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Yes, it's that time of the year when the Sundays are full of the good and the great choosing their favourite reads of the past twelve months... and they all pick the same things... Paul Muldoon's Moy Sand and Gravel seems to be a top tip this time round. Surely we can be a bit more creative?
I know it's tempting to pick The Gospel According to Harry Potter: Spirituality in the Stories of the World's Favourite Seeker, but the rules are that you have to have actually read the thing... (unfortunately this means I can't pull out my trump card, Jonathan Israel's Radical Enlightenment, because of course I haven't finished the damned thing yet).
I haven't read any new adult fiction published this year (because I buy paperbacks - always a year behind), so I'm going for Firesong by William Nicholson (this is the last in his The Wind on Fire trilogy and, I think, the best of the lot) and The Other Wind by Ursula Le Guin, both children's/YA fantasy, with Garth Nix's Sabriel coming in a close third. I think these are exemplary of the things that YA fantasy can do better than any other genre - approach really major issues and tell a tale at the same time; and they don't get bogged down in dragons and wizards. Le Guin in particular seems to have achieved a spare style which is perfect for the subject matter (death - all three of these books deal with death, and the approach of death). Found it very affecting.
Your turn... |
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