Marie loves to spend her time reading, drawing and cooking. She also likes holding hands and skipping.
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1. Goneaway World by Nick Harkaway
Rarely does a book put me through such extreme emotional paces. I cried a bit, laughed a lot and almost quit reading at one point because I was so distressed at the sudden turn the book had inexplicably taken. Then I persevered and was rewarded with one of the most interesting character twists I have ever encountered. This book has it all: ninjas, secret service, the end of the known world, crazy conceptual sci-fi, awkward coming of age moments, and the sparkling British wit Harkaway spins that tells the whole story at a blazing pace that is hard to set down. The fuzzy lime green and hot pink cover was also a huge draw. His newest novel Angelmaker is due out in March 2012, but until then read Goneaway World!
2. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Somewhat autobiographical, but entirely fascinating. This guy had the craziest life, and spins an equally crazy tale based on it. Convicted to 19 years in an Australian prison for armed robbery to feed his heroine habit, “Lin” (read Roberts) escapes and flees to Bombay where he becomes entangled in the great underbelly of that sultry, sweaty, scandalous city. Robert’s epic 900+ page tome is rife with beautifully worded, deeply profound observations about the nature of love and hate, suffering and survival, and how we truly determine when we do “the wrong thing for the right reason”. It was a bit tough to get through some parts, like when he’s festering away in the cesspit of what is the Indian penitentiary system, but that dark imagery makes his redemption all the more powerful and moving.
3. Incognito by David Eagleman
I knew there were a lot of things I didn’t know, but I never knew I didn’t know so much, especially about the secret inner workings of my own mind. Here I was, blithely going about my business thinking I had things generally on lock down. Oh no, says David Eagleman. There is actually an entire fleet of thoughts and impulses that we are oblivious to, which, through carefully documented studies and such, cause us to act a certain way and make decisions without us ever being the wiser. Now, we have only just begun to delve deep into the indiscernible gray matter, and who can say what’s really going on in all those contours? But this is excellent food for thought, and feed our brains we must, for if not us, then who knows what sort of foolish fodder it might consume? We certainly can’t leave ourselves so openly vulnerable to those manipulative marketers…
4. Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Bulgakov began this novel in 1928 but it wasn’t until 1973 that it was finally published in its complete form, more than 30 years after his death in Soviet Russia. The Devil and his black Behemoth and a motley crew of deviants descend on Moscow and have a generally mischievous and wicked time. Biting satire, sharp political criticism and on the other hand, the true story of Jesus. Who was Jesus, really? Why, a homeless wandering idealist with heretical and blasphemous notions, and a coterie of crazies, of course. And who can forget the Master, who somehow knows the true story, and the adulteress Margarita who loves him enough to descend into hell to save him? A dervish of a story and thoroughly enjoyable.
5. Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jaqueline Kelly
I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I was expecting a lovely enough middle- grade coming of age book. What I found instead was an amazingly deep and masterfully crafted story about a young Texas girl at the turn of the 20th century who questions the world around her and begins a thorough investigation not only of the flora and fauna in the Hill Country, but also the social pressures and expectations she encounters at this momentous time in her life. She discovers Darwin and the scientific method through the influence of her crotchety-yet-lovable grandpa, who pushes her always to ask questions, and never just accept something because someone says it is so. It is a wonderful story, wonderfully told, that encourages whoever is lucky enough to pick it up to always keep exploring and learning, and that there is always something new to discover, especially about ourselves.
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