The new year has kicked off with a bang! Three days in, four books read, including the quite extraordinary newie by Jesse Ball, Silence Once Begun. I'll be writing a full review in the coming days once I've had a bit more time to digest it but, suffice to say it did not disappoint even with the weight of my ridiculously high hopes resting on its shoulders.
I also took the downtime to revise and update my Best Books of All Time list. The Top Ten has shifted around and now consists of:
1. The Trial – Franz Kafka (1925)
2. The Brothers Ashkenazi – I.J. Singer (1936)
3. I Am The Cheese – Robert Cormier (1977)
4. The Tenant – Roland Topor (1964)
5. The Book of Daniel – E.L. Doctorow (1971)
6. Trieste – Dasa Drndic (2012)
7. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay – Michael Chabon (2000)
8. A Dry White Season – Andre Brink (1979)
9. Waiting For The Barabarians – J.M. Coetzee (1980)
10. The Assault – Harry Mulisch (1982)
If you want the full list, free feel to get in touch at baitforbookworms@gmail.com and I'll be happy to send it to you. I don't want to clog up an entire page here with a seemingly endless litany of titles. Anyway, hope you're getting some good reading in over the break. Jesse Ball and I will be back very soon.
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3 comments:
Yay for Waiting for the Barbarians - such a small gem of a book. I've read it twice already and it's begging for a second re-read. I found Coetzee's prose surprisingly lyrical in this early novel, in contrast to the more pared-down style of the later books. It's a pleasure to read.
Totally agree. There have been great things to be found in all his novels but I think Barbarians is where it all converged without any of the weaknesses that slightly detracted from a lot of the others. It's pretty close to a perfect book. (That said, I'd rate The Life and Times of Michael K. and Disgrace pretty highly as well)
You might also like Sting of the Drone by Richard Clarke (http://www.amazon.com/Sting-Drone-Richard-A-Clarke/dp/1250047978) and “Bullets and Train” written by Pakistani author Adeerus Ghayan ( http://www.amazon.com/Bullets-Train-Adeerus-Ghayan-ebook/dp/B00LJK7KZ8 ) . Latter is available for free download at Amazon Kindle and looks at the matter from a purely Pakistani point of view. It is interesting how authors from two different parts of the world convey the same message that drones are fuelling terrorism.
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