I know it is not quite end of the year, but I am reading the last book that I will be reading this year, and I am pretty positive it will last me through 2016, not because it is particularly heavy or anything, but because that is the last book I have with me. I won’t get my hands on a new book until January 2017.
First things first, the entire list of books that I read this year can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/4385549.
34. Not bad, I’d say. I had made a plan this year to be more mindful of the stuff I read, try and retain it, instead of just going through the motions.
Well, here goes the list of my 10 top reads from 2016:
- All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
By far the best written thing I’ve read all year. It is one of the two amazing World War II books I read this year, and WWII always seem to bring an extra edge to literature: the pool of experiences in that well, plus the stories of human fortitude, resilience, and yes, suffering, and inherently more emphatic than anything else. This book contains two protagonists that are separated from each other throughout the story, but the flow between these two is seamless: a young blind French girl living in a seaside town, with her father who holds a potentially dangerous artefact, and a German boy who is in love with technology but the war makes him use it in terrible ways. It’s a very human story, that stirs all the right parts of your heart. The climax is particularly enthralling when all the characters converge, and all the storylines meet. But the best thing is the lyrical writing. It reads like poetry weaved into prose, the imagery is so damn good. I was floored by the simplicity, yet depth of this book. A must read.
Do I Want to See an Adaptation? Hell yeah, I do! I think a movie would be a good one for this, not a full fledge miniseries (6 episodes or 10, might be stretched a little too thin). With the right director, a three hour movie can be entirely sufficient.
- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
I wrote at length about this book when I first read it and it has stayed with me all these months. Franzen does not write lightly. When he picks up the pen, he means business. He likes to delve into a family and dissect it bit by bit. The things we take for granted: that money brings happiness, comfort, that family is the “safest” place, he breaks down these notions. Sometimes there is inherent hurt associated with all this, a person’s own weaknesses or shortcomings may stand in the way of their happiness. It seems a bit depressing, but it is not all sad. There is levity in the book, interspersed with all the heartache, repeated mistakes, and people trying to be better and failing.
Do I Want to See an Adaptation? Not exactly. There isn’t a lot of conflict or action, per se. This is more of a thoughtful kind of book. But I can see HBO tackling this subject in a miniseries, maybe 6 episodes.
- Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
I recently wrote at length about this book, and not to keep on harping about it, suffice to say that it is a very “in-the-moment” kind of book, captures the confusion and changing mores of romance in the 21st century very well. While it is much more relevant in the Western world, I did find it a fascinating character study about how perceptions change with generations. Not to mention that Aziz infused his trademark humour in the anecdotes and the research and that made it doubly fun.
Do I want to see an adaptation? No, cause the book is sufficient. Besides making a fictional movie out of a non-fiction/research book always ends badly (
What to Expect When You’re Expecting, I’m looking at you, kid).
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
One of the funniest books I have ever read. Period.
It doesn’t get better than the dry witty British humour juxtaposed with the scientific mumbo jumbo that is 0% accurate. A fish that acts as intergalactic language translator? A towel that is your best weapon during interstellar transport?
Heart of Gold? It’s all so stupid, and it’s all so hilarious. I read two further parts of this series as well, out of 5, and they are funny as hell, but there is something about the original. It’s insanely well written.
Do I want to see an adaptation? There already is one! Starring Sam Rockwell as Zaphod Beeblebrox! Couldn’t have asked for a better casting. Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent! Perfect! Alan Rickman as Marvin the paranoid android! Come on! This is surely a dream. But ’tis all true.
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The second World War II novel that I read this year, and this is also a beautifully written one, and it stays away from the front lines. It was a very refreshing look into how war pervades more than just the violence on the front. It seeps into the daily lives of the women, children and men left behind. Women are oft ignored for their war services. At a time when they were not actively participating in combat, but had to see their husbands, brothers, fathers leave and possibly never come back, and amidst that chaos to go forward with your life, that is courage, a different kind, but courage nonetheless. The book is about two sisters, with vastly different personalities and each faces grim realities of war in Nazi-occupied France. It’s a great story of unsung heroes, of fortitude and the endurance of human spirit. And it has a heart breaking ending, but ultimately it is a story of how life goes on, but our actions echo in eternity, to borrow a line from
Gladiator.
Do I want to see an adaptation? There is no shortage of WWII movies, miniseries and documentaries, but this is a facet of war that is usually not given the limelight. Yes, I would love to see a miniseries, 8 episodes, with an all French cast of course, no Americans speaking French, please. I want Melanie Laurent or Audrey Tatou (for the elder sister) and Adele from
Blue is the Warmest Colour for the younger sister, she is perfect casting.
- Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
I read this book in 3 days I think. It is a 400+ page book and the only reason I read it so quickly was that I was stuck in a remote desert location with no internet and not that many movies. But it was not a chore at all to read this. This was a fun, often hilarious, sometimes downright scathing look at suburbia and how civilised society, for the most part, is acting ‘civilised” and when the mask slips, the dirtiness beneath is deplorable. Set in Australia, and the premise is that of a school where different moms conflict over matters trivial and otherwise. But that is not all. The book deals with domestic violence, the nature of truth and rumours, second marriages and how divorce affects children. It’s a pretty thematically full book. And funny as hell.
Do I want to see an adaptation? It doesn’t matter if I want to or not, HBO is making one and with a terrific cast: Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley lead the miniseries, with Adam Scott, Laura Dern and several other in supporting roles. Pretty spot on casting, to be honest. Oh, the setting has shifted from Australia to America, of course.
- A Perfect Spy by John le Carre
Le Carre is one of my favourite writers of all time and this book proves why. He claimed that this is a book that a therapist might suggest him to write in order to fight his demons from the past, and I can understand that. It has a lot of elements borrowed from le Carre’s personal life, and it paints a very vivid picture of why a person might choose to become a spy, live a double life. It might be a bit slow to start, but the when it picks up, it is worth it. Filled with colourful characters and a relentless insightful look at the precarious relationship between a man and his principles, and how often enough they are not faithful to a country, or a cause, but to a person. And that is an inherent contradiction that spies have to live with every day: when to do when your personal ideals clash with that of your country?
Do I want to see an adaptation? There was a miniseries a couple of decades ago and I have been trying to get my hands on it. Having said that, I wouldn’t say no to a modern adaptation, made by BBC, who seem to be quite adept at making terrific 6 episodes out of literary classics.
- High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is a quintessential British guy. How did then this novel work so brilliantly when it was made as a movie and set in Chicago? Because it transcends borders. The book is funny and sad and heartbreaking and heart-affirming, and everything in between. We all know a Rob (hell, we might even be one): self-destructive to a fault, over analysing everything, dumping his problems on others and expecting they would complete him, not caring for their whole complete separate lives, forever stuck in the nostalgia of the past. It’s a very relatable book even if you are, like me, from half the globe away.
Do I want to see an adaptation? There is a superb one already out. See it if you haven’t!
- Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
This is one of my all time favourite movies. I put off reading this book for a long time, but when finally I did, I was rewarded. This is a beautiful book, much like the movie, and is about second chances, and trying not to fuck up so badly that it may ruin the life of not only you but everyone close to you. But the best thing about this book is the eccentric set of characters: Tripp is a pot smoking lusty slob who happened to hit success when he wrote a book but has not been able to build on that and is now suffering from self doubt, and is looking for anything to distract him; Leer, a possibly suicidal student who is the definition of an “outsider”, and the crown jewel: Crabtree, who just might make Tripp’s life more miserable. Set over a period of hardly three days, a weekend, it has one weird event chained to another, and before you know it, the end is near and you have no idea when the pages flew by. One reason I love this book is because I am fascinated by the writing process or lack thereof it, and this book delves into that.
Do I want to see an adaptation? There is already one and it is perfect with a casting that, much like
Hitchhiker’s, seems to be a fan’s wet dream: Michael fuckin’ Douglas, Robert fuckin’ Downey Jr., Frances McDormand, Tobey Maguire, Katie Holmes. Damn perfect, all of them in their roles.
- World Gone By by Dennis Lehane
Lehane is a master storyteller. If you want to set up a sense of place, the people in that place, how they behaved, how the place is a character itself, you gotta go to Lehane. He did it Boston, and then he moved for this book to Florida. It’s a continuation of his immensely entertaining homage to
The Godfather and
Boardwalk Empire (he was a consultant on that show),
Live by Night. This book tells the story of Joe, as he delves betrayals, threats, gunshots, cops, a politician’s wife he is sleeping with and literally the ghosts of his past. It it tremendously written and for fans of gangster/crime books, it is a must read.
Do I want to see an adaptation? Ben Affleck is already making
Live By Night. Who knows, after that, maybe this one? I would like that.
Honourable Mentions:
The Stories of Eva Luna by Isabelle Allende
A Rage for Order by Robert F. Worth