My All-time Top Ten Books: Part I

It started with a recent book club discussion. Seemed an impossible task – but then I went down the list and thought about the books that were most impactful – whether it was the subject, the writing or the imagery. Would any of these figure in your top ten?

At #10, it is ‘Unbroken’ by Laura Hillenbrand.

Once in a long, long time, comes an amazing life story that writes itself. From a wild childhood to an Olympics runner to a man marooned at sea for the longest time to POW in Japan suffering unbearable cruelty to post-war ruin to a final resurgence, Louise Zamperrini lived many lives in just one lifetime. Laura Hillenbrand does his life full justice combining sensitive narration and hard statistics, generating unforgettable scenes.

At #9 is George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four.

The iconic first line: “It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” Written in 1949, it is amazing that the book continues to be relevant in 2020. The tension, the hopelessness of a totalitarian regime and the tools deployed by it – the thought police, new speak, big brother – memorable indeed. A scathing, lively satire.

#8 on my list is Emma Donoghue’s Room. A shocking account of a forced confinement of a woman and her son told from the POV of the 5-year old. Stark brutality of the situation balanced with a child’s innocence. A brilliant concept, executed flawlessly.

#7 on my top ten is ‘Middlesex’ by Jeffrey Eugenides. Besides being the unusual story of a one mutant gene that forces Calliope to become Cal, Middlesex is a quintessential immigrant story. Of three generations of a Greek family in the U.S. Eugenides tells the tale with love and joy.

#6 on my list is another immigrant story, ‘The Namesake’, the story of Gogol Ganguli, the all-American son of Indian parents. Jhumpa’s USP lies in her ability to evoke deep emotions in her readers without resorting to melodrama. If there is one writer I who I wish I could write like, it would be her