My All-Time Top Ten Books: Part II
#5 on my top books. Ishiguro takes a scientific topic like cloning and builds a touching story out of it. He takes us to a time in future when clones are reared for meeting human health needs by becoming organ donors and ‘complete’ after a few donations. However, since the clones are human too, they have emotions; they fall in love and they want to live. Ishiguro presents the moral hazards of cloning from the clones’ perspective. A unique story told sensitively
#4 on my all time favorite list. With only three books, Khaled Hosseini has left an indelible mark on modern literature. He has introduced us to the strange, stark world of Afghanistan that we can’t have enough of. His insightful commentary on human relations is thought provoking, moving and heartwarming.
#3 on my all-time favorite list! Roots tells the disturbing account of seven generations of slaves in the United States. Of how Kunta Kinte was abducted by slave traders in an African forest and brought to the U.S. and the generations that followed. The cruelty of humans against humans, the overseas journey where the slaves were kept in their own filth and half of them died at sea, the taming of their spirit on arrival in the U.S, the separation of the families are all captured in their stark brutality. There are a number of scenes that are completely unforgettable. An important work of our time.
#2 on my list. A master-storyteller at the zenith of his craft! Rushdie tells the story of a man and a nation (India) born at the same time and their lives become interwoven through their childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The book was my introduction to the enchanting world of magic-realism. The book won the Booker in 1981 and then the Best of Booker in 2008. No other book deserved the honor more!
#1 on my all-time favorite list. A legendary book from the master of storytelling. A multi-generation saga of Buendias set in the magical town of Macando. Unforgettable characters, an intricate web of a story and magic-realism at its absolute best.
