Barbelith Underground > Books, Criticism & Writing > Favourite Books

I very rarely re-read novels, so these are my favourites not in the sense of books I re-read every year, but in that they struck me with both feet in the forehead when I first read them, though a couple of them I have read more than once and they’ve retained their status at the top of the list. Most of my books are still on the other side of the globe and I haven’t seen them for 3.5 years, so I may be missing some of my favourites, but I guess that makes this a good test of what has stuck with me. And I couldn’t cut it down to five I’m afraid (apologies to those who forced themselves to whittle theirs down). So in no particular order, except for the first one:

Nikos Kazantzakis: Zorba the Greek. I could list any of his books as they are all equally brilliant, but this is the first one I read and it remains in my heart. His novels are the perfect combination of intellectualism and reality, and his characters are full of life and passion. The mutual love and respect between the bookish narrator and the exuberant anti-intellectualist Zorba is lovely, and made me want to go to Crete to sit on a beach, drink wine, eat olives, talk philosophy and dance. And I did, and it was great.

William Faulkner: The Sound and the Fury. This just blew me away with its use of language and most importantly its sound. My favourite writers (as this list will probably show) are usually quite aural, and their tone is often the primary indicator of meaning, and Faulkner is a good example of this. Even when you’re not sure what’s going on plot-wise (especially in something more complex like Absalom! Absalom!), you feel that the emotional plot is clear. And all of his novels have fantastic titles. And both TS&TF and AA have great covers on their Penguin Modern Classics paperback editions. In fact I love those old read-a-thousand-times nice and flexible Penguin Modern Classics that I bought many of in second-hand book stores as a student. And this next book is another of those:

James Joyce: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I think this novel has the same advantages of Ulysses without the dead weight. Religion, philosophy, prostitutes, drinking, literature and life. Everything you could ever want in a novel, written in Joyce’s sonorous prose. Utterly compelling, and a more complete achievement on its own terms than the longer work, in my opinion. And I don’t think I can list Portrait without also adding:

Flann O’Brien: At Swim-Two-Birds. Didn’t achieve the fame that Joyce did, but this novel has the same fucked up student Irishness as Portrait and is much funnier. Beer, Irish myth, student life, experimental novel writing, characters interacting with their creator, piss-taking, all genius.

Haruki Murakami: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Murakami’s prose is very smooth and the plaintiveness layered over the everyday lives of his characters is handled very deftly. I do feel however that his shorter works don’t fulfil their potential, and I think that the reason this book is so good is that it allows itself time to tease out the story. Murakami isn’t a writer who hits you between the eyes, and he works best at slow speed. This book is an excellent mixture of the everyday and the unbelievable, stitched together by confident, measured prose.

James Kelman: How Late it Was, How Late. Again with the sound (and another great title). Consisting almost entirely of the thoughts of a drunken Glaswegian wandering about town, and written at times semi-phonetically, it’s a masterpiece of characterisation through speech. It rambles along with very little plot yet remains compelling from beginning to end. A real eye-opener as regards to the possibilities of idiosyncratic literary style in modern fiction. One Booker winner that actually deserved it.

Graham Greene: The Quiet American. I could list any Greene book here, but this is the first one I read and it has stuck with me. Smooth style, never a word out of place, master of the motivations of small characters whose lives are often defined by their various failures, weary desires and mediocrities.

Herman Hesse: Steppenwolf. Again, I could list any of his novels. Similar strengths to Greene, but more overtly philosophical, Hesse’s novels often involve grand themes as considered by ordinary characters trying to find their place in a world torn between nature and modern progress.

Rafi Zabor: The Bear Comes Home. I read this a couple of years ago and loved it. About a saxophone-playing bear who lives in New York. Sounds stupid but is very well-written. A very enjoyable read about New York clubs, jazz, love, relationships and compromise. And one extremely witty bear.

Ezra Pound: Personae; The Shorter Poems of Ezra Pound. Just to be a wanker and to make those who only listed novels kick themselves, I’ll include a book of poetry. Pound remains for me probably the writer with the best ear of any (poet or otherwise) I’ve read, with the exception of Shakespeare. And his early poems are still fresh and challenging almost a century later. And the dominant mediocre poetry he railed against then is just as dominant and mediocre now.

J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings. This is the only book of all the above that I have re-read many times (5+). It still delights and captivates me, and I can’t understand how anyone can find it dry. I think it’s an accomplished mix of nobility and humanity, and I love the epic style relieved when necessary by the homely moments. And it has second breakfasts and pipe weed and all hobbity things.

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