for me - is a sign that I love a book.
(3) The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West - Such a quietly shattering book. There were times reading this book when I was literally breathless with the weight of West's prose and would put the book down for days just to linger with the memory of a sentence she had written. For instance: "We had suffered no transfiguration, for we are as we are, and there is nothing more to us. The whole truth about us lies in our material seeming. He sighs a deep sigh of delight and puts out his hand to the ball where Margaret shines. His sleeve catches the other one and sends it down to crash in a thousand pieces on the floor. The old man's smile continues to be lewd and benevolent; he is still not more interested in me than in the bare-armed woman. No one weeps for this shattering of our world." (Sigh.... I feel overwhelmed once again.)
(4) After Dark by Haruki Murakami - I know this is almost no one's favorite Murakami; some fans violently despise this book. I admit its the only book of his I've read, so perhaps it is weak or derivative in some way that I do not understand. Although I cannot really explain it, I loved this book. Sparse, understated, a growing undercurrent of David Lynch-like menace that (almost) never seems to go anywhere. Experiments in perspective. Totally unresolved. Don't overthink it.
(5) The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz - consisting of three books: Palace Walk, Palace of Desire, and Sugar Street. This book did not leave me breathless the way the others mentioned above did, but it was still one of the best books I've read. Sure, it is weak and didactic at points - Palace of Desire is pretty much a political science lecture. However, Palace Walk is so wonderful and the cumulative effect of the three books is nearly perfect.
(6) We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson - So creepy and well-written.
Other fantastic books but not ones that make me weak just thinking about them - The Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go, Persuasion, and a semi-non-fiction about Iranian intellectual history right before and during the revolution The Mantle of the Prophet. That book is one of the best pieces of non-fiction I've ever read; lyrical, absorbing, reads like a novel.
2avaland
Is this a lifetime top ten, a top ten for the year or what? I'm not sure I could reduce my favorites to just ten, and the list would change on a day to day basis!
3fannyprice
>2 avaland:, Oh I dunno. I too find it hard. There are so many books that I could list as being my favorite when I was at a certain age. And you don't really have to limit it to ten.
4Mr.Durick
fanny, this article about your number 6 was in the New York Review of Books that I finished reading last night. It sounds fascinating, but I don't know whether I really want to go where it might take me.
Robert
Robert
5fannyprice
>4 Mr.Durick:, Hey Robert! Thanks for posting that link - such an interesting book.
6dchaikin
I had a silly mathematical way of coming up with this, but six books stood out from my 5-star books. This is, of course, intensely personal, warped by my limited and unwell-rounded reading, and in no particular order:
Goodbye to a River John Graves — Graves mixes history (of Texas), landscape, memoir-ish thoughts and those unspoken emotions. If I could write a book like this, I'd be a writer.
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories Norman Maclean — Infused with unspoken observations and emotions - it also has some narrative drive and is just a beautiful book.
Cry, The Beloved Country Alan Paton — Read this last year and just hung around. I'm noticing this is another book where the emotional aspects aren't explicitly written out, you just feel them. Amazingly powerful.
Ward Six and Other Stories Anton Chekhov — This is all I've read of Checkhov, and it just has hung around, a little colorful meteor swirling around in my mind.
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee — Read this recently. It's...it's like the perfect novel.
Barefoot Gen, Volume One : A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima Keiji Nakazawa — My current mental obsession. Everything in my mind is Gen colored for the moment.
The next set:
Love and Exile: An Autobiographical Trilogy Isaac Bashevis Singer
1984 George Orwell - an early influence
The Prize Daniel Yergin - a history of oil
Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
Crime And Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky — Intuitively I would put this at or near the top, but I'm not very intuitive today (Sorry Murr).
Annals of the Former World John McPhee
Desert Solitaire : A Season in the Wilderness Edward Abbey
And, since I made my list, I can't help adding a "third tier":
Maus I : A Survivors Tale: My Father Bleeds History Art Spiegelman
Maus II : A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began Art Spiegelman
Out Stealing Horses Per Petterson
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water Marc Reisner
The Deer Pasture Rick Bass
Running After Antelope Scott Carrier
Barefoot Gen, Volume Two : The Day After Keiji Nakazawa
Now I need to go psychologically self-analyze as to why there is only one woman author on my list...
Goodbye to a River John Graves — Graves mixes history (of Texas), landscape, memoir-ish thoughts and those unspoken emotions. If I could write a book like this, I'd be a writer.
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories Norman Maclean — Infused with unspoken observations and emotions - it also has some narrative drive and is just a beautiful book.
Cry, The Beloved Country Alan Paton — Read this last year and just hung around. I'm noticing this is another book where the emotional aspects aren't explicitly written out, you just feel them. Amazingly powerful.
Ward Six and Other Stories Anton Chekhov — This is all I've read of Checkhov, and it just has hung around, a little colorful meteor swirling around in my mind.
To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee — Read this recently. It's...it's like the perfect novel.
Barefoot Gen, Volume One : A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima Keiji Nakazawa — My current mental obsession. Everything in my mind is Gen colored for the moment.
The next set:
Love and Exile: An Autobiographical Trilogy Isaac Bashevis Singer
1984 George Orwell - an early influence
The Prize Daniel Yergin - a history of oil
Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
Crime And Punishment Fyodor Dostoyevsky — Intuitively I would put this at or near the top, but I'm not very intuitive today (Sorry Murr).
Annals of the Former World John McPhee
Desert Solitaire : A Season in the Wilderness Edward Abbey
And, since I made my list, I can't help adding a "third tier":
Maus I : A Survivors Tale: My Father Bleeds History Art Spiegelman
Maus II : A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began Art Spiegelman
Out Stealing Horses Per Petterson
Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water Marc Reisner
The Deer Pasture Rick Bass
Running After Antelope Scott Carrier
Barefoot Gen, Volume Two : The Day After Keiji Nakazawa
Now I need to go psychologically self-analyze as to why there is only one woman author on my list...
7dchaikin
fannyprice - Those are wonderful little reviews. "The whole truth about us lies in our material seeming." — this could be my thought for the day...
8reading_fox
I always struggle with lists like these. Given that I have 125 books rated 5* this is perhaps and abstract pick of those that I feel good about today.
cyteen Just blew me away. rarely have I been so locked into story and captivated by the twists. Unusually I haven't re-read it, so it's wonder may fade, the sequel is now out so when I've got my hands on it I'll read them both.
curse of the mistwraith and sequels massively absorbing fantasy complex and wonderfully crafted. It isn't making a point, but it is telling a superb story.
lord of the rings because it inspired so much, and has an unparralled background. Having a lifetime to devote to one tale is something no author today can afford. And it shows.
The gap series the other side of SF, deep dark technology and implications for society with characters whom you hate and care for at the same time. Donaldson isn't for everybody, but he is a master wordsmith and this is probably his best work.
to kill a mockingbird because it is just sweetly wonderful. Amazing ability to capture the mind of a young girl far more realistically than I've read elsewhere.
the constant gardener another beatifully crafted story, slow and suspenseful, yet gripping and thrilling at the same time. Powerful social commentry on the actions of multinationals and governments too.
A Pratchett has to feature here too. I'm not sure which one. Good Omens is always a contender, Hogfather, Monstrous regiment, Thud, Fifth Elephant ... anything involving Sam Vines or Witches, where Pterry makes humour a vehicle for commentry on the state of international politics, and the ability of humans not to see clearly what is infront of their nose. The writing is about as different as it is possible to get from the novels about. But at least as good.
And for the other places there are so many to choose from:
the little prince for it's lifelong appeal, childlike simplicity and again overarching thoughts about how we live our lives. Always see the elephant.
I haven't included any non-fiction yet, and to be honest I read little of it, finding it failing to capture the soul and imagination that a superb novel does. But some of the memoir writing of the true explorers, overcoming heroic difficulties to be the first human to ever set foot somewhere, deserves a spot. darkworld or somethign by Martel maybe
Which segues neatly onto the other genre I oft overlook, historical retellings. Again not a favourite area, far too much made up, or unsubstantiated, without the premise of SF or F to justify it. But I've read and re-read cruel sea too many times to deny it a place on a list like this.
A varied list for varied reading. Many superb authors not included, whom I'd pick on another day. See my reading thread, my reviews or just brouse the catalogue if you're really that curious.
cyteen Just blew me away. rarely have I been so locked into story and captivated by the twists. Unusually I haven't re-read it, so it's wonder may fade, the sequel is now out so when I've got my hands on it I'll read them both.
curse of the mistwraith and sequels massively absorbing fantasy complex and wonderfully crafted. It isn't making a point, but it is telling a superb story.
lord of the rings because it inspired so much, and has an unparralled background. Having a lifetime to devote to one tale is something no author today can afford. And it shows.
The gap series the other side of SF, deep dark technology and implications for society with characters whom you hate and care for at the same time. Donaldson isn't for everybody, but he is a master wordsmith and this is probably his best work.
to kill a mockingbird because it is just sweetly wonderful. Amazing ability to capture the mind of a young girl far more realistically than I've read elsewhere.
the constant gardener another beatifully crafted story, slow and suspenseful, yet gripping and thrilling at the same time. Powerful social commentry on the actions of multinationals and governments too.
A Pratchett has to feature here too. I'm not sure which one. Good Omens is always a contender, Hogfather, Monstrous regiment, Thud, Fifth Elephant ... anything involving Sam Vines or Witches, where Pterry makes humour a vehicle for commentry on the state of international politics, and the ability of humans not to see clearly what is infront of their nose. The writing is about as different as it is possible to get from the novels about. But at least as good.
And for the other places there are so many to choose from:
the little prince for it's lifelong appeal, childlike simplicity and again overarching thoughts about how we live our lives. Always see the elephant.
I haven't included any non-fiction yet, and to be honest I read little of it, finding it failing to capture the soul and imagination that a superb novel does. But some of the memoir writing of the true explorers, overcoming heroic difficulties to be the first human to ever set foot somewhere, deserves a spot. darkworld or somethign by Martel maybe
Which segues neatly onto the other genre I oft overlook, historical retellings. Again not a favourite area, far too much made up, or unsubstantiated, without the premise of SF or F to justify it. But I've read and re-read cruel sea too many times to deny it a place on a list like this.
A varied list for varied reading. Many superb authors not included, whom I'd pick on another day. See my reading thread, my reviews or just brouse the catalogue if you're really that curious.
9rainpebble
My top ten of the year thus far in no particular order (this morning) are:
1. Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
2. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
3. The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham
4. To A God Unknown by John Steinbeck
5. The Minotaur by Benjamin Tammuz
6. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
7. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
8. Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
9. One Extra*Ordinary Day by Harold Myra
10. Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg
Two others came soooooo close:
1. The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien and
2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
I have read so many good books out of the 164 I have read so far this year. And several jumped out at me throughout the reading of them and afterward: "This will be on my top ten for the year." But when you actually sit down to make that very, very difficult list, many of those go must by the wayside.
I really did not expect this to be such a difficult task. I have never tried to do it before. So it was with difficulty, a lot of guilt, and with great humbleness that I was finally able to complete the list. And we have more than 2 1/2 months left in the year so this list could change. I'll just have to wait and see how the rest of the year plays out. I am certain that Henry James will not be on my final list. hee hee
thank you,
belva
1. Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
2. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann
3. The Razor's Edge by Somerset Maugham
4. To A God Unknown by John Steinbeck
5. The Minotaur by Benjamin Tammuz
6. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
7. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
8. Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman
9. One Extra*Ordinary Day by Harold Myra
10. Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg
Two others came soooooo close:
1. The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien and
2. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
I have read so many good books out of the 164 I have read so far this year. And several jumped out at me throughout the reading of them and afterward: "This will be on my top ten for the year." But when you actually sit down to make that very, very difficult list, many of those go must by the wayside.
I really did not expect this to be such a difficult task. I have never tried to do it before. So it was with difficulty, a lot of guilt, and with great humbleness that I was finally able to complete the list. And we have more than 2 1/2 months left in the year so this list could change. I'll just have to wait and see how the rest of the year plays out. I am certain that Henry James will not be on my final list. hee hee
thank you,
belva
10dchaikin
RF - I'll have to hunt down a copy of curse of the mistwraith. I've had that one in mind for a while.
11dchaikin
nannybebette - 164 books this year...wow. I read To A God Unknown last year, my first Steinbeck. A strange yet rewarding book that I'm still puzzling over.
