Books of the Year

Our last post for this term is our annual 'books of the year' post, where staff and students recommend a book (or books) they've particular enjoyed this year. 

 Mr Roberts opted for All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - the story of two children trying to survive during World War II: a young blind girl in Paris, and a German orphan boy. Their paths collide in this epic, enthralling and powerful novel, which has won numerous awards.

Conor Sinott also recommended a book shaped by WWII, Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. 'It is relentlessly mordant, constantly toeing the line between engagement and effrontery. Through its manipulation of time and space, interweaving narratives from Dresden in 1945 to New York in 1962 to an alien planet called Tralfamadore, the reader is caught between both emotional detachment, enhanced by the unreliable narrator, and emotional enchantment. A familiar example of this is the following of every death within the novel by the phrase 'So it goes', a phrase suggesting dismissal.

But the novel though is by no means confused: rather the contradictions serve as Vonnegut's modus operandi to highlight the ridicule he places on those promoting war and violence. In the first chapter, serving as a pseudo-preface, Vonnegut recalls a film-maker who responded to his proposal to write an anti- war by asking him why he didn't 'write an anti-glacier book'; crucially this book serves to criticise not to solve. It's witty and kind but also somewhat devastating, so I would highly recommend it.'

Mr Lowes recommends Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max Tegmark: 'a fascinating look at the future of Artificial Intelligence from all angles – combining computing, physics, biology, politics, philosophy, economics and ethics – and looking billions of years ahead.'

Mr Espey enjoyed The Strange Death of Liberal England by George Dangerfield: 'This portrait of Britain in the lead-up to WWI weaves together the struggles of the Suffragettes, the Irish nationalists, and organized labour against a background of partisan Tory intrigue. Here is political history at once thoughtful, dramatic, and deliciously gossipy. Dangerfield’s prose style is the big draw for me; like Oscar Wilde with a DPhil, the man is a master of witty one-liners.'

Charlie Averre opted for The Trial by Franz Kafka. 'A terrifying, darkly comical insight into a corrupt, mazy legal system that gradually strips away the liberty and autonomy of its victims. Kafka's visionary political prediction concerning the onset of fascism is just as chilling and relevant today as it was over ninety years ago. Despite being called The Trial, this book is utterly devoid of justice.'

Mr Tofts recommends Philippe Sands’ East West Street: on the origins of genocide and crimes against humanity: 'utterly compelling. It is a personal detective story which traces the intellectual and family history of the two men who were responsible for the concepts of genocide and crimes against humanity following unprecedented Nazi atrocities. The dramatic final act describes how this all played out at Nuremberg. While doing this the author unlocks the family history of his own grandparents, their attempts to escape Nazi persecution and some of the strains this put on their marriage.'

Dan Staniforth nominated The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. 'Her debut novel, she wrote it over the course of ten years working as a Greek and Latin teacher. It’s a retelling of the story of Achilles and Patroclus from the point of view of Patroclus. Her prose is beautiful, and she makes an old story fresh and exciting. It’s a paean to brotherhood, love, and duty, and it speaks movingly of the importance of the less visible, those who do not lead, and those who are left behind.'

 Mr Francombe selected a novel by a legendary author who passed away this year - Philip Roth. The Plot Against America is a novel set in an alternative USA, where Roosevelt loses the 1940 election, and a fascist government, led by aviator Charles Lindbergh, seizes power.  'A thoughtful, challenging read especially given the current state of US politics and the election of Donald Trump.

It may be an alternative history novel, but the parallels with our current times make it plausible and eerily prescient. The scene of Charles Lindbergh flying down south in his airplane to be greeted by cheering crowds could have been a report from the 2016 Presidential election campaign (Trump in his private plane?). A great read for drawing parallels between an alternative this history and the current reality, and the dangers that lie therein.  You can't help thinking that Roth, writing this book and looking at the past, could see the future.' 

Karan Lalwani enjoyed David Lodge’s Nice Work, which 'provides an accessible yet stimulating read exploring the contrasts between the worlds of gender and industry. With universal themes of politics, love, work and family, the story has something for absolutely everyone to enjoy and was the best novel I read this year.'

Mr Cairns thought that one of the best things he read this year was The City & the City, 'a novel by a British author with an unusual name, China Miéville. He was an author I’d never read before as I don’t read ‘imaginative world’ fiction (unless it’s Ovid!) The blurb says: ‘It follows a wide-reaching murder investigation in two separate cities that occupy the same space simultaneously, combining weird fiction with the police procedural.’ It was written as a gift for Miéville's terminally ill mother, who was a fan of the latter genre, and – to be honest – I think it was the element of roman policier that made it more appealing to me. But I was haunted by the mind-boggling complexity of the author’s creative imagination– a tour-de-force of Alice in Wonderland bafflement.

It’s not Buda and Pest, it’s not Istanbul straddling the Bosporus strait with its European and Asian sides (though Beszel - a Hungarian word for ‘speaking’ - called to mind a Central European city and Ul Qoma was reminiscent of some Ottoman metropolis): it’s both, one on top of / side by side with the other. But the inhabitants of each city have to ‘unsee’ the other, on pain of suffering something horrible yet unspecified from a Big Brother entity called simply Breach. A tingle goes down your spine when the detective crosses to Ul Qoma and realises that the hotel in which he’s staying is right next to his own apartment in Beszel but which he has ‘unseen’ all his life (he’s possibly risking his life even ‘seeing’ this, as Breach can also get into your mind). I was thrilled by this novel and will reread it.

He also recommends Arnaldur Indriðason’s thoughtful Icelandic noir, Skuggasund (which he read in the summer in English as The Shadow District).

'Set in wartime Reykjavik (with a detective whose name in English sounds wonderfully euphonious, Flovent) and in the present with another cop whose wartime past is filled with ghosts. (Flovent is himself haunted by memories of the Spanish Flu in 1918, to which he lost his mother and sister.) And you learn something about the Icelanders’ belief in elves. A real newspaper report from 2013 said that a judge had ordered work on a road highway to be halted as it might have an impact on elves living nearby.'

The school's librarians had plenty to recommend from their reading this year.  Mrs Cummings writes: 'the book I enjoyed most was The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton.

It’s a debut novel of mind-boggling cleverness and I’m recommending it to everyone. In essence it’s a murder mystery worthy of the Golden Age, there’s a country house party, various dubious guests and buried secrets. But there’s a diabolical twist: unless Evelyn’s murder is solved, the day will repeat and Evelyn will die again, and again. The plot twists and turns and repeats itself and all the detail to detect the murderer is there but I didn’t work it out, and I bet you don’t either. You’ll have enormous fun trying though. And best of all, it’s available in the Library.'

Mrs Wilkinson's best book of the year was Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore: 'It is 1792 and Europe is seized by political turmoil and violence. Lizzie Fawkes has grown up in Radical circles where each step of the French Revolution is followed with eager idealism. But she has recently married John Diner Tredevant, a property developer who is heavily invested in Bristol’s housing boom, and he has everything to lose from social upheaval and the prospect of war. Soon his plans for a magnificent terrace built above the two-hundred-foot drop of the Gorge come under threat.  Diner believes that Lizzie’s independent, questioning spirit must be coerced and subdued. She belongs to him: law and custom confirm it, and she must live as he wants.  In a tense drama of public and private violence, resistance and terror, Diner’s passion for Lizzie darkens until she finds herself dangerously alone.'

Mrs Jones recommends The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (and our book of the week selection back in November - you can read that review here). 'A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.'

Mrs Dixon, the SPJ librarian really enjoyed Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth: 'a fictional story of Charlotte Rose de la Force (seventeenth century writer of French Fairy Tales) and her most famous story ‘Persinette’ – known to most of us as ‘Rapunzel’. Strong on historical detail with a hefty dose of magic realism.'

Albert Doyle's book of the year was a classic of gonzo journalism - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. 'I loved the complex narrative of this book in which there was never a boring moment. The novel begins near Las Vegas and covers the adventures of a journalist and his attorney who have taken a large amount of drugs and are just starting to feel the effects.

I found that the illustrations by Ralph Steadman very thought-provoking and fit the hallucinations induced by the drugs taken by the main characters perfectly. Thompson's writing style of being frank and straight forward in his speaking is refreshing and makes the novel an instant must-read.'
 

Mr Hager's choice was Anthony Trollope's The Warden: 'a wonderful, short, satirical novel set in the fictional cathedral city of Barchester, exploring the dilemma facing Septimus Harding, an elderly cleric and warden of an ancient almshouse attached to the Diocese of Barchester, when his position is called into question by a zealous reformer, John Bold. Bold is, of course, in love with Harding’s second daughter, and his desire to rid the county of the corrupt institutions of the church causes difficulties in his personal life.

The novel takes swipes at the pomposity of The Times and its journalists, the legal system, the church, contemporary novelists and much more. It is also a nostalgic work, and it is the first of six novels in the Barsetshire Chronicles, all of which are worth your attention if you enjoy an 800-pager every now and then.'

Harry Grindle recommends Native Son by Richard Wright: 'without a doubt my favourite read in the last twelve months. It is a fascinating tome which explores structural racism within society and its profoundly great consequences on the people oppressed by them, presented through a gruesome beheading and burning of a corpse.

The vernacular of the text and the double-edged nature of caricature portrayals evokes great contemplation in the reader, feeling sympathy for a man who's actions are unarguably catastrophic in nature, yet almost justified by his oppression within a culture engrained with racism and prejudice. Although the Emancipation Proclamation occurred in 1863, Wright's exploration of a 1930s Chicago is still ever present with themes of inferiority, racial discrimination and a clear-cut hierarchical system within society.'

Mr Smith nominated 'two topical books: The Shortest History of Germany and Englanders and Huns: The Culture Clash which led to the First World War, both by James Hawes.

Taken as a pair, they present a brilliant, brief and revealing history of the formation of Europe and the often baffling – though much less so after reading them – circumstances that led to the outbreak of WW1. The birth of the idea of Britons taking holidays abroad, the rivalry between England and Germany for colonial empires and a distinctly Anglophile Kaiser are all revealed.'

Mr Kemp recommends The Kid Stays in the Picture: 'this is the memoir of 70s Hollywood Producer, Robert Evans. It is the story of an absolute scoundrel, a monster of self-belief, a titanic void of self-awareness. It is incredibly funny and a bit atrocious. Is it a moral tale of the dangers of living a life of excess? Not by a long shot. Is it genuinely hilarious? You bet it is. Does Evans’s habit of constantly asking himself rhetorical questions become addictive? That ain’t the half of it.'

He also enjoyed re-reading The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton: 'so beautiful and sad and well-controlled.' Leon Grahlmann-Rolfe nominated a short story by Wharton's close friend, Henry James: 'The Turn of the Screw is a mysterious Gothic novella that gripped me and created a strong sense of dread at the uncanny events and terrifying uncertainty of the narrator. The story features ghosts, corruption of the children the narrator cares for and a lot of unreliability. Who do you trust? How do you know whether the narrator's perspective is influencing the events or not? It all makes for a very enjoyable read.'

And to end with an epic - Cyrus Allinson Agarokh's selection for book of the year 'is in fact an ongoing series, under the name of Game of Thrones written by George R. R. Martin. It is currently a five book series which is is constantly adding to, the story line is continuously evolving into an unpredictable world. Martin is not afraid to kill off characters as such, helping to add to the suspense and shock of the book. It is a series filled with excitement, narrated through the eyes of many different characters good or bad, which makes creates an especially interesting story line. The books further toy with interesting perceptions of religion, as throughout the books battles are ought over religious righteousness. I would recommend it due to its sheer size, and the way it causes the reader to fall into the world of Game of Thrones.'

Many thanks to all staff and students who contributed their suggestions to this year's round-up: have a great Christmas, and happy festive reading!