I love to read. I cannot resist the opportunity to share some of my favourites. If you are looking for a good read, I hope these suggestions help.
Just Above My Head by James Baldwin. I find what he has to say about unconditional love in his books to be searing. Any of his novels would be wonderful to read and reread. This one is my favourite. The narrator struggles with what to do when you can’t save someone you love from self-destruction. Rereading it in Covidtide provided me with some solace.
Cassandra by Christa Wolf. It retells the Trojan War from the point of view of Cassandra, who was gifted with prophesy but cursed to have no one believe her. I read this book 25 years ago, but my thoughts turn to it often.
In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. Adventure, mystery, history, romance, a thief named Caravaggio, the building of the city Toronto... It’s extraordinary how all the disparate elements come together.
The Motion of the Body Through Space by Lionel Shriver. You may know this Shriver book already. I don’t know if it will be a favourite long term but I think it has a lot to say about who can say what now. As well as some interesting things about marriage.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Tells the stories of five generations of one family.
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith, if you feel like exploring the darkness of the human soul. The Hitchcock movie is excellent, but the book is much deeper.
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, if you need a laugh.
Bloodhounds by Peter Lovesey if you’d like a whodunnit. The whole Peter Diamond series is great. This one and The Last Detective are especially good.
The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin. Non-fiction but it's one of the best things I’ve read in the past ten years. I was surprised by how much I liked this book and by hove moved I was by the author's attempt to keep Nelly Ternan from getting lost.
Re: A question about the books mentioned ...
Just Above My Head by James Baldwin. I find what he has to say about unconditional love in his books to be searing. Any of his novels would be wonderful to read and reread. This one is my favourite. The narrator struggles with what to do when you can’t save someone you love from self-destruction. Rereading it in Covidtide provided me with some solace.
Cassandra by Christa Wolf. It retells the Trojan War from the point of view of Cassandra, who was gifted with prophesy but cursed to have no one believe her. I read this book 25 years ago, but my thoughts turn to it often.
In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje. Adventure, mystery, history, romance, a thief named Caravaggio, the building of the city Toronto... It’s extraordinary how all the disparate elements come together.
The Motion of the Body Through Space by Lionel Shriver. You may know this Shriver book already. I don’t know if it will be a favourite long term but I think it has a lot to say about who can say what now. As well as some interesting things about marriage.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. Tells the stories of five generations of one family.
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith, if you feel like exploring the darkness of the human soul. The Hitchcock movie is excellent, but the book is much deeper.
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, if you need a laugh.
Bloodhounds by Peter Lovesey if you’d like a whodunnit. The whole Peter Diamond series is great. This one and The Last Detective are especially good.
The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin. Non-fiction but it's one of the best things I’ve read in the past ten years. I was surprised by how much I liked this book and by hove moved I was by the author's attempt to keep Nelly Ternan from getting lost.