Fiction Essentials
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White Teeth
by Zadie SmithThis was impossible to put down. The characters leap off the page, the writing is filled with energy and charm. Loved it.
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Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Despite this being way outside of my usual taste, I really enjoyed it. The last section dragged to some degree, and the climax was a little more convoluted than it needed to be, but Clarke’s writing is so readable, funny and clever that I couldn’t put it down.
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Middlemarch
by George EliotThis took a long time, and at times I wanted to toss it in the grass, but I am going to miss this book. It was comforting and calming, but also challenging. It is another book I spent a lot of time reading about when I wasn’t reading it. The story of George Eliot, the…
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A Canticle for Liebowitz
That was absolutely stunning. It wasn’t an easy read, but it was a rewarding one. It’s a classic for a reason. Big themes and big ideas here, and until the third part of the book it didn’t read like it was written more than 60 years ago. It’s definitely going to be a book I…
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Dawn
I read this in school more than 20 years ago, and it blew me away then. This book is so engaging and rich with ideas about class, sex, gender, violence and the nature of humanity. Absolutely timeless and just perfect.
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Buddenbrooks
by Thomas MannLike East if Eden, this was a book I reluctantly picked up, then couldn’t put down. It took a while to get into – a cast of thousands and a million details, but it eventually gets laser-focused on certain characters and dissects events in incredible depth. The writing is so immersive I would be reading for…
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Girl, Woman, Other
This was fantastic.
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Scarborough
Go buy this book and the biggest box of Kleenex you can find. It is stunning, beautiful and heartbreaking. I wish I could un-read this book and read it again. Easily the best book I have read this year.