Challenge: 50 Books discussion
Finish Line 2013! Yay!
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Lauli's 2013 books
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2) Life of Pi by Yann MartelI loved this book about a young castaway cast adrift with a tiger in the Pacific ocean. Seems to be a straight adventure/fantasy story until a twist at the end shows us that it's really about story-telling and the value of interpretation when it comes to life experiences. Deeply moving.
3) The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullersA sensitive and insightful novel about five lonely characters with a very rich internal life and their impossibility to get through to others. McCullers creates a rich world and touches on a multiplicity of themes, from social criticism of the American South in the 1930s and the consequences of the depression, to coming of age, sex and family relationships. An astounding achievement for a 23-year-old girl.
4) A Storm of Swords by George R.R. MartinI can't believe how much I fell behind! Well, I'll try to catch up. This one was good, super long, not the best book I've read, obviously, but gripping and entertaining.
5) Emmaus by Alessandro BariccoA beautifully written story of initiation into the complexities and mysteries of adult life by a group of zealous teenagers raised in a suffocating struggling-middle-class environment. Heartbreaking and simply beautiful.
6) On the Road by Jack KerouacI don't have the remotest chance of getting this challenge finished this year, but I'll keep going for nostalgia's sake.
This book blew me away. I can see why it's considered one of the great modern American classics. Having a weakness for road books and movies, I couldn't but love Sal and Dean's cross-country adventure through the American night. The descriptions of bebop played in underground clubs and of outcasts and misfits Sal encounters on the road are vivid and memorable. A great read.
7) Hacer el amor/ Make Love by Ricardo LesserA riveting account of the various forms of love and lust in the Spanish colonies in America in the XVIII century, and the corresponding forms of censorship and punishment devised by the authorities to keep deviants at bay.
8) Fasting, Feasting by Anita DesaiThis is one of those stories where nothing much seems to happen, yet it is also a complex portrayal of two societies and two misfits trying desperately to come to terms with their place in them. Alternating moments of pain, joy and revelation, the two protagonists make their personal way through an antagonistic world.
9) Les Misérables by Victor HugoReading this book took ages, but I must say it was completely worth it. The story is simply mesmerizing, and although I was a little thrown off by some of the many digressions Hugo incurred in, I found in them some of the most inspiring pieces on revolution, mutiny and social justice. A must.
10) GlosaSaer is undoubtedly one of the best writers my country has produced. Probably the best in the last quarter of a century. His prose blows me away. It is hard to say what this novel is about. A 21 block walk shared by two friends opens up a series of flashbacks, flashforwards, re-tellings of re-tellings and so many narrative techniques deployed masterfully by Saer that it is impossible to sum them up. A masterpiece.
Im reading LesMis right now. Just about at page 100. When does Cossette come into the picture? im getting tired of all the background.
Alison wrote: "Im reading LesMis right now. Just about at page 100. When does Cossette come into the picture? im getting tired of all the background."ooh, get used to the background! It takes up fifty per cent of the book! Cosette comes into the picture after about... 300 pages? But in my case, at least, I ended up acquiring a taste for the background, especially when it comes to the revolution. Give it a chance!
ok. Im not even to Napolean and Waterloo yet. lol
11) The Iliad by HomerIt feels so good to finally have read this book! It's been on my to-read list since I was around 12. I didn't like it as much as I did The Odyssey, but there are some really unforgettable scenes, especially Priam's interview with Achilles. I hope it would cover more of the Trojan war. Where is the horse?
I'm obviously not going to complete this challenge this year, but I fell behind posting, so at least I'm going to update it!
12) Las ratas by José BiancoAn excellent psychological novel by an author who is not as famous as he should be considering his literary talent.
13) El Frasquito by Luis GusmánA very experimental and polyphonic novel which shows a boy's attempt to come to terms with his family situation, sexual impulses and the cultural detritus which makes up his world. Masterful writing.
14) Six Problems of Don Isidro by Jorge Luis BorgesThis is one of the cleverest, funniest books I've read. Borges's parody of detective fiction and the social stereotypes current when he was writing is simply exquisite.
15) La ciudad junto al río inmóvil by Eduardo MalleaThis is one of those cases of books that just don't age well. Mallea's concern with men trapped in their own anguish does not really come through as interesting. But there's some beautiful prose in it, it must be said.
16) Don Segundo Sombra by Ricardo GüiraldesA beautifully written initiation novel about a young boy training to become a "gaucho" and going through various rites of passage in his transition to maturity. Its values, for today's standards, are terribly conservative. But the beauty of its prose makes it worth reading.
17) Gotan y Otras Cuestiones: Poesia by Juan GelmanSome of the best poetry I've read. Simple, touching, deep.
18) La Calle del Agujero En La Media - Todos Bailan by Raúl González TuñónA pleasant discovery: González Tuñón talks about the social situation in Argentina and the world in the 30s and prophetizes the coming of revolution and justice. Wrong though he was, the optimism in his poetry is contagious and compelling.
19) The Woman in Black by Susan HillGood, old-fashioned, Victorian thrills. What could possibly go wrong?
20) Teacher's Dead by Benjamin ZephaniahI read this novel with my high school students and it turned out to be great stuff for discussion. What makes a person a killer? What role does the press have in the building of stereotypes? How ready are we to make assumptions instead of finding out the truth? A really deep and insightful book.
21) Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature by Gilles DeleuzeI just profoundly envy people who can read this insightfully into literary works. Deleuze's analysis of Kafka's work is mind-blowing. A must.
22) David Copperfield by Charles DickensDickens is one of those authors one needs to read periodically. He's such a perfect antidote against bad temper. And so humanely moving. And this novel is no exception. The cast of characters (Micawber, Uriah Heep, Miss Betsey Trotwood) are unforgettable.
23) 1984 by George OrwellI don't know why it took me so long to finally read this book, but it was every bit as mind-blowing as I expected it to be. Some descriptions of Oceania's totalitarian government made my hair stand on end, as they seem to foreshadow many of the atrocities that have taken place in various parts of the world since the book was written. I was also fascinated by the relationship Orwell draws between language and the system of thought. Simply brilliant.
24) Lolita by Vladimir NabokovWell, I had a very meagre harvest this year, but I finished it with a masterpiece, which is always nice. This book is amazing, not only because of how masterfully it tackles a very delicate topic, but because of Nabokov's exquisite prose, considering that he spoke English as a second language. (If only I could write in English like that!)
Challenge: 50 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
The Iliad (other topics)On the Road (other topics)
Life of Pi (other topics)
Lolita (other topics)
Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jorge Luis Borges (other topics)Yann Martel (other topics)
Homer (other topics)
Alessandro Baricco (other topics)
Jack Kerouac (other topics)
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I found this book exquisite. Like a carefully composed symphony, it consists of many different sections, but different themes are picked up and woven into all of them to create cohesion where there seems to be none. Mitchell's story-telling is masterful.