Books
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” Borges
The Year in Books words: Danny Arter
Another year in books brings another hoard of ‘Books of the Year’ lists. The publishing calendar becomes wafer-thin after the industry’s ‘Super Thursday’ – the day on which a swathe of big-name books are released in the hope of securing the coveted Christmas number one – before being resuscitated in the new year. It’s been quite a year for women writers: Hilary Mantel became the first female to win the Man Booker Prize twice; J K Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy sold by the shed-load; and E L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey sold by the suburbload, prompting a full-blown publishing frenzy. Maggie Shipstead won the prestigious Dylan Thomas Prize for her excellent Seating Arrangements, and Madeleine Miller bagged the Orange Prize for The Song of Achilles (admittedly, the latter is a prize exclusively for women). While these bounty winners may have hoarded the headlines, some of our picks have an altogether more niche feel. A.M. Homes may be familiar to many readers already (This Book Will Save Your Life), and her ambitious May We Be Forgiven is a magnificent piece of postmodern fiction. Heavily influenced by Don DeLillo, whom the protagonist bumps into in a couple of comic encounters, Homes’ novel explores an America obsessed with technology, detached from nature and, increasingly, witnessing the break-up of the nuclear family. It’s irreverent, dark and hilarious in equal measure. Keith Ridgway may be less familiar, but his Hawthorn and Child is one of the most ambitious crime novels
to be released in recent years. Numerous characters piece together a scattered patchwork of a narrative as an unsolved crime sees police partners Hawthorn and Child at the centre of an increasingly tangential, expanding web of a plot. The ‘whodunit’ isn’t the real mystery; it’s the reliability of the narrative itself. Another investigative novel with serious scope is Graham Rawle’s The Card. The story of a neurotic card collector is not merely a compelling story; it’s a beautiful hardback with wonderful illustrations courtesy of Rawle himself. Typography and layout experiments complement the eclectic narrative, which follows Riley on an adventure to seek card number 13 in the Mission Impossible set. A compelling chase penned in absorbing prose, The Card is a brilliant read. Zadie Smith’s NW has been a long time coming. Though the author is now a resident in New York, her eye (and ear) for London is second to none. Not since her debut White Teeth has she tackled the capital with such sharp wit, succinctly capturing the dialects of north-west Londoners to recount a coming-of-age tale through four distinct characters. It’s a gripping narrative, perhaps more experimental than her previous fare, but it’s
page. 18
pulled off with aplomb. Judges of this year’s major prizes may have overlooked NW, but it’s certainly added a severe heft to Smith’s reputation as one of the country’s most eminent literary talents. For readers more inclined towards non-fiction, Leanne Shapton’s Swimming Studies is essential. This memoir of her youth as a competitive swimmer is far more than selfindulgence. The clue is in the title; her approach to swimming is methodical, forensic, even. The meticulousness that she grants minor details, such as her numerous swimming outfits, is equal to her structured approach to life. Shapton may no longer be in swimming’s deep end, but its impact upon her everyday adult life makes Swimming Studies a wonderful read. To compliment Zadie Smith’s NW, readers might like to take a look at Nick Barratt’s Greater London, a sweeping look at the capital’s suburbs and outskirts. Barratt explores how the capital expanded, creating pockets of community which have unique, distinctive characteristics of their own, all the while remaining a part of the capital. It’s abundantly illustrated, and big enough to occupy you all over the festive period.