MUST READ BOOKS PART 2
Loot. co.za (R253) One of the most heart-rending books I have ever read that transcends cultural gaps to touch the darker areas within us all. Betrayal, guilt and redemption are the strongest themes here, with Hosseini’s second mother-daughter novel A Thousand Splendid Suns also strongly recommended so long as you’re willing to let the tears keep falling. Definitely try to read this before watching the also excellent film. Jess Denham Loot. co.za (R259) I was brought up an Orthodox Jew, and this story about a man’s journey out of Orthodoxy was compelling because of its value and how it did and did not reflect my childhood. One for anyone who has ever felt lost. Dina Rickman Loot. co.za (R116) Expect some hefty historical chapters about the Italian and German occupation of Cephalonia in World War II. Wade through these, interesting as they are, and you’ll find many fascinating explorations of love, including my favourite passage about love in literature. “Love is a temporary madness.” Jess Denham Loot. co.za (R184) Carroll’s work is the greatest paradise for dreamers there is. Reading and re-reading Alice’s adventures taught me each time that imagination is an infinite thing, and the word “impossible” belongs to the vocabulary of the uninspired. Clarisse Loughrey Loot. co.za (R247) An utterly depressing read but one that is necessary to understand that no one is infallible to an addiction. Selby’s descriptions are outstanding; you truly experience the harrow- ing lives of these four unfortunate New Yorkers. This book is a train crash - uncomfortable to read but gripped by its gruesome reality. Ryan Ramgobin Loot. co.za (R253) This quintessential jazz age novel is about so much more than a shallow bunch of rich people hosting lavish parties. Fitzgerald explores crushed idealism, hopeless love and the elusiveness of the American Dream. The green light at the end of Daisy’s dock will speak to everyone’s unfulfilled dreams.
Jess Denham Loot. co.za (R353) When I was a wee nipper my Dad gave me a copy of The Hobbit for my birthday, marking my first foray into the fantastical world of Middle Earth. Immediately, I fell in love with Bilbo’s adventure into the Lonely Mountain, the characters being so loveable and, unlike The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien’s writing was so easily accessible. Now, every time I return to the Shire it’s like revisiting an old friend; I just wish I could forget about those awful film adap- Loot. co.za (R256) I dearly love Austen, but she’s forgivingly attached to her creations. She mocks them with a smiling nod and an effusive warmth. Not Thackeray though; Becky Sharp is despicable, calculating, and relentlessly cruel. And, boy, do I love her for it. Clarisse Loughrey Loot. co.za (R364) One of the most ambitious books ever written, a synopsis for which would itself take up most of a novella. Set in a very American dystopia and lurching from tennis academies to rehab centres, it skewers the sadness of capitalism just by looking blankly at it. Wallace possessed Pynchon-like wittiness no matter what the topic. He could literally spend three pages describing a paving slab and you’d be scintillated. Christopher Hooton A handsome, tations. Jack Shepherd Loot. co.za (R87) narcissistic young man enthralled by hedonism commits himself to indulging in every pleasure in life: both moral and immoral. Roisin O’Connor Loot. co.za (R487) The power of female relationships is at the heart of this Pulitzer Priz e- winning book about the leading part sisterhood can play in encouraging women to be the best person they can be. Set mainly in rural Georgia in the 1930s, it follows the life of poor African-American girl Celie and the sexism, racism and violence she endures. Deeply troubling throughout, but inspirational and life-affirming too. Jess Denham Loot. co.za (R246) Gen t le sophisticated humour covering the fictional history of a small Minnesotan town, with a War and Peace sweep but a Small is quite good’ ethos.
Slightly sentimental and Thurberesque, this is the genuine Great American Novel. Alex Johnson Loot. co.za (R176) This is one of those books which made me laugh out loud with its wordplay and witty dialogue. It all seems a bit absurd at first but it builds towards a clever conclusion. Samuel Osborne Loot. (R278) A marathon of a book, it plods along until suddenly you are utterly gripped, involved and entertained to the last flourish of its finale. There’s no Victorian epic with a better pay-off for those willing to persevere. Adam Withnall co.za Loot. (R203) Gothic literature beautifully poses a single question to my own mind: are ghosts merely a distraction from what truly frightens us? The true horror lies within our own hearts and minds, and the phantom of Rebecca is a merely a pointed finger towards that revelation. Clarisse Loughrey co.za