Books of the Week

Today's books of the week are recommended by 4EN.D.

Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Recommended by Aryan Chaudhary

This is a humorous novel, and very satirical: the author writes it using shifting timelines, which can be quite difficult to follow at first. I liked the absurd aspects but did not like the non-linear structure as much. 

My favourite character was Orr, who chose to be 'insane' in order to overcome the system, and by being mad, escaped the war: he crashed many planes, but survived every time.  I would recommend this novel to people who enjoy satire, comedy and books about war, but it can be confusing at times.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Recommended by Akshay Lallu

This novel is set in India: I loved how the plot was original and was very relevant to modern conditions in the country. It was also very entertaining and gripping. 

The style seems very satirical of different social classes - most characters are described as really selfish - but it is also comedic at times.  The main character feels a bit like a sociopath, but his master, Ashok, is more empathetic: however, he doesn't own up to his mistakes, at the expense of his servants, which makes the reader lose respect for him.  Overall, I found this a great book, and would recommend it to readers who want to explore the (often) unfairness of Indian society.

The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Recommended by Sasha Dearlove

I had read some Agatha Christie books before and had enjoyed them so decided to choose this one.  I really enjoyed this book because I found that the culprit was not who I expected and found that really shocking, in a good way. I also really liked how Poirot was well written and found him a very intriguing and funny character.

My favourite moment was when Poirot revealed the murderer and I thought this moment was well built up to. My favourite character was Caroline, Dr Sheppard's sister, because I liked how nosy she was and that she thought she was a brilliant detective, even if her thoughts were ludicrous and far-fetched. Christie's style is a very descriptive one, that involves lots of dialogue, and the book is written in a way that is engaging for readers of lots of different ages as the language could sometimes be quite dense and long-winded but it was also made clear what these words meant so could be easily understood by younger readers. Some parts of the book felt slower and more boring than others, for instance, the mahjong night, which felt slightly unnecessary, but overall I liked the majority of the book.  I think readers who like detective stories and a bit of comedy would enjoy it. 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
Recommended by Taemin Yun

I had already read the shortened and retold version before and I thought it would be interesting to read the full version to see the differences. 

Dickens captured the context of the time extremely well: the class differences, the shame of being lower-class, the judgement of the weak, poor and helpless. Not only did the concluding chapter have a satisfying resolution, it shows that actions can result in harsh consequences but time can make the individual reflect, realise their mistakes and fix them.

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, in the 2012 film adaptation of Great Expectations

Miss Havisham is a particularly memorable character: she is a tragic figure really, showing how betrayal and abandonment can shape someone to be  haughty and abusive. I believe Dickens also uses her fate as a metaphor to warn people that psychological abuse and any bad actions will result in consequences that are too late to repair, even when the individual realises what they have done. She learned from her lessons, but didn't have time to reconcile with the people she had hurt: I found this to be a less satisfying resolution to her story.  The novel is well written, and Dickens uses direct speech to indicate the differences in social class: using a first-person perspective means that the novel can describe Pip’s  experiences in a more emotional and sympathetic manner. I would recommend this novel to people who want to explore life in the Victorian era, and who enjoy pondering about a moral viewpoint at that time. 

The Three Body Problem by Liu Cixin
Recommended by Jack Xu

This science-fiction book came highly recommended. The main characters are well constructed: Ye Wenjie, the central female character, is probably the most interesting. She wants an alien civilization to save humanity as humanity cannot on its own, but as a 'brilliant scientist', from her trauma of her mother betraying her father and from her years in isolation studying, surely she should know that people/aliens are not what they always appear to be, especially when one has told you it wants to invade and destroy your civilization. 

I also disagree with her view of humanity, as influenced by personal trauma as it is.  The style of the novel is plain, as the author focusses more on plot and ideas rather than sophisticated and evocative prose: the dialogue is realistic, though, and gives a good insight into how the characters are feeling.  I would recommend this novel to older readers, above 12 or 13, as it contains a lot of advanced concepts in science and human nature (eg misanthropy) but anyone below that who can handle it is fine.

The Hobbit by  J.R.R Tolkien
Recommended by Chedly Kaffel

I was intrigued to read this novel, knowing how it inspired the basis of the majority of the modern fantasy world.  I quite liked how the story was structured as Tolkien telling it to you directly -  apparently, this stems from the fact that the entire world of Middle Earth is based on the bedtime stories he would tell to his children. I also enjoyed the wonderfully vivid descriptions and how the entire book ropes you into the rest of the Lord of the Rings world. 

My favourite character was most probably Bilbo, who is an unlikely hero in the beginning and slowly works towards fulfilling the image that Gandalf paints of him to his fellow adventurers. It is very interesting to follow him through this story as he ends up reaching this position. My only criticism would be that there isn't any fledged-out magic system or explanation for magic along with a general scarcity of magic, at least for a fantasy novel. Anybody who likes other kinds of fantasy fiction, eg Dungeons and Dragons, or Keeper of the Lost Cities, will enjoy this an engaging novel, as it will help them to find out about the origins of their favourite tropes and themes.

Many thanks to Aryan, Akshay, Sasha, Taemin, Jack and Chedly for contributing their recommendations.