2011, in a List

On a purely numerical level, 2011 was a bit of a disappointment, reading-wise. I only got through 25 books for the whole year, which seems like a pretty low number to me. Yes, some of them were beasts (Anna Karenina, A Dance With Dragons, and Drood), and some of them were dreadful (Gomorrah, Jane Eyre ... and, um, Drood), but still, that's pretty slow going.

Anyway, without further ado, here's the best 10 books I read this year. The title of each book will link you through to my original review.

10. Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon

I was fairly critical of aspects of this book in my original review, but it's grown on me since. There are images in here that have lingered in my mind since I read it, growing in power. More than anything I think it's the extraordinary scope of Stapledon's vision that has kept my mind returning to his ideas. Uh-oh, I guess I'll have to read it again ...

 

9. A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

Conversely, this one has diminished a bit with the passage of time. The ellisions and obfuscations of this volume's various endings get on my nerves more now than they did. Maybe I was blinded by how much of a blast it was returning to Westeros after so long. Still, he belongs on this list for being completely God-damn unputdownable.

8. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Sometimes telling a story doesn't really matter. Sometimes there are more important things to tell. The historical value of this book is incalculable, because of the rigorous truth that runs through the whole damn thing.

 

7. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

And then, there are books that are pure fun. Musketeers works the same way that Hornblower books work for me, or the way Watership Down still does: it's just an expression of sheer, unadulterated joy. But with swordfights instead of ships, or rabbits. Joy and swordfights ... seriously, what more can I say?

6. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

Though I stand by my original disappointment at the denouement, everything that came before that was so brilliant that I can forgive Collins his eccentric ending. Fun, spooky, mysterious ... all in all, a wonderful Victorian detective novel.

5. The March by E.L. Doctorow

Doctorow dramatises Sherman's march by utilising a bewildering array of characters, but he writes with such clarity that we're never confused. Considering he's also using a faux-'period' idiom, that's pretty darn impressive. Adventure and social commentary all rolled up together.



 


   



4. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

I am not as smart, as moony, as wilful, or as Japanese as these characters. But this story still feels like it's mine. Murakami gets under the skins of his late-teen lovers and finds something universal in them. And shit, he writes like a dream.

 

 3. Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut

God, I love Kurt Vonnegut. So wise, so insane. So much friggin' fun. Not only does this examination/excoriation of the world of contemporary art rank as one of his best, but I think Rabo Karabekian, embittered Abstract Expressionist, is one of his most endearing characters.

2. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

The more I think about this book, the more extraordinary I find it. I'm not someone who would normally go off the deep end about somebody's writing style (narrative is where I get my biggest kicks), but holy hell, this book is so well-written it hurts. Even when describing things that are tawdry or mundane, every sentence is a jewel that perfectly marries beauty and functionality.

 


1. Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

This book is stunning. If I was making a list of my ten favourite books ever, it would be on that list. And it would be nudging towards a podium finish. It is a marvel, as beautifully written as Yates, as wise as Vonnegut, as universal as Murakami. Just fucking read it, all right? What more do I have to do?

There you have it. It seems unfair to rub it in, but Gomorrah, Drood and Jane Eyre were very trying experiences. They're the dunces of the class.

What does 2012 have in store? Are there any titles still on the list that you can recommend? I'd hazard a guess that Atwood's The Blind Assassin will get a look in at some point this year, but you never know ...

Cheers, JC.

currently reading: Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

books to go: 93