Roy reminded me in my last blog post (about enjoyable ways to increase vocabulary) that reading non-fiction is a wonderful way to improve our understanding of language. I entirely agree! But I also find that it’s good to have some kind of literature to read on the side; whole other worlds to explore besides our own. Both fiction and non-fiction make me gloriously happy.
There is no way that I can possibly choose a favourite novel (or even ten favourite novels), but lately I have been reading some really great novels that I enjoyed and that I believe more people should read:
– A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh: Infamous for his novel Brideshead Revisited (which most people will probably recognize as the film rather than the book), Waugh is a literary genius. His writing style reminds me of Graham Greene; this may be partly because both authors have the same kind of selfish, depressing characters that they delight in writing about. A Handful of Dust follows the story of an upper-class couple living in England and their doings within their social circles. The wife finds herself a deadbeat young man to have an affair with, and what follows is a series of remarkable and most unfortunate events for a number of people. It ends on a disturbing note which is completely unexpected; the story itself is a very real account of how people operate in society and the writing is beautiful to read.
– The Ladies of Grace Adieu and other stories by Susanna Clarke: I first became enamored with Clarke when I read her novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. One of the things that I love about her writing is that it is entirely different from any kind of modern writing. She has a completely unique style and a way with descriptions that make what could be lengthy, boring passages seem entirely necessary and fascinating. This book is more of a collection of short stories than a novel, but each story is interesting to read as Clarke combines fairy tales with history.
– The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley: Kearsley’s novel intrigued me because a) it is about a writer, and b) parts of it take place during the same time period as Diana Gabaldon’s historical fiction series (which I also adore). The Winter Sea is a fairly easy read, but that doesn’t detract from the quality of the storyline: it is well-crafted with an intriguing look at how a writer creates her story. It follows the parallel lives of a woman in the modern times and a woman living during the uprising in Scotland, flipping back and forth between times.
– The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon: A book written from Aristotle’s point of view as he instructs the child version of Alexander the Great, this novel combines philosophy with historical fiction. The voice of the narrator is astute at reading people, and the images in the book are presented in a frank and honest manner – the descriptions of the characters, and the way that the characters think, may seem a little extreme until you start to recognize that society across the ages has always had people who think and act in these extreme fashions.
– Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D. H. Lawrence: This novel was written in 1928, but it is surprisingly still easy to read and very accessible to readers today. It is not “just” a love story – in fact, I would hesitate to call it as such, although I am only about halfway finished reading the novel – but it rather is an accurate depiction of the rifts between personalities and social classes. Lawrence examines the basic components of respect and proper social conduct, and turns them over to demonstrate the ridiculousness in much that we say, do, and think. His style is engaging and his story pulls you in the more you read.
What novels have you been reading lately?
I like that you made the distinction between literature and fiction. Literature is, of course, both. Fiction, is usually not literature.
I confess, I read almost no fiction at all. I genuinely believe this is because I create so much fiction in my head, and there is only room for so much 🙂
And though I can honestly say I will never read any of the books above, I do break out one book, once per year, and enjoy in one sitting; The Old Man And The Sea. Does it enhance my vocabulary? No. But I pine to be Santiago!
No new vocabulary from a Hemmingway book? Really? After reading Camille Paglia’s works, as well as the books “Proust and the Squid” and “The Dumbest Generation”, I’ve come to think that even books like “Twilight” can actually help to enhance our vocabulary, interpretation of symbols, and knowledge of the world… true, great literature and non-fiction likely are much more beneficial to us than reading bad chick lit, but ANY book is better than none!
PS I haven’t read “The Old Man And The Sea” yet – I’m adding it to my book list!
Once upon a time, I decided one summer to read as many of the “classics” as I could. Without naming names, some of them were torturous to get through, and I just gave up. I did find some new favorites, however, such as almost anything from Henry James and ‘Ramona’ by Helen Hunt Jackson (very emotional). Currently I am reading ‘Waiting for the Barbarians’. I also have a confession. I LOVE the parody novels ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters’. I know, I know! I do like Austen, she is one writer that I enjoyed. But these are so light and fun.
I must admit that I haven’t read Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility… YET. I’ll get around to it sometime! And on your recommendation, I will read the parodies afterward 🙂
I adore Monsignor Quixote – it’s a Graham Greene parody of Don Quixote. I need to read the latter now that I’ve read the former. Probably should have done it the other way around!