Five Books You Need To Read

I realised recently that in my three years of studying English Literature, I have read quite a few books. So I thought I would put this new information to some use and compile a list of just five books I believe everyone should read. Because they’re great. Some more than great. Even fantastic. Soul destroying but fantastic.

1. The Handmaids Tale – Margaret Atwood

Anyone who knows me has probably heard me recommend this book repeatedly to them (hey, here I am doing it again). But I just cannot stress enough how much I love this novel, and how important I think it is. In a society where the word feminism still repels numerous people, and women who believe in equal rights are still terrified to associate themselves with the ‘feminazis’, The Handmaids Tale provides an insight into a dystopian world where the patriarchy has completely an utterly destroyed feminism. The narrative is fractured, but that adds to the beauty, as when all is revealed the shock factor is far more intense. Margaret Atwood is undoubtedly my favourite author, so I really believe anyone who reads this novel will understand its poignancy and love it just as much as I do.

2. Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.

I’m certain that line will be fairly recognisable to quite a few people, as Rebecca has been renowned for its success after being published in 1938, and has never been out of print. I remember audibly gasping at parts of this novel. It is thoroughly gripping, as the language immerses you in the second Mrs. de Winter experience at the beautiful mansion of Manderley that is haunted by Max de Winter’s first wife, Rebecca. So many parts of this novel are spine tingling, yet it is more than just a ghost story. It is a tale of jealousy, betrayal, anger and the effervescent spirit of a woman who refuses to leave the world just because of death.

3. Florence and Giles – John Harding

This one very recently made my list, and it is here because I could not put it down. Cliché as that sounds, I had read the last page in just three days. That’s how compelling this book is. If you have ever read The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, this is a reworking of the tale. In James’ novel, a governess acquires a job in a country house named Bly that is occupied by two small children, Flora and Miles. The governess starts to believe that the previous governess, Miss Jessell, and the villainous valet of her employer, Peter Quint, are haunting her. She then starts to believe something far more sinister – that they are trying to possess the children. I will not give any spoilers, but lets just say that it is not a happy ending. Florence and Giles reworks this tale, and is written from the perspective of Florence (the adaptation of Flora). 12-year-old Florence is fiercely intelligent, and has taught herself to read despite her uncle restricting her from all education. Throughout her narrative she creates words in an attempt to be like Shakespeare. Florence is incredibly possessive of her younger brother Giles, and when a new governess arrives she senses a threat. Once again, I will provide no spoilers but the ending is not a happy one.

4. Beloved – Toni Morrison

I adore Toni Morrison, and Beloved is one of those novels that still haunts me. Set after the civil war, the narrative follows the story of Sethe who escaped slavery by fleeing to Ohio, yet her life is still far from happy. She now lives at 124, which is ‘full of baby venom’ and haunted by her past. The reader is dropped into Sethe’s memories throughout the novel and slowly a full picture of the true horrors of slavery and what Sethe was forced to endure becomes clear. It is heart-breaking discovering that soon after finding freedom Sethe was hunted down by her master, and instead of allowing him to take her children, she attempted to murder them instead. She was trying to ‘put [her] babies where they will be safe’. The ultimate twist of the knife is that Sethe begins to believe a young woman she has encountered is in fact the reincarnated, or ghost, of her eldest child. I guess I tend to not like happy stories, but though this is an upsetting novel, it is such an important read. It makes it ten times more important that this story is based upon an actual woman, Margaret Garner, who murdered her own daughter rather than let her endure the miserable life of a slave.

5. Station Eleven – Emily St. John Mandel

Surprisingly, I didn’t read this book because it was on my course (!). I read Station Eleven whilst on holiday, and despite perhaps not the happiest thing to read by the pool, I loved it. Another dystopian novel, but this one follows the narratives and stories of three different characters set in different periods of the worlds demise. Jeevan’s narrative starts the night of the outbreak of the ‘Georgia Flu’ epidemic, which ultimately kills most of the population. Kristen’s narrative follows her journey with the Travelling Symphony who move from each isolated pockets of survivors in an attempt to bring culture back to the devastated world. Miranda’s story actually starts years before the outbreak of the virus, and follows her life with the actor Arthur Leander and how she came to write the comic that gives the book its title, ‘Station Eleven’. Interestingly, each of the characters is in some way linked to Arthur Leander who dies on stage the night of the outbreak. I have never read a novel that documents the outbreak of an epidemic so rigorously, and it was especially haunting with its mentions of airports shutting down (I read the book on the plane.) Difficult to summarise as it has so many brilliant points, but I promise you yet again, you will not be able to put it down.