Took my reading challenge down to my lowest ever total this year, a measly book a week. Completed the 52nd novel about an hour ago, and had to read some smaller novels across December to squeeze home. Only reason I can think of for this tawdry pace is the slowing down that comes with age. Which is a depressing thought. Anyhow, here’s my favourite 10 books of this year’s crop:
Melissa Maerz: Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. Couldn’t really go wrong with this one, as I love this movie, but it provides insight and some great anecdotes from all the main players. A must for any fans of the film.
Kent Haruf: Benediction. On the face of it nothing much happens in a Haruf novel, but that misses the point entirely. Everything happens, but in a quiet, haunting, way. Ordinarily lives told with compassion and empathy.
Jorge Luis Borges: Ficciones. I had to include Borges simply for his dazzling mind, mixing magic realism, fantasy, worlds of infinite possibilities and a reading experience like no-one else.
Stephen G. Michaud, Hugh Aynesworth: Ted Bundy: The Only Living Witness. I was reluctant to include this as it’s about a serial killer, but for a true crime buff such as myself this is a magnificent work of journalism. The definitive account of Bundy.
Ursula Le Guin: The Lathe of Heaven. My first ever Le Guin, who is incredibly well regarded across the fantasy and science fiction genres. A riveting and disturbing tale of a man whose dreams can alter reality, and the psychiatrist who manipulates him for his own ends.
Shirley Jackson: We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The godmother of horror fiction. This is a seemingly quiet tale of the reclusive Blackwood family, but it’s a masterpiece of unreliable narration, ever increasing claustrophobia, and a hypnotic sense of foreboding that runs throughout.
Ryan Gattis: The System. I’ve included Ryan Gattis in a top 10 before (along with another author on this list…), but this book surpasses any of his previous work. A drug crime told from a multitude of viewpoints, tackling all aspects of the criminal justice system in 1990s L.A, this is his magnum opus. Stunning.
Philip Gourevitch: We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families. The title is sad and horrifying enough. But this account of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, in which nearly a million people were murdered in 8 weeks, almost beggars belief in its sheer, chilling brutality. A tough book to read, but essential.
Graham Greene: The Quiet American. My 2nd Greene to make a list. I absolutely loved this novel. At its heart a love triangle but so much more that that. The characters symbolise the opposing positions of the British and Americans in Vietnam, and Greene masterfully sketches these differences through the viewpoints of Pyle and Fowler. Plus a welcome dose of British humour.
Cormac McCarthy: Child of God. Another to make the list more than once, and this short novel is pretty hard to stomach, but utterly compelling and full of that wondrous, dreamy language than only McCarthy can provide.
It felt like this year I got off to a slow start, and only really found my groove in the last few months. It was nice to tick off a few classics as well (read my first full-length Dickens novel, finally). An aim for 2022 is to read more contemporary stuff, I never seem to be up with modern trends. But whatever I read, I hope it will always provide the pleasure it has until now. Happy New Year!
The Beautiful Fight 