BOOKS 2013: February
8. Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox - Gareth Williams
Angel of Death tells a lively and powerful tale: the story of our battle against smallpox, once humankind's greatest killer, but ultimately the only disease that we have successfully eradicated from the planet. By skilfully weaving together previously neglected voices with the personal experiences of colourful historical figures such as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Edward Jenner, Gareth Williams breathes life into one of the most exciting success stories in the history of medicine.
Filled with original and engaging insights into the anti-vaccination movement and the alarming unlearned lessons of smallpox, Angel of Death will appeal to all those moved by the thrill of discovery and the individual's fight against adversity.
9. Zero at the Bone - Jane Seville
After witnessing a mob hit, surgeon Jack Francisco is put into protective custody to keep him safe until he can testify. A hitman known only as D is blackmailed into killing Jack, but when he tracks him down, his weary conscience won't allow him to murder an innocent man. Finding in each other an unlikely ally, Jack and D are soon on the run from shadowy enemies.
Forced to work together to survive, the two men forge a bond that ripens into unexpected passion. Jack sees the wounded soul beneath D's cold, detached exterior, and D finds in Jack the person who can help him reclaim the man he once was. As the day of Jack's testimony approaches, he and D find themselves not only fighting for their lives... but also fighting for their future. A future together.
10. Tell the Wolves I’m Home - Carol Rifka Brunt
There's only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that's her uncle, the renowned painter, Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her once inseparable older sister, June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confident, and best friend. So when he dies far too young of a mysterious illness that June’s mother can barely bring herself to discuss, June's world is turned upside down. At the funeral, she notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd, and a few days later, June receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn's apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. A the two begin to spend time together, June realises she's not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he might just be the one she needs the most. Tell the Wolves I'm Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.
11. Strange Meeting - Susan Hill
Young officer John Hilliard returns to his battalion in France following a period of sick leave in England. Despite having trouble adjusting to all the new faces, the stiff and reserved Hilliard forms a friendship with David Barton, an open and cheerful new recruit who has still to be bloodied in battle. As the pair approach the front line, to the proximity of death and destruction, their strange friendship deepens. But each knows that soon they will be separated...
12. The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
'The Lottery', one of the most terrifying stories written in the twentieth century, created a sensation when it was published in 1948. Today it is considered a classic work of short fiction, remarkable for its combination of subtle suspense and pitch-perfect descriptions of both the chilling and the mundane.
13. To Touch a Wild Dolphin - Rachel Smolker
In 1982, Rachel Smolker traveled to Monkey Mia, a remote spot in western Australia where she’d heard wild dolphins regularly interact with people. She had no intention of staying long; she simply wanted to see if the rumors were true. That initial trip changed Smolker’s life; it commenced a fifteen-year scientific obsession that has culminated in this fascinating scientific adventure story-the first-ever intimate account of dolphin life in the wild.
14. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
'What are you thinking, Amy?' The question I've asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions stormcloud over every marriage: 'What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?' Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife? And what was in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war...
15. The Book of Barely Imagined Beings: A 21st Century Bestiary - Caspar Henderson
From Axolotl to Zebrafish, meet a world of barely imagined beings: real creatures that are often stranger and more astonishing than anything dreamt in the pages of a medieval bestiary. Ranging from the depths of the ocean to the most arid corners of the earth, Caspar Henderson captures the beauty and bizarreness of the many living forms we thought we knew and some we could never have contemplated, and invites us to better imagine the world around us. An extraordinary, vivid combination of natural history, spiritual primer and philosophical meditation, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings is a mind-expanding, wonder-inducing read.
16. Regeneration - Pat Barker
Craiglockhart War Hospital, Scotland, 1917, and army psychiatrist William Rivers is treating shell-shocked soldiers. Under his care are the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, as well as mute Billy Prior, who is only able to communicate by means of pencil and paper. Rivers's job is to make the men in his charge healthy enough to fight. Yet the closer he gets to mending his patients' minds the harder becomes every decision to send them back to the horrors of the front. Pat Barker's Regeneration is the classic exploration of how the traumas of war brutalised a generation of young men.
17. The Day of the Scorpion - Paul Scott
India, August 9th 1942. The morning brings raids and the arrest by British police of Congress Party members. Amongst the prisoners is the distinguished ex-Chief Minister Mohammed Ali Kasim. Loyal to the party's central vision of a unified free India, his incarceration is a symptom of the growing deterioration of Anglo-Indian relations.
For the long-serving British family, the Laytons, the political and social ramifications are immediate, disturbing and tragic. Some, like Ronald Merrick, believe that true intimacy between the races is impossible; others, such as Sarah Layton, struggle to come to terms with their Anglo-Indian past. With growing confusion and bewilderment, the British are forced to confront the violent and often brutal years that lie ahead of them.
February was a good month. Aside from one or two mediocre books, everything was either good or very, very good. I'm fairly certain Tell the Wolves I'm Home is going to be one of my top books of 2013, if not the top book of 2013. It was just stunning, very sad without the amateur dramatics, very well written and a first person, teenage POV which did not make me want to kill the narrator and wear her skin like a toga. It reminded me a lot of I Capture the Castle, not in storyline, which is totally different, but in the coming-of-age theme and the cleverness and empathy and maturity of it. To call it "young adult" is too restricting: this needs to be read by everyone.
Regeneration was also excellent, though frustrating because I didn't buy the second two books in the trilogy and am now impatiently waiting for them to be posted through my door. May love Sassoon a little: an improvement, I think, because he might be a dead gay guy but at least he's not also fictional this time, as is the usual case.
The Day of the Scorpion was another surprise. I was expecting it to be difficult for some reason, because I read the first in the quartet over a year ago and my memories of it were that it was a slog, though not a bad one. I didn't find that at all with this one. The historical background is one that I'm not at all familiar with and I suspect that that is what my memories were of, the lack of knowledge of the setting. But I didn't feel that impeded my enjoyment of the story which is very, very talky but I like books where layered characters chew fat with one another. A lot of people don't, so this is as much an anti-recommendation as a recommendation.
Non-fiction-wise Angel of Death was the stand-out, though The Book of Barely Imagined Beings came a close - and vastly beautiful - second. I've repeatedly mentioned my struggle with history books, especially those that deal with long periods of time as this one does. Yet I found that I followed it with ease, it didn't get bogged down by its own chronology. It was clear, informative, sciencey, and at points humourous, something that you might not think natural in a book about one of mankind's great killers. The stories of the various characters that rose up in the fight against smallpox is especially enjoyable, not just Jenner but Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Cotton Mather and others. My only complaints are that I felt more time could have been spent comparing the anti-vaccination movement then with its current equivalent, and the (now discredited) hypotheses that linked the eradication of smallpox and the emergence of HIV/AIDS. Small niggles however in an otherwise excellent medical history book.
Angel of Death tells a lively and powerful tale: the story of our battle against smallpox, once humankind's greatest killer, but ultimately the only disease that we have successfully eradicated from the planet. By skilfully weaving together previously neglected voices with the personal experiences of colourful historical figures such as Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Edward Jenner, Gareth Williams breathes life into one of the most exciting success stories in the history of medicine.
Filled with original and engaging insights into the anti-vaccination movement and the alarming unlearned lessons of smallpox, Angel of Death will appeal to all those moved by the thrill of discovery and the individual's fight against adversity.
9. Zero at the Bone - Jane Seville
After witnessing a mob hit, surgeon Jack Francisco is put into protective custody to keep him safe until he can testify. A hitman known only as D is blackmailed into killing Jack, but when he tracks him down, his weary conscience won't allow him to murder an innocent man. Finding in each other an unlikely ally, Jack and D are soon on the run from shadowy enemies.
Forced to work together to survive, the two men forge a bond that ripens into unexpected passion. Jack sees the wounded soul beneath D's cold, detached exterior, and D finds in Jack the person who can help him reclaim the man he once was. As the day of Jack's testimony approaches, he and D find themselves not only fighting for their lives... but also fighting for their future. A future together.
10. Tell the Wolves I’m Home - Carol Rifka Brunt
There's only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that's her uncle, the renowned painter, Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her once inseparable older sister, June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confident, and best friend. So when he dies far too young of a mysterious illness that June’s mother can barely bring herself to discuss, June's world is turned upside down. At the funeral, she notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd, and a few days later, June receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn's apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. A the two begin to spend time together, June realises she's not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he might just be the one she needs the most. Tell the Wolves I'm Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.
11. Strange Meeting - Susan Hill
Young officer John Hilliard returns to his battalion in France following a period of sick leave in England. Despite having trouble adjusting to all the new faces, the stiff and reserved Hilliard forms a friendship with David Barton, an open and cheerful new recruit who has still to be bloodied in battle. As the pair approach the front line, to the proximity of death and destruction, their strange friendship deepens. But each knows that soon they will be separated...
12. The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
'The Lottery', one of the most terrifying stories written in the twentieth century, created a sensation when it was published in 1948. Today it is considered a classic work of short fiction, remarkable for its combination of subtle suspense and pitch-perfect descriptions of both the chilling and the mundane.
13. To Touch a Wild Dolphin - Rachel Smolker
In 1982, Rachel Smolker traveled to Monkey Mia, a remote spot in western Australia where she’d heard wild dolphins regularly interact with people. She had no intention of staying long; she simply wanted to see if the rumors were true. That initial trip changed Smolker’s life; it commenced a fifteen-year scientific obsession that has culminated in this fascinating scientific adventure story-the first-ever intimate account of dolphin life in the wild.
14. Gone Girl - Gillian Flynn
'What are you thinking, Amy?' The question I've asked most often during our marriage, if not out loud, if not to the person who could answer. I suppose these questions stormcloud over every marriage: 'What are you thinking? How are you feeling? Who are you? What have we done to each other? What will we do?' Just how well can you ever know the person you love? This is the question that Nick Dunne must ask himself on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police immediately suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they aren't his. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone. So what really did happen to Nick's beautiful wife? And what was in that half-wrapped box left so casually on their marital bed? In this novel, marriage truly is the art of war...
15. The Book of Barely Imagined Beings: A 21st Century Bestiary - Caspar Henderson
From Axolotl to Zebrafish, meet a world of barely imagined beings: real creatures that are often stranger and more astonishing than anything dreamt in the pages of a medieval bestiary. Ranging from the depths of the ocean to the most arid corners of the earth, Caspar Henderson captures the beauty and bizarreness of the many living forms we thought we knew and some we could never have contemplated, and invites us to better imagine the world around us. An extraordinary, vivid combination of natural history, spiritual primer and philosophical meditation, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings is a mind-expanding, wonder-inducing read.
16. Regeneration - Pat Barker
Craiglockhart War Hospital, Scotland, 1917, and army psychiatrist William Rivers is treating shell-shocked soldiers. Under his care are the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, as well as mute Billy Prior, who is only able to communicate by means of pencil and paper. Rivers's job is to make the men in his charge healthy enough to fight. Yet the closer he gets to mending his patients' minds the harder becomes every decision to send them back to the horrors of the front. Pat Barker's Regeneration is the classic exploration of how the traumas of war brutalised a generation of young men.
17. The Day of the Scorpion - Paul Scott
India, August 9th 1942. The morning brings raids and the arrest by British police of Congress Party members. Amongst the prisoners is the distinguished ex-Chief Minister Mohammed Ali Kasim. Loyal to the party's central vision of a unified free India, his incarceration is a symptom of the growing deterioration of Anglo-Indian relations.
For the long-serving British family, the Laytons, the political and social ramifications are immediate, disturbing and tragic. Some, like Ronald Merrick, believe that true intimacy between the races is impossible; others, such as Sarah Layton, struggle to come to terms with their Anglo-Indian past. With growing confusion and bewilderment, the British are forced to confront the violent and often brutal years that lie ahead of them.
February was a good month. Aside from one or two mediocre books, everything was either good or very, very good. I'm fairly certain Tell the Wolves I'm Home is going to be one of my top books of 2013, if not the top book of 2013. It was just stunning, very sad without the amateur dramatics, very well written and a first person, teenage POV which did not make me want to kill the narrator and wear her skin like a toga. It reminded me a lot of I Capture the Castle, not in storyline, which is totally different, but in the coming-of-age theme and the cleverness and empathy and maturity of it. To call it "young adult" is too restricting: this needs to be read by everyone.
Regeneration was also excellent, though frustrating because I didn't buy the second two books in the trilogy and am now impatiently waiting for them to be posted through my door. May love Sassoon a little: an improvement, I think, because he might be a dead gay guy but at least he's not also fictional this time, as is the usual case.
The Day of the Scorpion was another surprise. I was expecting it to be difficult for some reason, because I read the first in the quartet over a year ago and my memories of it were that it was a slog, though not a bad one. I didn't find that at all with this one. The historical background is one that I'm not at all familiar with and I suspect that that is what my memories were of, the lack of knowledge of the setting. But I didn't feel that impeded my enjoyment of the story which is very, very talky but I like books where layered characters chew fat with one another. A lot of people don't, so this is as much an anti-recommendation as a recommendation.
Non-fiction-wise Angel of Death was the stand-out, though The Book of Barely Imagined Beings came a close - and vastly beautiful - second. I've repeatedly mentioned my struggle with history books, especially those that deal with long periods of time as this one does. Yet I found that I followed it with ease, it didn't get bogged down by its own chronology. It was clear, informative, sciencey, and at points humourous, something that you might not think natural in a book about one of mankind's great killers. The stories of the various characters that rose up in the fight against smallpox is especially enjoyable, not just Jenner but Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Cotton Mather and others. My only complaints are that I felt more time could have been spent comparing the anti-vaccination movement then with its current equivalent, and the (now discredited) hypotheses that linked the eradication of smallpox and the emergence of HIV/AIDS. Small niggles however in an otherwise excellent medical history book.