I stole this exercise from Neha at Wanderlust
So what books would you assign for a reading list? Give your own context if you like. Some of the folks involved in the origins of this exercise had very grand plans about a reading list for the world. Wow. I was thinking myself about a class I took senior year at St. Vincent from Mr. Stubbs (I wish some of his lectures were on tape--they were like poetry). We read five American novels (Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko, Player Piano by Vonnegut, House of Mirth by Wharton, Native Son by Wright, and one more that escapes me.....) and he told us what "codes" he saw as a thread joining these novels (taken from the Sophists) and then we were to do the same and even discuss what we saw enjoined this odd assortment.
So these are some books I see as connected, and would probably hand these to someone interested if they were in my house looking at my books (ooohhh---you must read this). If I were single, perhaps I would want a suitor to read all of these, or have read all of these. HAHAHAHA. A suitor. As if. Never had one, never will :-)
So in no particular order:
The God of Small Things-Arundhati Roi. I must confess I am something of an India-phile, at least when it comes to literature. I love so many novels written by the British in India, and Indians themselves in self-imposed exile. I particularly love writers like Roi, Indians that write in English, because there is something so beautifully precise in some of their invented expressions and syntax. This was also the first novel I read where I could see it cinematically as I read it.
White Teeth-Zadie Smith. One thousand times better than her second novel, which does rock in its own right. But this novel completely dominated my life for a week while I read it.
Howards End-E.M. Forster. Helen Schlegel is one of my favorite characters of all time.
Return of the Native-Thomas Hardy. It was hard to pick one Hardy. I love Jude and Madding Crowd, but for this excercise, Native is a better choice (you'll see).
The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald. The writing in this novel is a smooth, highly polished, reflective surface with smooth contours.
Atonement-Ian McEwen. This made me weep, and I feel ridiculous admitting that.
My Antonia-Willa Cather. Duh.
The Quiet American-Graham Greene. Nothing really quiet about this novel. I had a hard time picking a Greene book.
So these are some books I see as connected, and would probably hand these to someone interested if they were in my house looking at my books (ooohhh---you must read this). If I were single, perhaps I would want a suitor to read all of these, or have read all of these. HAHAHAHA. A suitor. As if. Never had one, never will :-)
So in no particular order:
The God of Small Things-Arundhati Roi. I must confess I am something of an India-phile, at least when it comes to literature. I love so many novels written by the British in India, and Indians themselves in self-imposed exile. I particularly love writers like Roi, Indians that write in English, because there is something so beautifully precise in some of their invented expressions and syntax. This was also the first novel I read where I could see it cinematically as I read it.
White Teeth-Zadie Smith. One thousand times better than her second novel, which does rock in its own right. But this novel completely dominated my life for a week while I read it.
Howards End-E.M. Forster. Helen Schlegel is one of my favorite characters of all time.
Return of the Native-Thomas Hardy. It was hard to pick one Hardy. I love Jude and Madding Crowd, but for this excercise, Native is a better choice (you'll see).
The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald. The writing in this novel is a smooth, highly polished, reflective surface with smooth contours.
Atonement-Ian McEwen. This made me weep, and I feel ridiculous admitting that.
My Antonia-Willa Cather. Duh.
The Quiet American-Graham Greene. Nothing really quiet about this novel. I had a hard time picking a Greene book.
Beloved-Toni Morrison--this one is a maybe.
Tropic of Cancer-Henry Miller. This one is extra credit.
Jane Eyre by Bronte and Wide Sargasso Sea by Rhys as a special project. This is one of the few occassions where the borrowing of a classic character is successful.
So the title of this exercise as I have laid it out is "That loud crashing noise you heard was the sound of worlds colliding (sometimes literally)." It was also the sound of my being blown away by these books the first time I read them.
Comments
P.S.--I just edited this to include Beloved.