Books of the Week

Happy New Year, and welcome back! Our first post of 2025 features reading recommendations from 5J.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

Recommended by Julian Bone

Catch 22 chronicles events in the life of Captain John Yossarian, a US airman who is stationed on the imaginary Mediterranean island of Planosa during the second world war.  Yossarian is honest, and against what people usually think of war. Many of his friends die and in a desperate attempt to stay alive, Yossarian tries to be certified as ‘insane’ but is caught in a paradox called Catch-22. 

The novel includes violence, blood and tragic events, just like war, but also comedy, with a vulgarity and dark humour that are funny, unique and appealing. I liked the novel's wittiness, but it is non-linear, and can be confusing: a more chronological and orderly style would have been clearer.  I would recommend it as it is a classic with a strong message and insight into war from the perspective of soldiers. 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Recommended by Jacob Flax

In the story's frame narrative, a man is found unconscious at the north pole, after searching for a monstrous giant. His name is Victor Frankenstein: he originally went to university in Germany to study natural biology, but when his mother died due to scarlet fever, he became immersed in his studies, deciding to create a giant being and bring it to life.

A mixture of horror and science fiction, this novel is aimed at a maturer audience of 13+ readers. I liked the tension built up through the novel, and also how the book felt 'real'. It's a tale within a tale within a within a tale: there are multiple perspectives (from Frankenstein, the monster) which provides an interesting insight into everyone's part in the book. Victor's story feels particularly personal, real and compelling: the heartbreak and anguish that he feels is excellently displayed. It is also definitely worth mentioning the character of the monster, whose perspective is also full of sadness, for instance, when he is rejected by humanity. 

The perspective and emotions from both characters really makes this book shine.  Although it took time to get into the real story and Shelley spent quite a while setting the scene, later on the world-building does provide more context to some of the book. I would definitely recommend Frankenstein to anyone who's looking for a challenging read, as it is by no means easy.  

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Recommended by Max Koeppen 

This book starts after a murder: the narrator goes back to the events beforehand leading up to it. He is a young man named Richard, who moves from his small town home to study classics at a prestigious university, where he fakes it until he makes it. His five classmates are a friendship group that keep to themselves and don’t have much contact with others at the uni. They are quite interesting personalities and Richard slowly gets to know them. Eventually, he learns about a death they played a part in, while trying to perform a Dionysian ritual. One of the group was not included: and when he starts to learn the truth, the group decides to do something about him ... 

I enjoyed this book. It was very gripping and the characters are unique and interesting. I enjoyed how it was like an inverted detective story, a ‘whydunnit’ rather than ‘whodunnit’. This is quite an intellectual novel of ideas as well as a murder mystery, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological fiction.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Recommended by Finn Ng 

Small Things Like These is set in a random town in Ireland in the late 1900s. The town is very religious, but secretly, the nuns keep young women trapped, making them work for them. Many of these were young women who got pregnant without being married and gave birth after the father had left. These women are taken advantage of and not allowed to see their babies. 

The main character is Furlong, a man whose mother was once in a similar situation although she was taken care of by another family, so he sympathises with the women the nuns have imprisoned. The story follows him as he does things around the town, and his relationship with his family, who are very relatable. It is a realist and historic fiction, short but very descriptive, and Keegan creates a sense of a believable world, where religion can be used to control people.  All the words are deceptively important, making it seem simple and easy to read, but also very interesting. There wasn't much happening but I don't think it could be improved as it was more about portraying a setting. I would recommend it to people who would like to find out what Ireland was like at the time.  

Thanks to Julian, Jacob, Max and Finn for their contributions to today's post.