A Year in Books 2010

Woman Reading in a Study

Mary Ferris Kelly

Feeding my obsession for keeping track of things like this, here’s a review of books I read in 2010

Books read (and completed): 29

Books started and abandoned: 5

Fiction: 20

Non-Fiction: 8

Library books: 14

Set in British Isles: 9

Set in Ireland: 3

Favorites:

Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (David Mitchell)

The setting and time period were both new to me -- a remote island trading post for the Dutch East India Company off the coast of Nagasaki in the 18^th. The plot was a heady mix of political intrigue, murder, passion, unrequited love, loyalty, betrayal, brutality and tenderness, and the characters were fascinating - a colorful mix of all sorts of low lifes, scoundrels, thieves and toadying bureaucrats into whose midst came a few brave souls determined to do the right thing even though it placed them at great risk. I was fascinated with all the details about Japanese court etiquette and protocol, and the clash of East/West cultural values and norms.

Alias Grace (Margaret Atwood)

Atwood is a talented writer with a knack for telling a compelling story. And at the same time she expects the reader to do a fair share of the work as well. In this case we’re introduced early on to the fact that a terrible crime has been committed, but we’re not so sure that the woman who has been convicted of it really is guilty. Or (and here things get even more interesting) if she is guilty, was she really aware of what she was doing? Even more interesting is that she is based on a real person who was tried for the murder of Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery in 1843, sentenced to prison, ended up in the “lunatic asylum” for a while and was eventually granted a pardon.

Strong Poison (Dorothy Sayers)

I don't think I'll ever get tired of reading and re-reading anything that Dorothy Sayers has written. (with the exception of her scholarly works - like her translation of Dante's Divine Comedy!) And this is the book where Lord Peter Wimsey first meets his future wife - the savvy Harriet Vane, writer of mystery novels who has been wrongly accused of poisoning her former lover. Lord Peter, ever on the scene when there is a mystery to be solved, immediately suspects she is innocent and steps in to prove it, especially since he has decided that she is the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Harriet on the other hand, isn't so sure and as it turns out it takes two more books (Have his Carcase and Gaudy Night)before she makes up her mind.

Final Payments (Mary Gordon)

This is a book about a young woman’s efforts to come to terms with who she is after having spent 11 years of her life caring for her invalid father. It’s about people who refuse to allow themselves to be happy, and what can happen to them when they cannot let go of their illusions about who they want other people to think they are. It’s about how difficult it is to face our insecurities, weaknesses, and obsessions in order to make changes that are difficult to make. I first read it 30 years ago and what struck me most forcibly back then was the way Gordon captured what it was like carrying around the kind of baggage that remained behind for those of us who were raised in staunchly observant Catholic families in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Even though I think I’ve gotten rid of most of that baggage, re-reading this book brought a lot of it back into focus.

Room (Emma Donaghue)

I was skeptical about whether the author would be able to carry off the voice of a five year old child who had spent his entire life living with his mother trapped in a tiny little room. My verdict is that she succeeded. The plot intrigued me but what I liked best about the book were the characters: Jake was at the same time achingly innocent and wise beyond his five years. And his mother's fierce determination to create as normal a life as possible for her son while at the same time scheming to escape their prison made her a compelling character.

Least Favorites:

Yiddish Policeman’s Union (Michael Chabon)

I kept plugging away at this expecting that sooner or later I'd get as enthused as I was by the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. But it never happened. The plot - an alternative history look at what might have happened had the post holocaust Jews been unable to settle in Israel after WWII and instead were granted temporary residence in Alaska -- was just far fetched enough to intrigue me. And the mystery about who killed the heroin addicted, gay potential Messiah and ex-wonder child who was also a chess prodigy hooked me once I got into it. But in the end the book just didn't deliver. Equally mysterious is the question of how this novel could possibly have won two prestigious awards for science fiction writing!!

The Story of Edgar Sawtille (David Wroblewski)

The problem with belonging to a book discussion group is having to waste valuable reading time on a book like this one. Initially I was drawn to the character of the mute young boy who used sign language to communicate with the dogs he and his family were training. And I did enjoy the parts of the book that had to do with the dogs themselves - especially since they seemed so real (and so lovable!) But beyond that….I can nothing else positive to say about this book.

The Last Wife of Henry VIII (Carolly Erickson)

The only reason I read this was because for some strange reason I’m a sucker for all things Tudor. Usually I'm a little more discriminating about books I read that have to do with this period, so it beats me why I kept reading after I discovered that the author had taken enormous liberties with the life of Catherine Parr, Henry VIII's last wife. Not only were facts and dates distorted, important characters eliminated and others invented but equally unfortunate was Erickson’s tendency to lapse into a writing style that seemed closer to what might be expected between the covers of a romance novel, or the script of a soap opera. And yet I suppose I shouldn't be so critical. After all, I kept right on reading.

In translation:

Out Stealing Horses (Per Pederson)

The reader is gradually drawn into what the main character is remembering about an incident that happened back in 1948 when he and his father spent a summer in a remote cabin in Norway..What I found most remarkable about this book is how adept the author was at letting us discover the depth of Trond’s feelings even though Trond himself was so unable to articulate them.

Re-read:

Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)

Strong Poison (Dorothy Sayers)

Final Payments (Mary Gordon)

Most Depressing

Famine (Liam O’Flaherty)

Oldest

Huckleberry Finn

Most recent:

Room

Recommended by others

Dogs of Bedlam Farm (Jon Katz, recommended by Lissa Brown)

Barn at the End of the World (Mary Rose O’Reilley, recommended by Paul Tanner)

Wolf Hall (Hillary Mantel, recommended by Paul Tanner)

The Help(Kathryn Stockett, recommended by my mother)

Best Title

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

Favorite Character

Lord Peter Wimsey (Strong Poison) is at the top of my list of fictional characters I would most like to be able to spend some time with! But it would have to be a strictly Platonic relationship because after all he is a married man, completely devoted to Harriet Vane after having had to work so hard to convince her to marry him. But I’m in love with him nonetheless which is why I’ll keep on reading and re-reading all the books Dorothy Sayers has written with him in the spotlight.

Books by authors who were siblings – both were Vita Sackville-West’s grandchildren

The Perfect Summer – Juliet Nicolson

Sissinghurst – Adam Nicolson

Favorite quotes:

The next day dawned bright and fair, and Wimsey felt a certain exhilaration as he purred down to Tweedling Parva. ‘Mrs. Merdle’, the car was sparking merrily on all twelve cylinders, and there was a touch of frost in the air. These things conduce to high spirits. (Strong Poison)

If we were all on trial for our thoughts, we would all be hanged. (Alias Grace)

Time is important to me now, I tell myself. Not that it should pass quickly or slowly, but only be time, be something I live inside and fill with physical things and activities that I can divide it up by. So that it grows distinct to me and does not vanish when I am not looking. (Out Stealing Horses)