2019 was the year that I read the least over the last five year period. It’s not really surprising considering work amped up considerably, I stumbled upon a reading slump or two (each of which lasted a couple of months) and now we’re in the middle of a big move that is pulling my attention in a million different ways and that, unsuprisingly, does not leave me much time to read. Despite this, I still managed to read approximately 52 books and from what I did read, there were many books that I loved and ones that I will remember for years to come. Below is a list of my most notable books of this year; each of which I loved for many different reasons.
Overall Favourites
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. Both Boyne and Honeyman gave me beautifully written stories with complicated protagonists with whom I could not help but fall in love. Both stories are about love and loneliness, two emotions that are often written about but rarely written about this well. Both Boyne and Honeyman are kind to their protagonists but not at the expense of honesty; their stories are hard to read at times, but none of it is gratuitous and all of it is necessary. Both Boyne and Honeyman weave dry comedic relief in what may otherwise have been stories that are too heavy to bear for the reader. In short, these were brilliant stories that I have been begging everyone I know to read. These protagonists have burrowed themselves into my heart and nestled in there for years to come.
Favourite Non-Fiction
I love reading non-fiction, although I tend to lean towards true crime or anything have to do with the legal process (blame the day job) and have to consciously seek out other types of non-fiction reads. I read several non-fiction books this year, many of which I loved, but three of which really stood out to me and only one falling into the true crime genre. The first is 84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff; a charming epistolary short novel about the budding and true friendship between Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a London bookseller in the post-World War II era.
The second is Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King; a difficult but necessary read detailing the deeply racist and systemic injustices within the criminal justice system in the US, and the one man, Thurgood Marshall, who fought that system along with the NAACP.
Lastly, I read Sex and the Citadel by Shereen El Feki (not yet reviewed); El Feki takes a closer look at the Arab Spring, particularly the Egyptian revolution from a feminist and sex-positive lens. El Feki’s discourse is candid, raw and honest which is refreshing when it comes to a topic that is often only spoken of in whispers in my culture.
Favourite Translation
The Vegetarian by Han Kang and Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag were both wonderful surprises. Both were short but impactful commentaries on society. I read both books in January and here I am 12 months later still thinking about them. Kang manages to tackle heavy topics like the patriarchy, the expectation to conform to society’s norms, sexual objectification of women, and empathy in less than 190 pages. Likewise, in under 120 pages, Shanbhag weaves a rags to riches story that reads like a folkloric cautionary tale. Shanbhag extols the consequences of embracing the value of a dollar at the expense of all and any other values. Both books were exceptional.
Favourite “Thriller”
The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani was perhaps the most surprising book I read this year. I went in expecting a “thriller” but what I got was so much more and so much better than that. This book was first and foremost a character study; a character study of a woman, of marriage, of parenthood. And it’s a commentary on the push-and-pull within oneself and within a relationship. This is a slow burn and one I enjoyed every minute of; so much so that I began this book on a Saturday morning and did not move until I finished it. It is not a traditional thriller by any means, but perhaps that is why I loved it so much.
Favourite Short Story Collections
For several years now, I have said that I don’t gravitate towards short stories. I’m starting to think that that’s no longer true. I mean I still don’t read short stories often, but I’m finding that I am getting better at picking short story collections that work for me and both collections that I read this year ended up on my favourites list: Sweet Home by Carys Bray and Innocence by Roald Dahl. In Sweet Home Bray delves into the mundanity of suburbia to tease out the ordinary issues that many of us face, or may face. Her stories are not happy ones, but they are honest, exploring issues like grief, xenophobia, and ageism.
Innocence is a part-autobiographical, part-fictional short story compilation filled with Dahl’s wit and whimsy. Dahl is nostalgic for a childhood that was filled with love, but that was also quite difficult at times. Innocence was as delightful as Dahl’s classics that so many of us enjoyed as children.
Favourite New Authors
I am so happy to have stumbled upon Emile Zola and Sarah Moss this year. I read Zola’s The Fortune of the Rougons, the first in a series of twenty books, and fell in love with the writing and the story. I found Rougons to be extremely readable and accessible, and appreciated Zola’s pithy and sharp writing. I was also very happy to finally read one of Sarah Moss’ works, The Tidal Zone; a book that could have easily failed miserably because it tries to cover so many topics, and yet Moss weaves a story about a father grappling with his daughter’s mortality while at the same time delving into the minutiae of every day life. Moss is brilliant and I can’t wait to read more of her work.
Most Challenging Reads
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano and Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz are not technically favourite books of the year for me as I struggled with both but for very different reasons. However, in saying that, these are two works that I am so glad that I have finally got around to reading. I honestly believe they have made me a better reader just for having picked them up and experienced both Bolano and Mahfouz’s works. I attempted to read The Savage Detectives for a year before I finally put my head down and let myself got lost in the story. The issue with Detectives is that there really isn’t a plot; the writing is lyrical and cyclical, rather than linear. Bolano is, after all, first and foremost a poet and I think that knowing that helped me approach his work much more differently the second time around.
Reading Palace Walk was like walking back in time to an Egypt that my great-grandparents knew, but that was unfamiliar to me. My primary issue with this work, however, lay in the translation; everyone I know who has read the work in Arabic praises the flow and lyricism of Mahfouz’s prose. This, unfortunately, is lacking in the English translation. I also couldn’t help but constantly translate in my own head from English to Arabic and I found the translation to be too literal; so much so that it misrepresented some aspects of the culture. In saying that, I do look forward to continuing with the trilogy, but anticipate similar challenges associated with the translation.
The Book Pilgrim 