The Carpet Makers
(Andreas Eschbach)
This novel was an incredible find - a random recommendation from a friend's mother that turned out to be a complete gem. It's sort of a sci-fi novel - set in the future, in a different kind of world - and follows an almost stream-of-consciousness plot that starts by detailing the lives of mysterious "carpet makers" - men who spend their whole lives weaving a single, complex carpet of their wives' hair, only to sell it near the end of their life in order to provide for their son and his family, who will do the same thing. The plot slowly moves into other people and places, ultimately revealing the purpose behind the weaving of these carpets. The prose is really clean and the structure of the story is fresh and exciting.
(Andreas Eschbach)
This novel was an incredible find - a random recommendation from a friend's mother that turned out to be a complete gem. It's sort of a sci-fi novel - set in the future, in a different kind of world - and follows an almost stream-of-consciousness plot that starts by detailing the lives of mysterious "carpet makers" - men who spend their whole lives weaving a single, complex carpet of their wives' hair, only to sell it near the end of their life in order to provide for their son and his family, who will do the same thing. The plot slowly moves into other people and places, ultimately revealing the purpose behind the weaving of these carpets. The prose is really clean and the structure of the story is fresh and exciting.
House of Leaves
(Mark Danielewski)
(Mark Danielewski)
Oh, House of Leaves. You are not for everyone, are you? Ben always eyes me a little funny when I read this book - he doesn't understand why sometimes the text is upside-down, in the form of a spiral, in different fonts, or why only one word appears on each page, or the why the word "house" (in any form or language) is always printed in the color blue. What an oddity of a novel, but utterly beautiful, too. It is art, as well as prose. It's a complicated read, but very rewarding.
The story is extremely complex - at it's base is a horror story: the Navidson family moves into a new house, only to find out that the house is not so perfect or average as they thought. Doors start appearing in places they weren't before, leading down hallways and staircases that don't match the proportions of the house. Will Navidson, the head of the family, is a famous photographer and journalist. Originally, he had set out to do video documentation of the completely innocuous move, only to change the story into video documentation of this strange phenomenon and his and his family's attempts to deal with it. What you are reading in House of Leaves is in multiple frames. You are reading the story of a young drug addict who moves into the empty apartment of an old, blind man who recently died. The drug addict, Jonny, spends his subsequent days digging into all the items and writings that the old man left behind. Among these writings, he finds 'House of Leaves', which is a textual review of the film that Navidson created. It gets more complex and rich from there - Jonny discovers it is possible that this film never exists, or that Navidson and his family never existed, although the old man had written as though he had most definitely seen the film at some point. It goes on and on from there, and I won't try to sort out the entirely of the story for you.
The story is extremely complex - at it's base is a horror story: the Navidson family moves into a new house, only to find out that the house is not so perfect or average as they thought. Doors start appearing in places they weren't before, leading down hallways and staircases that don't match the proportions of the house. Will Navidson, the head of the family, is a famous photographer and journalist. Originally, he had set out to do video documentation of the completely innocuous move, only to change the story into video documentation of this strange phenomenon and his and his family's attempts to deal with it. What you are reading in House of Leaves is in multiple frames. You are reading the story of a young drug addict who moves into the empty apartment of an old, blind man who recently died. The drug addict, Jonny, spends his subsequent days digging into all the items and writings that the old man left behind. Among these writings, he finds 'House of Leaves', which is a textual review of the film that Navidson created. It gets more complex and rich from there - Jonny discovers it is possible that this film never exists, or that Navidson and his family never existed, although the old man had written as though he had most definitely seen the film at some point. It goes on and on from there, and I won't try to sort out the entirely of the story for you.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(J.K. Rowling)
I'm listing Deathly Hallows here because it is, indeed, the best book in the series, but to get here you do have to read the previous six books. For a teen/children's book, the story is rich enough that to truly capture the characters and the gravity of the situation they are in, you must have followed them closely through the plot, not just the wikipedia article summaries. So, bottom line, read the Harry Potter series. But pay special attention to Deathly Hallows. Rowling's story-telling is genius, and the empathy she evokes from her readers is very telling of the quality of her characters.
(J.K. Rowling)
I'm listing Deathly Hallows here because it is, indeed, the best book in the series, but to get here you do have to read the previous six books. For a teen/children's book, the story is rich enough that to truly capture the characters and the gravity of the situation they are in, you must have followed them closely through the plot, not just the wikipedia article summaries. So, bottom line, read the Harry Potter series. But pay special attention to Deathly Hallows. Rowling's story-telling is genius, and the empathy she evokes from her readers is very telling of the quality of her characters.
The Mists of Avalon
(Marion Zimmer Bradley)
This is one of the first books I ever put on my top ten list. It might have dropped down from there, who knows, but I continue to appreciate it greatly. In short, it is the story of King Arthur's reign from the point of view of the woman surrounding the legend. It starts with telling the story of his mother, Igraine, and her love affair with Uther Pendragon to birth Arthur, and from there moves through time to talk about his aunt, Viviane, the Lady of Avalon; his sister, Morgaine, a priestess of Avalon and slated to be the next Lady of Avalon; his aunt Morgause, queen of Lothian and her cunning schemes; Gwenhywvar, Arthur's barren, Christian wife; and a few others. It is a cohesive story, following many of the commonly known events of his reign as well as the mystical, magical side of Avalon. It is a very compelling read, although it gets a little lengthy in the middle and seems to end too quickly (possibly because of having been bogged down in the middle).
(Marion Zimmer Bradley)
This is one of the first books I ever put on my top ten list. It might have dropped down from there, who knows, but I continue to appreciate it greatly. In short, it is the story of King Arthur's reign from the point of view of the woman surrounding the legend. It starts with telling the story of his mother, Igraine, and her love affair with Uther Pendragon to birth Arthur, and from there moves through time to talk about his aunt, Viviane, the Lady of Avalon; his sister, Morgaine, a priestess of Avalon and slated to be the next Lady of Avalon; his aunt Morgause, queen of Lothian and her cunning schemes; Gwenhywvar, Arthur's barren, Christian wife; and a few others. It is a cohesive story, following many of the commonly known events of his reign as well as the mystical, magical side of Avalon. It is a very compelling read, although it gets a little lengthy in the middle and seems to end too quickly (possibly because of having been bogged down in the middle).
Oryx and Crake
(Maraget Atwood)
Surprisingly enough, I've only read this book once. I can't ever seem to pick it up again, although I continually say that I should read it again and I look at it on the bookshelf periodically. I don't know why this happens to me, because it is an excellent book. Atwood always does an incredible job of crafting and shaping her future dystopian worlds. This is yet another one. In this novel, the narrator is Snowman, who we discover is on earth after the destruction of humankind. He is the last remaining human and interwoven with his struggles to survive in the ruined world, he tells of how it came to be that way, detailing the lives of himself as a young man, his brilliant friend Crake, and a mysterious woman named Oryx. The story is simple, but fresh and startling, and the characters are intense.
(Maraget Atwood)
Surprisingly enough, I've only read this book once. I can't ever seem to pick it up again, although I continually say that I should read it again and I look at it on the bookshelf periodically. I don't know why this happens to me, because it is an excellent book. Atwood always does an incredible job of crafting and shaping her future dystopian worlds. This is yet another one. In this novel, the narrator is Snowman, who we discover is on earth after the destruction of humankind. He is the last remaining human and interwoven with his struggles to survive in the ruined world, he tells of how it came to be that way, detailing the lives of himself as a young man, his brilliant friend Crake, and a mysterious woman named Oryx. The story is simple, but fresh and startling, and the characters are intense.
3 comments:
Deathly Hallows? I would have said Goblet of Fire. Haven't read Mists of Avalon, but I have seen the TNT mini-series based on it.
The TNT miniseries is actually very close to the book - it had to squish stuff together a little and leave parts out because the book is so long, but I really liked it. And julianna Margulies and Anjelica Huston are great!
I still think Deathly Hallows was the best in the series! Tied, perhaps, with Prisoner of Azkaban!
Came across your blog randomly, always looking for book suggestions, so thanks so much! My all time favorite book would have to be House of Leaves, so I can imagine I will enjoy some of the other ones you recommend :)
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