Summer Recommended Reading

Literature has always played a major part in my life, some books I read and enjoy them, then throw them to one side never to be thought of again, some have inspired me to change my life!

‘Freedom’ Jonathan Franzen

My first recommendation is Jonathan Franzen’s ‘Freedom’. ‘The Corrections’ is brilliant, and many reviews have said that ‘Freedom’ is not as good, but from a personal perspective I disagree. In ‘Freedom’ Franzen’s description of the unravelling of a ‘perfect’ family is compelling. The concept of being free is explored on many levels, professionally, emotionally and socially. Why do we behave in a certain way? How often is it because it is expected, rather than what we really want to do? How often do we go to social functions because we feel we need to, not because we really want to? Why do we stay in jobs that disappoint us, with the hope that at some point it will get better? The novel explores the expectations of how we should be living our lives in comparison to how we really want to live our lives and the artificial barriers we create to prevent ourselves from breaking free. As we grow older what we want and expect from our life changes, as does our perception of ‘Freedom’.
Freedom

Many people have their lives meticulously planned – and they stick to this no matter what. I could see the next 20 years ahead of me and felt trapped. Therefore after reading ‘Freedom’ I decided it was time to buck the norm and embark on a new adventure.
You could read ‘Freedom’, enjoy it and then put it to one side – or be prepared, you may feel be inspired to reassess your life and break free.

‘The Marriage Plot’ Jeffery Eugenides

My main reason for reading this was because I had enjoyed ‘Middlesex’ so much – another novel that I highly recommend. If you have an extensive knowledge of Austen and Eliot and the notion of romance within these novels, you will truly appreciate the cleverness of ‘The Marriage Plot’.
If you a female English Literature graduate it is a perfect antidote to the horrors of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. (I felt I needed to quickly skim it to justify my stance of what a truly terrible novel it is – and the fact the protagonist is an English Literature graduate filled me with personal shame!) Fellow female English Literature graduates, your pride can be restored when you read ‘The Marriage Plot’.
It explores idealism, and romance and how literature can influence us, if you are that way inclined. I won’t spoil the ending, but I did laugh out loud at how funny, and how clever it is. It is an enjoyable and engaging read that I thoroughly recommend.
The marriage plot

‘Instructions for a Heatwave’ by Maggie O’Farrell

I did enjoy ‘Instructions for a Heatwave’. I am a similar age to O’Farrell and I often feel when reading her novels that she does recreate parallels of thoughts and events and ideas that I can directly relate to. I have read all of her novels, and she does create thoughtful and engaging characters and narratives.
If you are new to O’Farrell, you most definitely will enjoy reading the novel. Unfortunately, at the end I felt disappointed. She develops such an intricate narrative and then it ends so abruptly without any real sense of resolution, it left me feeling dissatisfied. Maybe she is planning another instalment?

Unfortunately, I was also left with a deep sense of having read the novel before. I couldn’t have, and I hadn’t, but it left me feeling like this. Maybe it is me? Do I need to widen my genre choices? Or maybe O’Farrell needs to rethink her narratives for her more devoted followers?

‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

As a footnote – ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is also a brilliant novel. It chronicles the Nigerian civil war in the 1960’s. The film is due for release, and by all accounts it is a poor interpretation, therefore take the time to read the novel instead. It is far more rewarding, if a little more time consuming!

Make sure you allow yourself time to read in the summer. Remind yourself of your love of literature. If you do not read extensively, start now, it could change your life!

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