Devon Book Club discussion

***** 5 STAR BOOKS OF THE DECADE *****
in between festivities I have been looking back over my reading of the last 10 years and those books to which I have awarded 5 stars. I don't do this often. I have read circa 450 books in this time and given only 37 5 stars. I then set out to pick the top 10 of those - though, actually, I couldn't get below 13 without causing myself undue stress (but its my party and my rules :))

Now, I should explain that, to get 5 stars, I have to be absolutely blown away; moved in a profound way, often to the point that I have to sit quietly and maybe can't even start a new book for a few days. These are the writers that are quickly called to mind and whose books I routinely recommend. Or maybe a book that stood out as different in some way.

So, there are many, many fabulous writers who get 4 stars - whose work I really admire but they just didn't quite make this cut.

This is not supposed to be a best books of all time list - just those my records show I have read (or re-read) in the last decade.

A bit of a shock for me was that there are only 12 women among my choices, although of the 13 below, 5 are women - and yet I read roughly 50/50 male/female. I clearly need your help.

I'd also love to hear your top recommendations of any writer?

Of minor interest, no authors beginning with H, N, Q, U, or V made my 5 star list - do you know any?

I will post the other 25 over the next couple of days but here are my bakers dozen.

Fyodor Dostoevsky Crime and Punishment
Tan Twan Eng A Garden of Evening Mists
Elena. Ferrante My Brilliant Friend (+ all her Neopolitan Novels)
David Grossman To the End of the Land
Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall
Haruki Murakami Kafka on the Shore
Orhan Pamuk Museum of Innocence
Sylvia Plath The Bell Jar
Michel Proust In Search of Lost Time
Vikram Seth A Suitable Boy
Elif Shafak Bastard Istanbul
Leo Tolstoy Anna Karenina
Virginia Woolf To The Lighthouse

A few more to add my list. Thanks for sharing.

Ju.

🙏

Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't get on with Vickram Seth's A Suitable Boy. I loved Elif Shakak's Bastard of Istanbul, but The Forty Rules of Love was my absolute favourite.

Thanks so much for this list of best books. I must read Crime and Punishment and Anna Karenina. Cheers for the reminder.

Karen wrote: "Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't get on with Vickram Seth's A Suitable Boy. I loved Elif Shakak's Bastard of Istanbul, but The ..."

Forty Rules of Love is also excellent. Seems like we share similar tastes then. Your top reads?

Julian wrote: "A few more to add my list. Thanks for sharing.

Ju.

🙏"

My pleasure

I'm impressed Ian!
You are obviously a most dedicated and detailed list and review writer, as well as reader! I, on the other hand, am hopeless at remembering to keep accurate lists and notes about books. I always mean to … but! Starting with New Year ... or whenever it is that I get the urge to write a review about a wonderful book, I always mean to keep the list going … but the intention always evaporates.
However, I will look back through my scattered notes and files, to see if I can come up with my decade's worth of excellent reading.
Looking at your list, I would definitely agree with the Mantel and Tan Twan Eng for my last 10 years, but the others that I have adored: Woolf, Dostoevsky, Plath, Proust, Tolstoy, were all read long, long ago. The only other work I have read in the last 10 years, is the Ferrante … which I loathed! It's too long ago to remember exactly why, but I found it … too 'told'. Plus it seemed too like auto-bio-fiction … a genre I dislike intensely: although it would take far too long to explain why!
However, I will endeavour to post my own list, so that others can disagree with me!!

DrMama wrote: "I'm impressed Ian!
You are obviously a most dedicated and detailed list and review writer. I, on the other hand, am hopeless at remembering to keep accurate lists and notes about books. I always m..."

Thanks Carol - interesting that you disliked Ferrante so intensely - I loved her series. Got lost in them.

I had read the more classical works many years ago too but re-read them in the last 10 years so they made the list.

The joy of this community is that we sometimes agree on a shared love of a book and at other times profoundly disagree. I love that - makes me review my thinking.

Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "I'm impressed Ian!
You are obviously a most dedicated and detailed list and review writer. I, on the other hand, am hopeless at remembering to keep accurate lists and notes about bo..."

Oh yes, absolutely! In fact … because your post stirred up my anti-Ferrante tendency, it has made me think about how my occasional, fierce 'anti-' urges have been tempered when the books in question have been on my Reading Group's list. Debating the work with others often makes me try a re-read ... which often modifies my thoughts. So far though, it hasn't worked the other way around: that is, I have not stopped 'adoring' even when others in the group 'Loathe' something.
I must try some time devoted to re-reads. In the last 10-15 years, my only rereads have been when I have already read a work, and then it turns up as a 'RG' book: nb this happened with both the Mantel 'Cromwells' and with the Tan Twan Eng. The only other rereads I can think of over the last 10 or so years are: Darkmans, plus any and all by Alice Munro, Rohinton Mistry, and Nadeem Aslam … 'though there may be more!
Happy reading! NB However, I'm currently 'rereading ' The Overstory ... straight after my first read!

DrMama wrote: "Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "I'm impressed Ian!
You are obviously a most dedicated and detailed list and review writer. I, on the other hand, am hopeless at remembering to keep accurate lists and no..."

I've read all those but they only got 4 stars on my system!

I bought Overstory just before Xmas - looking forward to that

Ah aah! System …?
That sounds special and specific
What is your system, and how does it work?

This sounds organised! I just go by:
inability to put down;
almost always re-reading straight away;
telling everyone I know;
obtaining all the author's other books;
total inability to give the works away to Oxfam, etc. …
and ...
frequent rereads - although that happens less now, as I'm too often overwhelmed by the tbr pile.
Nb Oldies I forgot are Conrad and George Eliot.

DrMama wrote: "Ah aah! System …?
That sounds special and specific
What is your system, and how does it work?

This sounds organised! I just go by:
inability to put down;
almost always re-reading straight away;..."

Not that scientific!

5 stars has to blow me away, still me, move me - make me nowt want to start another book for a few days
4 stars - love the book but falls short of 5
3 stars - its a good book and I've enjoyed reading it but no more than that
2 stars - fell short
1 star - oops

I never review 1 and 2 stars. I respect any writer who completes a book and if I cant say something good, I just stay quiet

DrMama wrote: "Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "I'm impressed Ian!
You are obviously a most dedicated and detailed list and review writer. I, on the other hand, am hopeless at remembering to keep accurate lists and no..."

I'd forgotten about Overstory. I've just reserved it at the library. It's popular. All copies out in loan at the moment. Cheers for that!

Karen wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "I'm impressed Ian!
You are obviously a most dedicated and detailed list and review writer. I, on the other hand, am hopeless at remembering to keep accura..."
Hi Karen, it's wonderful!
However, I found I needed to make notes, as it starts with quite a few separate strands, then when people crop up later, I couldn't always remember who was who … 'I grow old, I grow old ...'
Carole/DrMama

DrMama wrote: "Karen wrote: "DrMama wrote: "Ian wrote: "DrMama wrote: "I'm impressed Ian!
You are obviously a most dedicated and detailed list and review writer. I, on the other hand, am hopeless at remembering ..."

Ah, yes, in that case that might affect me too. I'm not very tolerant of novels I need to work hard to understand! I'll give it a go!

Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't get on with Vickram Seth's A Suitable Boy. I loved Elif Shakak's Bastard of Ista..."

Ok, here's some top reads. These are late in the decade because I joined goodreads a couple of years ago. I've left out the recommendations that have been mentioned by others and have a list of books I gave five stars to. One I've upgraded today because I remember it so well it so well it must have been a five star read. My late decade reads took me to discover female Nigerian writers who feature in this list, and oldies because I knew I would enjoy their stories. I think I give out five stars more readily than you, Ian.

Top of the tree favourites
Cinammon Gardens by Shyam Selvadurai
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (all of his novels)
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie - all her novels
Andrea Levy - all her novels
Roma Tearne - all her novels (except the one I've just found and need to read! The White City. Will know soon.
Mr Loverman by Bernadine Evaristo
The Lonely Londoners by Sam Selvon
The year of the Runaways by Sanjeev Sahota

Oldies
The Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett
Germinal by Emile Zola
The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy
A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh
Daphne du Maurier

Other five star reads
The North Water by Ian McGuire
Burnt Shadows and Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo
Homegojng by Yaa Gyasi
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
Hag-seed by Margaret Atwood
The Hungry tide by Amitav Ghosh
Map of the Invisible World by Tash Aw
Siddharta by Herman Hesse
Little Bee or On the Other Hand by Chris Cleave
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (updated from four to five stars today)
And there were others! I might be too generous with my stars, but I would read more books by all these authors, except the Siddharta.

Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't get on with Vickram Seth's A Suitable Boy. I loved Elif Shakak's Bas..."

What a fabulous list. I've read A Fine Balance and loved it, Americanah is on my list to read. also enjoyed Kamila Shamsie and read but wasn't blown away by Siddharta

I've read various of the others and am keen to read Tash Aw and Shyam Selvadurai from your.

Thanks for sharing

Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't get on with Vickram Seth's A Suitable Boy. I loved Eli..."

I'm not sure Siddharta would blow me away now either. That was during my Bhuddist phase!

Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't get on with Vickram Seth's A Suitable Boy...."

Haha - many of us have had one of those

Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't get on with Vickram Seth's A..."

Interestingly, I'm reading the Roma Tearne novel that I hadn't read: The White City. Having recommended her as one of my top favourites of the decade I'm really not enjoying this book at all. I'm really disappointed. It's style is all over the place, it's written in a very simplistic way and its dystopian, which isn't my usual choice and the reason I hadn't read it. So it's making me wonder whether a decade is a long time for a book recommendation and with reading tastes changing as you go along life's path whether recommendations from early in the decade wouldn't hold fast later in that decade. However, in this case I'm certain that I would still love Mosquito and The Swimmer and Brixton Beach if I reread them.

I remember you saying, Ian, that you don't write reviews on one or two star books because the writer has put in the effort. I sometimes do write reviews then, only for myself, to serve as a reminder. I wish I could put all my reviews as private musings because I only ever write them to serve as a reminder to myself and my poor memory. It was useful the other day when a friend recommended a book, and I looked back and saw I'd given it one star but just couldn't think why...until I read my review and it all came flooding back. However, I agree that when a writer has put blood, sweat and tears into a novel it seems ungrateful to write a scathing review. I wish goodreads would let us have private reviews.

Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't get on with Vick..."

I keep mine in a journal - in pen and ink. Exceptional ones mainly as I don't waste the time on books I don't like - but I keep a word file with all the books read so I can have private star ratings there. The complexity of being an avid reader!

Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Ian wrote: "Karen wrote: "Totally agree with Elena Ferrante and Tan Twan Eng as two of my favourite authors, but I really didn't ge..."
An excellent idea!