2020: a very fine year for reading
In a year when so much has been cancelled or impossible, reading is one of the few pleasures that has been risk-free and offered us a view of other worlds and places we were unable to visit in person. Aoife Godsave shares her year in books.
Undoubtedly, 2020 has been a chaotic year, but if there is something that can calm the storm, I think curling up with a good book might do the trick. With all the extra time, I have managed to read a lot more than usual - my reading journey has allowed me to explore different worlds and experience different lives. So, in this article, I share the books that I have loved the most this year.
I really enjoyed reading ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara because it has phenomenal character development. It follows the lives of four best friends after they graduate from university. It is intriguing how the characters’ development is not rooted in time; the author moves between time periods without making the novel feel fragmented. This book is also interesting because it focuses on mental health. Overall, it is a realistic book and the characters are cleverly crafted, allowing the reader to be engrossed in this story.
Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ also has strong character development. The novel explores the story of a young woman, Esther Greenwood, who endures a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York to work as a guest editor for a fashion magazine. There are twists and turns in the plot, Plath explores depression, women’s sexuality and the double standards that are enforced upon women through patriarchy. Sylvia Plath was a fierce and renowned feminist - this is mirrored throughout her work and is especially shown within ‘The Bell Jar’.
Next, I read ‘The Testaments’; It is the sequel to one of the most renowned pieces of feminist literature: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. This sequel certainly had a lot to live up to and I wonder whether it meets the expectations that many people have. Three narrators give additional insight and expand the story of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. The character of Aunt Lydia is explored further, and we learn how she managed to climb the social ladder of Gilead. When comparing the two books, I prefer ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ because it focused more on the body than on the mind. I found it interesting how men and women are portrayed in the book and it made me question the differences between the portrayal, sexualisation and freedom of women now in comparison to the time period of the book. ‘The Testaments’ places a lot of depth and description on the senses and expresses the physical manifestation of pain and anguish. This helps to show the desperation of those in Gilead and mirrors the stress of many people within the totalitarian regime as well as those in Mayday.
After that, I read ‘Perfume’ by Patrick Süskind. This book follows the story of the orphan, Jean-Baptiste, through 18th century Paris. Eventually, he is desperate to create the perfect perfume when he discovers that his sense of smell is beyond all human capabilities. His method to create a scent is through murder. This bone-chilling story is unlike anything I have ever read! Süskind lays out an evident path for which his cold soul will follow and his murderous intentions will surface. Süskind’s exploration of the sense of smell juxtaposes the ordinary usage of this sense in the real world. Whatever Jean-Baptiste smells, so does the reader. The odours appear to lift off the page and help build the chaotic streets and abandoned countryside of France.
The strangest and scariest characters I met this year are living in Donna Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’. This novel follows the experiences of six college students in Vermont. Their teacher is a driving force for their fixation on the past and withdrawal from the real world. They are frighteningly out of touch with the modern day! Tartt’s novel has an interesting structure in which she reveals a murder case in the prologue. I think she may have done this to allow the reader to focus on the absurdity and mania within the book without distracting the reader with a murder mystery. She highlights the elitism of the upper class and how wealth gives them the ability to wrangle away from difficulties.
‘A Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley draws upon the problems in society in a unique way. This dystopian fiction somewhat mirrors the society created in George Orwell’s ‘1984’. I found it interesting how the novel’s government pushes mass culture onto the characters to distract them from their unhappiness.
Overall, my favourite read has been ‘The Secret History’; its characters are ruthless and horrible and despite hating them, the romance that surrounded the novel helped me fall in love with this book. For 2021, I am challenging myself to read more than ever before, and I intend to kick start the year with ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker. What are you going to read?
Aoife Godsave, Year 12
Undoubtedly, 2020 has been a chaotic year, but if there is something that can calm the storm, I think curling up with a good book might do the trick. With all the extra time, I have managed to read a lot more than usual - my reading journey has allowed me to explore different worlds and experience different lives. So, in this article, I share the books that I have loved the most this year.
I really enjoyed reading ‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara because it has phenomenal character development. It follows the lives of four best friends after they graduate from university. It is intriguing how the characters’ development is not rooted in time; the author moves between time periods without making the novel feel fragmented. This book is also interesting because it focuses on mental health. Overall, it is a realistic book and the characters are cleverly crafted, allowing the reader to be engrossed in this story.
Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ also has strong character development. The novel explores the story of a young woman, Esther Greenwood, who endures a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York to work as a guest editor for a fashion magazine. There are twists and turns in the plot, Plath explores depression, women’s sexuality and the double standards that are enforced upon women through patriarchy. Sylvia Plath was a fierce and renowned feminist - this is mirrored throughout her work and is especially shown within ‘The Bell Jar’.
Next, I read ‘The Testaments’; It is the sequel to one of the most renowned pieces of feminist literature: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. This sequel certainly had a lot to live up to and I wonder whether it meets the expectations that many people have. Three narrators give additional insight and expand the story of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’. The character of Aunt Lydia is explored further, and we learn how she managed to climb the social ladder of Gilead. When comparing the two books, I prefer ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ because it focused more on the body than on the mind. I found it interesting how men and women are portrayed in the book and it made me question the differences between the portrayal, sexualisation and freedom of women now in comparison to the time period of the book. ‘The Testaments’ places a lot of depth and description on the senses and expresses the physical manifestation of pain and anguish. This helps to show the desperation of those in Gilead and mirrors the stress of many people within the totalitarian regime as well as those in Mayday.
After that, I read ‘Perfume’ by Patrick Süskind. This book follows the story of the orphan, Jean-Baptiste, through 18th century Paris. Eventually, he is desperate to create the perfect perfume when he discovers that his sense of smell is beyond all human capabilities. His method to create a scent is through murder. This bone-chilling story is unlike anything I have ever read! Süskind lays out an evident path for which his cold soul will follow and his murderous intentions will surface. Süskind’s exploration of the sense of smell juxtaposes the ordinary usage of this sense in the real world. Whatever Jean-Baptiste smells, so does the reader. The odours appear to lift off the page and help build the chaotic streets and abandoned countryside of France.
The strangest and scariest characters I met this year are living in Donna Tartt’s ‘The Secret History’. This novel follows the experiences of six college students in Vermont. Their teacher is a driving force for their fixation on the past and withdrawal from the real world. They are frighteningly out of touch with the modern day! Tartt’s novel has an interesting structure in which she reveals a murder case in the prologue. I think she may have done this to allow the reader to focus on the absurdity and mania within the book without distracting the reader with a murder mystery. She highlights the elitism of the upper class and how wealth gives them the ability to wrangle away from difficulties.
‘A Brave New World’ by Aldous Huxley draws upon the problems in society in a unique way. This dystopian fiction somewhat mirrors the society created in George Orwell’s ‘1984’. I found it interesting how the novel’s government pushes mass culture onto the characters to distract them from their unhappiness.
Overall, my favourite read has been ‘The Secret History’; its characters are ruthless and horrible and despite hating them, the romance that surrounded the novel helped me fall in love with this book. For 2021, I am challenging myself to read more than ever before, and I intend to kick start the year with ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker. What are you going to read?
Aoife Godsave, Year 12