‘I’m just going to have pretend that didn’t happen or I’ll never write anything again’
Chessie Henry on the books she wouldn’t part with
Usually I know when I’ve connected with a book, because I have a tendency to go back to those ones over and over again. If a new book is a struggle or I haven’t got anything to read I’ll just guiltily return to my faves. The books on this list are all pretty worn in for me, now. They all came along at different moments but each of them significantly expanded my writing vision and reminded me what I love about reading.
1
I Capture The Castle, by Dodie Smith
I have read this an embarrassing amount of times. Cassandra is the perfect narrator for me — observant and deadpan but inherently hopeful too. As a teenager, I related to her a lot particularly in the sense that she, like me, wanted to be a writer and (also like me) has a tendency to take on other people’s emotions and overthink everything. From the general plotline the book reads as an overly predictable, antiquated romance novel (it’s set in a ruined castle in the 1930s) but it’s a lot more subtle, unexpected and rewarding than that — the moment you’re waiting for happens about half way in and then it kind of takes an unexpected turn. I used to never talk about loving this book because I thought my tastes should be more highbrow but I would also never part with it, so there you go.
2
Can You Tolerate This?, by Ashleigh Young
I couldn’t get over this when I read it. The whole personal essay genre was still pretty new to me as a form, even though I’d been kind of writing similar (less beautifully crafted) essays without really consciously realising that’s what they were. It was amazing to read the collection and feel this whole history and personality coming together, like hearing about someone you’ve never met from a whole bunch of different voices. Ashleigh is so good at small, intimate moments that don’t overstate themselves.
3
The Cowboy Dog, by Nigel Cox
I read this during my Masters year when I was attempting to write a fictional novel set in an alternative, imagined New Zealand and it actually blew me away. Nigel wrote this book as he was dying of cancer and (maybe I’m reading this into it) I felt like you could feel that so much in the story. It’s searing and emotional but also simple; he seems to cut to the heart of everything. The characters travel between contemporary Auckland and a strange, visceral Wild West. It has this wild spirit that runs all through it, devastating and hopeful at the same time.
4
The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy
I could pick this book up at any page and start reading it just to soak up the way she writes. I think all in one go it’s a bit of a sensory overload for me but in small doses it’s super-inspiring. When I was writing my own book, I’d often get stuck and end up flipping through The God of Small Things. It would always help me to get started again because it’s so densely poetic and imaginative. She’s also such a cool woman in real life, I love listening to her interviews.
5
Pou¯ kahangatus, by Tayi Tibble
Like the rest of New Zealand, I am pretty much in awe of Tayi. In Assimilation she writes about a woman rolling her eyes like a tiny haka — that’s just one example of an image that sticks with you but they are everywhere in her work. She can mix pop culture, political commentary, sensuality and humour with so much confidence. She makes you feel excited about New Zealand writing. She’s actually intimidatingly good, like when I first read
Pou¯ kahangatus I was kind of like, “Okay, I’m just going to have pretend that didn’t happen for a while or I’ll probably never write anything again.” Best book, everyone should read it.