QUICK HITS - 2011 Top 10 Books and Top 5 Misses

Top 5 – Masterpieces (Rating 10/10):

Shepherds of the Night, Jorge Amado, 1966

Rediscovering this out-of-print lost classic was a highlight for me in 2011.  I would recall throughout the years vague elements of this novel since reading it in Humanities university course in 1979, and what a delight to revisit this fascinating self sustaining community of marginalized people in a tiny village in Bahia, Brazil.  The dignity, honor, humor and poignancy in lives of this eclectic cast of characters are so eloquently captured by this master storyteller.  I have not laughed so hard in years!  Each night while on vacation in Jamaica, I would recite to my wife an episode and character within the novel.  Truly enchanting!

Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway, 1929

A highly faithful account of life during wartime based largely on Hemingway’s experience serving in Italy as an ambulance driver during WWI.  The writing is sparse and the protagonist appears detached, painting an almost existential atmosphere.  The novel explores some big questions: What is the meaning of life?  Does God exist?  Nevertheless, amidst the chaos and brutality of war emerges a surprising tender love story.  The characters hopes and fears are expressed in dialogue that seems very modern. The descriptions of events (large and small) are so well drawn, that I felt transported to that time and place.  Hemingway doesn’t pull any punches, and the ending is heart-breaking! (LINK TO FULL REVIEW)

If on a winter’s night a traveler, Italo Calvino, 1979

One of very few novels written in the second person (“You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel…Relax. Concentrate…Best to close the door.”).  So begins one of the most original endlessly fascinating works of ‘meta-fiction.’  With an unusual table of Contents (blank sections alternating with titles from different books), chapters with different styles, a bizarre premise (boy purchases book only to discover part of story missing due to printers’ mistake) we are led along ‘our’ Quixotic journey to find the missing part of the story, only to find seemingly unrelated stories.  Beyond the structure, there are unique and penetrating insights that resonate.  Truly one-of-a-kind!  Worthy of ‘novel’ label!

The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy, 1880

What an incredible premise for a novel - a man auctions off his wife and baby in a drunken stupor, only to regret and have to live with this shameful secret as he rises in society.  A stunning page turner like a Dickens novel with one the most puzzling characters in literature - Micheal Henchard wants to do good to atone for his sin, but his self-destructive personality keeps getting in the way.  He bemoans that his lot is like Job, but I think it is closer to King Lear! My first Hardy novel was a big surprise for me, as I had a perception that his books were slow, very moody with an extremely negative tone.  This novel lingers! 

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, 1859

Not only does this tale contain one of the most memorable opening lines (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”) but arguably an even more powerful ending (“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known”).  Throw into the mix the events leading to the French revolution, a case of mistaken identity, a wrongfully imprisoned old man, and one of the most vindicate female characters (Madame Defarge) in literature, and the reader is hooked!  What I found most interesting on my re-reading this classic after 25 years, is that my sympathies were now lay with Sydney Carton (flawed, cynical) rather than Charles Darnay (too perfect, idealist).  Unlike good wine, some characters do not get better with age!

Next 5 – Near Masterpieces (Rating 9-9.5/10):

The Metamorphosis , Franz Kafka, 1915

A man wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a mute giant dung beetle.  Thus begins a strange, touching, shocking imaginative account of a terrible nightmare. Except Kafka will have you believe it is real.  What does the beetle represent? Why does the family treat Gregor so badly?  What does the apple represent in the climactic scene between father and ‘son’?  Is the family’s reaction at the end appropriate? In the tradition of  Ovid's classic tales, this short work is rich with symbolism, exploring themes of guilt and sacrifice. A truly enigmatic tale that both fascinates and shocks. 

Of Human Bondage, F. Somerset Maugham, 1915

This long novel is highly entertaining coming-of-age (bildungsroman) story of a deformed orphan searching for meaning and direction in his life.  Vividly drawn narrative of life in England, Germany, and France as Philip Carey pursues different careers and love affairs.  The highlight is the disastrous relationship with the manipulative Mildred.  Philip realizes that his love is unrequited, but can’t help himself coming back time and time again to her, and it nearly destroys him.  The only minor disappointment for me is the rather unsatisfactory answer to the ‘meaning of life.’  

Chronicles of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, 1981

From the master of magic realism comes a blow-by –blow non-linear account of an impending murder.  The reader is foretold of this outcome, but like a great mystery layer after layer of the story is revealed, culminating in the horrifying final scene.  The basic plotline is that a wealthy foreigner returns his bride who he learns on their wedding night is not a virgin.  The bride’s brothers then seek justice on the ‘supposed’ seducer, Santiago Nasar.  This short novel is written as a dispassionate news account, borrowing from Marquez’s experience as a journalist, and has a similar premise as Kafka’s Trial. The ending is like a slow motion cinematic death waltz - strangely beautiful.  An impressive one-of-a-kind achievement! 

Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess, 1962

Burgess paints a disturbing prescient view of a ‘future’ society of violent teenagers who derive pleasure from beating up on innocent victims.  Written exactly 50 years ago, we have witnessed the brutal and senseless ‘wilding’ scenes of dispossessed New York City youth and vigilante acts of the 1980s.  Written in ‘nadsat’ language, one requires a glossary to follow the story, which unfortunately slows down the reading.  In the end, it comes down to the philosophical statement posed by the prison chaplain, “When a man cannot chose (to be good or bad), he ceases to be a man.” 

P.S. Stanley Kubrick’s movie adaption is largely true to the novel, although the last chapter is omitted in movie for effect.

Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee, 1998

A middle-aged South African male teacher consciously decides to pursue an affair with a female student, pay little heed to the consequences.  Another ‘Men Behaving Badly’ tale, but the socio-political background provides a unique perspective.  The writing is straight-forward in this Booker Prize winning novel, with a captivating plot of the fall from grace of a once proud member of society. The main character, David Lurie, seems stubbornly non repentant which leads to tragic outcomes.  The ending is nonetheless surprising.  Is one sympathetic towards David’s plight?  Each reader will need to decide.

Top 5 Misses – Big Disappointments (Rating 3-7.5/10):

Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, 1875 (Rating 3/10)

Maybe it is just me, but at 51 I don’t get this book of nonsense.  I see why the hippies loved it, but I found it irritating and boring.  Thank goodness for enclosed pictures.  My lowest ever rating of a ‘classic’.

Purgatorio, Dante, 1308 (Rating 4/10)

I felt like I was in Purgatory reading this middle section of the Divine Comedy.  I honestly can’t remember much from these 33 cantos.  Characters just don’t stand out like in Inferno or Paradiso. 

Brideshead Revisted, Evelyn Waugh, 1945 (Rating 6.5/10)

Greatly disappointed!  I have owned a First Edition picked up at a garage sale, and was aware of Granada TV series with Jeremy Irons.  The book begins with promise, with interesting debate between atheist and ostracized British Roman Catholic family.  But the shocking and unconvincing conversion at the end destroys it for me. It is just not credible.  And the nostalgic days of English aristocracy seems outdated.

As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner, 1930 (Rating 7/10)

I had mixed reactions to my first Faulkner novel.  I loved the unique structure, with each chapter alternating with different characters thoughts and perspective.  The story is of a deeply dysfunctional family on a journey to lay their dying mother to her family’s out-of-town resting place.  None of the characters have any redeeming qualities, making it impossible to be drawn into the story.  The title is borrowed from the Greek play Agamemnon, who fought in Trojan War for seven years, and whose wife murdered him upon his return home as revenge for his sacrifice of their daughter for a “fair wind” so the ships could travel to Troy.  That says it all!

Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon, 1966 (Rating 7.5/10)

Again, high anticipation as I began reading my first novel by acclaimed surreal writer Pynchon.  Very funny at times, this novel digresses with a hard-to-believe subversive parallel underground postal service. Yes, you heard correctly.  The ending is terrible, in which reader must decide whether this story is real or a figment of Oedipa Mas’ imagination.  What a cop-out!