Year 5 of Reading

Once again I am posting on my birthday about my favorite books read in a year of my life. I read 87 books this year, a good many of them borrowed from other people, because I was often betwixt and between, in the process of packing and moving and storing my own books, as well as later enjoying an extended visit with my son. At one point in time, while having a pity party, I decided to give up reviewing books online, but thought better of it later because I realized I really enjoyed doing it, even if nobody read the reviews.

I've been on a Victorian literature spree this year, because I really enjoy the novels from that period and I had only read the obvious ones. I think I like them because they tell such interesting (though often predictable) stories, without self-conscious pretentiousness. As is usual for me, I read current releases only after Christmas, when I received bookseller gift cards. Otherwise I buy used, which means books published less recently. Don't bother suggesting public libraries to me -- I long ago proved to be unreliable in getting books back on time. True story: once in Austin a constable came to my door on Thanksgiving to demand payment of my library fines or else I would go to jail. Unbelievable.

These are the books I enjoyed most this year: (Rereads not included)

*Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson A surrealistic story of the war in Vietnam, but, more importantly and by implication, about how all war degrades and destroys the participants. Masterfully accomplished and thus quite disturbing. Winner of the 2007 National Book Award and a Pulitzer finalist. (Dec., 2014)

*Can You Forgive Her by Anthony Trollope Victorian novel about three women fortunate enough to be courted by two very different types of men. Each has one suitor who is solid and dependable and another who is dangerously exciting. Which type will they choose? Very amusing and also highly instructive. (Dec., 2014)

*Lila by Marilynne Robinson A touching May-December romance between a formerly homeless migrant worker and a minister. Beautifully written. National Book Award finalist and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for 2015. (Jan., 2015)

*All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr An addictively readable story set in World War II about a blind girl from Paris and a precociously talented young man from Germany and how their lives eventually intersect. Finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize. (Jan., 2015)

*The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan World War II experiences of a fictional Australian army surgeon, first as a prisoner of the Japanese involved in the building of the Thai-Burma Death Railway and later as a guilt-ridden survivor. Extraordinarily powerful. Winner of England's 2014 Man Booker Award. (Jan., 2015)

*The Hamlet by William Faulkner Southern Gothic tale about the rise of the Snopes clan, the epitome of White Trash in the New South. Only Faulkner could write about violent death, madness, greed, sexual obsession, and bestiality and make it grotesquely funny. (Jan., 2015)

*The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber A very thoughtful science fiction, religion-centered, apocalyptic, love story about a pastor posted to a far-away planet to minister to the aliens, leaving the love of his life behind. Sounds unlikely that this could all fit together meaningfully, but it does. (Feb., 2015)

*Dr. Thorne by Anthony Trollope Gossipy and affectionately told story of the romance between a young man who is heir to an estate seriously in need of an influx of cash and the poor niece of a rural doctor. A tenderly humorous look at the upper and middle classes of Victorian England. I love Trollope. (Feb., 2015)

*Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell Delightful Marriage Plot Victorian novel, this one about a love triangle and another triangle--the sweet heroine, selfish step-mother, and beautiful step-sister. Gaskell's skill in characterization makes this one much better than it sounds. Predictable, but so much fun to read. (Mar., 2015)

*The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick Perhaps the most hallucinatory tale from the master of alternate realities, about Palmer Eldritch, who is maybe an alien and maybe a god and maybe a devil, and Chew-Z, a drug that allows the user to enter an alternate reality for what seems like forever, but then maybe it is forever. (Mar., 2015)

*The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber A modern (2002) look at Victorian England through the life of Sugar, a second generation prostitute who becomes the favorite of an egotistical manufacturing magnate who has a mad wife and a neglected daughter. Sugar is so well portrayed that she is now one of my favorite fictional characters ever. Fascinating. ((Mar., 2015)

*Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel Surely one of the most hopeful post-apocalypse tales ever, with the survivors preserving the best and brightest from the ruins of civilization. Brings several disparate stories together in a most clever fashion. Finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pen/Faulkner Award.(Apr., 2015)

I read only one book this year which I absolutely hated -- London Fields by Martin Amis, because the novel's sole intent seemed to be to prove that the author is supremely clever and superior. I kept wishing I could meet Mr. Amis and slap his arrogant and condescending face.

Happy reading, and happy birthday to me.