As we approach Part 15, I would like to thank everyone who has been continuing to support me throughout this. That means everyone reading this right now and all the people on Instagram who are thoroughly convinced that I am an AI and not a human. I hope you think I’m human, because I am. Part 15 is a very special part because well, it’s five away from 20 and when we reach 20, we reach another round number. This is very close to my heart and it’s far better that I share them like this rather than doing one big list at the end of the year (oh god, do you remember when we tried that in 2019 and it definitely didn’t work? Well, yeah - that’s how it goes when I do that…) What I wanted to talk about today though was what I’m planning to read more of as the year goes on. Let’s have a short look at it…
Well, first of all I want to read more fiction from other cultures. Translation of literature has always interested me and since I read a pretty bad (well, thoroughly average) translation of Mishima’s “The Frolic of the Beasts”, I wanted to investigate further to translated fiction. So far, I have been reading some things from Japanese and Russian cultures and I’m hoping to do more of that. As well as this, I’m also looking at exploring more of the Latin American Fiction that I have always loved. The magic realism of Latin American Fiction has always made me feel something exciting and different - authors like Marquez and Allende being perfect for the occasion of being stuck inside because of this quarantine.
The next thing I’m looking to get more into is newer fiction. I can’t seem to get into newer fiction as well as I can get into stuff from the 20th Century or before. I want to be able to read newer fiction too because fiction is always changing. When it comes to the newer stuff, I tend to read nonfiction instead of fiction because nonfiction is something I can relate to more. If you’ve got any suggestions for newer fiction (published in the last 5 years) then please message me on Instagram (my handle is at the end of the article in my bio). I’m sure that if it’s written with description and atmosphere, extravagance and flair, I will definitely make time to read it.
So, without further introduction let’s start a very important milestone in this journey. You have no idea how happy I am that you are joining in with me. If you want to explore more of my articles on “20 Books of 2020” then please visit my public page. But, if you are already here then I want to introduce you to part 15 - here are numbers 281-300…
281-290
281. A Moth to a Flame by Stig Dagerman
As you can tell, I'm making my way through the Penguin European Writers series before they start publishing the whole entire lot at once. This one was just plain depressing in every single sense of the word. It revolves around what happens in Chapter 1 - Alma is dead. Chapter 1 is about her funeral and how initially, her son and husband are getting ready for it. Most of the chapter is dedicated to the son's feelings and the hatred he has towards his father as well as the confusion over his emotions to do with death and grief. After this, (as I don't want to give too much plot away) there is a series of letters which are written from the character to the same character (yes, someone writes letters to themselves). Someone contemplates hitting their father and someone batters the dog. I'm not going to lie, the overwhelming existentialism and emotions of this book sometimes put me in a situation where I had to put it down for a moment or so. There is something incredibly sad about it because at the same time as feeling sorry for the characters, you also despise their actions and yet, you're constantly trying to understand what they've lost. My favourite part was where it explains that the son's clock had stopped at three ever since his mother died. It was like time itself for the son had stopped entirely. It was just really damn sad.
282. The Measure of Malice ed. by Martin Edwards
Okay, so I thought I would put off most of the anthologies until after I had read a good amount of the novels of British Crime. I was right to do so because this was incredibly good. My favourite stories were by Dorothy L Sayers and there was one called "The Chemist in the Cupboard" that I enjoyed. Finally, there was that one about the attempted murder of Mr. Rudd. All of these had some scientific explanation to them including the one about the ghost and haunting when Sir Henry is sick and bedridden. I thought that a lot of these were incredibly clever and had real flair to them. Even though they were short, they didn't lack characterisation and explanation and had some incredible storylines. I thought that not only were they cleverly structured but there was a good amount of reasoning to them and that though some were only a few pages long, they didn't really sacrifice anything. All of them were very interesting and were written brilliantly in the same style as the full-length novels of crime. Yes, I am going to read more crime anthologies now - expect them to appear here.
283. Crimson Snow ed. by Martin Edwards
This was pretty great. I normally don't like crime novels set at Christmas time because it takes away from the uncomfortable nature of the crime. However, these were short stories and so, I gave it a go. Honestly, I was very impressed. A lot of them were fairly satirical and I like the one where the lady's diamonds go missing the most. The entire book seems not only to be based around Christmas crimes but also around giving the book a sort of wintery atmosphere. The good thing about a wintery atmosphere is that it is always very dark, depressing and there are many places to hide. Another good thing about using the wintery atmosphere that you may have not noticed (but you will if you read this book) is that all of the characters are actually indoors and normally are all huddled together in this almost claustrophobic setting. I think that was the best thing about the book because when the crimes take place, you really do feel everyone lose their collective shit in a way that is both uncomfortable and fairly funny at the same time.
284. The Dead Shall Be Raised and Murder of a Quack by George Bellairs
This one contains two shorter novels by George Bellairs and honestly, the second one is slightly better than the first (but only slightly). We all know by now that I'm a pretty big fan of George Bellairs and his Inspector Littlejohn mysteries. I can honestly say that no matter how long or short the Littlejohn novel is, I will enjoy it because they are always amazing. The first story in this double collection is about a crime that happened in 1917 and years later, another body is found clearly linked to the crime in '17. Then, after this, Littlejohn goes around questioning people. There are people who are clearly hiding something, some people who are scared and one lady who links the two crimes together. It is a big old mystery that Littlejohn must execute carefully before more bodies turn up. The second story in this double collection is about a constable who goes out and sees a woman who works as in a quack's office. After being there for some time and realising it is a family-run business, the two of them go into a room only to see the dead body of one of the family members (and a quack) hanging from the ceiling. After this, Inspector Littlejohn makes an appearance as he is on vacation there and during the Christmas period, things get dicey around the crime scene as various things about the door and the waiting room are realised. These stories were incredible and they really do show off George Bellairs' flair for putting together a perfectly innovative and well-constructed story.
285. Menace of the Monster ed. by Mike Ashley
This book was fairly interesting because I don't really read a lot of Sci-Fi, but I'm hoping to in the coming weeks. I read one a while back from the same series but it wasn't as good as this one - I found that this one had more variety in terms of authors. There were more authors I hadn't heard of before rather than the same names popping up every now and again. However, the only thing I didn't like about this book is, let's face it, there's only so much you can do with a monster of the unknown. Some of the stories were a bit repetitive in style with the one of the last stories in the book throwing me completely and making me believe in the book once again. There were a couple of stories that I found to be out of this world though. There was a story about a man-eating creature which is found on an expedition and basically tears the flesh off human beings. There is also one about this human woman who is going to give birth to an alien baby by miraculous conception. This book sure was interesting - not totally a super-fan of it, but it was interesting enough for me to read the whole thing through and not be bored.
286. Serpents in Eden by Martin Edwards
I was surprised by some of the things I found in this book. The first surprise was that I enjoyed the vast majority of it. This came as a surprise because of the fact that I am rarely into crime that is overshadowed by something else, whether it be Christmas or the widespread country atmosphere. I thought that the widespread country atmosphere actually added to the intensity of the crimes now. Normally it doesn't really do much but overload the book, but here in the shorter stories - it tends to give way to smaller communities of people, fewer characters in the main cast and towns and villages where everyone knows each other. In terms of a short story, this is very convenient for the technique of having people know each other. I also loved the way in which the country atmosphere added to the style of the crimes. The crimes (though I don't want to say what they are and give away anything) are centred around the atmosphere and this means that the countryside isn't just there for its prettiness - it has become part and parcel of each story in a very important way. That being said, my favourite story in there was 'Murder by Proxy'.
287. The Pale Ones by Bartholomew Bennett
This book seriously surprised me because I only really read it as it was on Kindle Unlimited. I wasn't expecting much from it as I never really expect much from any horror novel written after the publication of The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. But, this really did surprise me because it was actually amazing. It's about a man who has broken up with his woman, Karen and takes a trip with his friend, Harris, to collect abandoned books from charity shops etc. As he does this, he makes some strange comments throughout about Harris, these turn out to be part of this uncanny valley shit that does nothing but creep me out. The book, though I won't tell you much more of the plot, starts off sounding kind of funny but then it turns very, very dark when the protagonist starts talking to a woman called Ange and loses Harris amongst the strangeness of the atmosphere. It really is a tale of the weird and is severely under-appreciated. The atmosphere is hyper-realistic until the very last line. It is a masterful debut novella.
288. Fantastic Night by Stefan Zweig
Yes I'm reading more Stefan Zweig and I'm planning to read even more so if you're surprised then you're clearly new around here. Zweig's short fiction is just as good, if not sometimes a bit better, than his full-length novels. I absolutely loved this book because there was a story about a rich man who steals money at a horse race and then spends it frantically on drinks. He lives in liberation, not wanting to go home after his girlfriend leaves him to marry another man. Determined not to feel all alone, he makes strange impulses that are not in line with his social position. It is an incredible story of desire, obsession, liberation and ultimately, the need to feel alive. Another story I liked was called "Mendel the Bibliophile" which is about a man who does nothing but reads books and deals in books (I feel attacked) and yet, one day, he disappears. The protagonist investigates what led to his downfall and yet, the bibliophile's identity seems to be shrouded in mystery and lies. It is a story of compulsion, obsession, tragedy and loss - it is an incredible tale that stands up tall in the book. All I'm saying is that you should read it. Zweig's fiction is always brilliant and written beautifully in a style that really isn't imitated by very many authors or even remotely matched by them.
289.The Train Was on Time by Heinrich Boll
This book was absolutely incredible. It's about a disillusioned soldier heading for the Eastern Front during the war. His name is Andreas and he is thoroughly convinced that in the next coming days, he will die. He keeps crying and praying to God because not only does he not want to die, he doesn't want to die because he has done nothing with his life so far. He meets a woman called Olina and falls in love with her - they realise that they have a lot in common and begin to talk about the fact that Andreas is going to die. Though, he only gets to spend about 12 hours with her or so. The ending is a massive existential crisis and it ends absolutely brilliantly. This story is written in the most beautiful way and it contains this vast amount of characterisation and internalisation that I previously thought impossible from a third person narrative. The thoughts of the main character are put forward in these massive paragraphs of stream-of-consciousness style writing and then, we return to the main story. It is an amazing book and I'm so happy I read it even though it's depressing as hell.
290. The Man Who Watched the Trains Go By by Georges Simenon
I haven't read anything by Simenon for a while now and that's because after reading "The Blue Room" some time ago - I didn't feel like I could really get into his work. But this one has proved to be the better of his writing. It's about a man called Kees who, at 40 years' old, still lives with his mother but also has a daughter called Frida. His mother is really overbearing and never seems to leave him in peace. His boss has drowned in an apparent suicide but things start to get uncovered very quickly which proves great trouble for Kees. As Kees was the last person known to see his boss alive, things get dicey as he begins to go slowly insane and corrupt. His family become disillusioned with him and, through not getting his peace and quiet - he turns into some sort of human monster of emotions and existentialism. He too, is convinced he's going to die and thus, things go from bad to worse. I like this book because there's a lot that happens inside the character's head and the story works slower than many by Simenon I've read. It's more emotional and there's more madness. It's very psychological and thrilling in comparison to his other books.
291-300
291. Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley
This book scared the daylights out of me. Andrew Michael Hurley's best book yet by a flying mile. This is about a child called Ewan who slowly starts to hear the voice of a boy named Jack Grey. His parents - Richard and Juliette, don't know what's wrong with him and his father is overly cynical about his child having something wrong with his mind. As the book progresses and switches from the present to the past of the child's madness, things happen to Ewan that will leave you feeling absolutely terrible for him. The skeleton of the hare, the tree and the doctor seem to make everything that slightly bit more strange. When a dog dies, a man named Gordon tries to warn the father of the possibilities and the mother can't seem to let go of a bad happening, this book combines to make one of the most chilling things you'll read this year. I didn't put it down once until it was completely finished. It is one of the best constructed books I've read in a long time.
292. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Now, I really did enjoy "The Hunting Party" when I first read it because it was a new and inventive style that I was looking forward to. I enjoy Foley's writing style and her flair for creating character. However, this one wasn't my cup of tea - I sort of guessed what was going to happen as it was happening and so, I wasn't all too impressed. However, it wasn't bad and this doesn't mean you shouldn't read it. The thing with literature is that you should always make your mind up for yourself. Lucy Foley's character writing is brilliant and you can definitely see the different personalities of character flowing through. Each one has their own personal struggle - from the woman who gets motion sickness to the woman getting married who receives a note stating not to marry her husband. Foley's writing is an amazing feature of literature and has added intensely to the thriller genre, making it more about character than plot. Though I wasn't overly impressed with the plot of this one - it was very well written so I can't complain.
293. The Lingering by SJI Holliday
This book was actually amazing. I wasn't expecting it to be that intense but it really was. It starts off in with an eerie prologue and then, goes to the present day and throughout, it will skip back to 1955. The history of the place is revealed slowly throughout the book through the flashbacks to the previous years and by certain characters like Angela Fairley. I really loved the character of Ali because you get to see her strange descent into what would be called madness if there were a realistic explanation for it. SJI Holliday's creation of atmosphere, tension and control of pace is something you really only see in the ghost stories of old. It is a brilliant, brilliant novel and is worth every penny you pay for it because it is so damn immersive. Once you pick it up and begin the first page, don't think you're going to put it down until the final line because it's not going to happen. With intensity in the atmosphere, rife between the characters and the ghost of the book that will haunt you long after it has been read - SJI Holliday makes a great case for being our generation's answer to Mary Elizabeth Braddon or possibly the next Susan Hill.
294. The Outcast and Other Dark Tales by E.F Benson ed. by Mike Ashley
Now, I haven't really read a lot by EF Benson before except the odd short story here and there. I found his writing style to be incredible though - especially in this carefully selected anthology. There was one story I really enjoyed about a murderess and well, I was reading it whilst on the treadmill and let's just say I didn't break a sweat from the cardio - but I did break a sweat. This book had incredible atmosphere and even though the stories were fairly short, the characters had such incredible voices - you could literally hear them speak out of the pages. The endings to every story are completely unpredictable and yet none of them seem to give complete closure. A great horror always leaves you asking questions. I can honestly say that though I have a lot of questions for this book I also have a lot of hopes that more people will read EF Benson now. I don't think I'm going to get much sleep tonight after that ordeal. This book is seriously creepy. It's not 'scary' in the sense, it's eerie and creepy, uncomfortable and makes your skeleton shudder.
295. A Phantom Lover and Other Dark Tales by Vernon Lee ed. by Mike Ashley
This was a great, great book. And yes, I'm trying to read more from the British Library because they have a lot of anthology books. Anyways, the tales of Vernon Lee are amazing. I read one about a murder that happened some 100 years before the story takes place and it is all about artworks and musical pieces. It is a twisted and strange story told as a flashback after a man hears a piece of music he didn't believe was something real. The next story I loved was the "Phantom Lover" story which was an incredible murder story with a twisted love story behind it. Vernon Lee's writing style is very old even for his own day, it contains all these anachronisms and strange words, outbursts of emotions and nervous breakdowns. From falling in love with a ghost to painting the devil in the flesh, Vernon Lee is an extremely talented writer and I think that this book really does him justice. It's a brilliant anthology.
296. The End of the World and Other Catastrophes ed. by Mike Ashley
Now, I'm still not a fan of Sci-Fi even after reading this. I'm not going to lie, even though I liked it, I didn't love it. I wasn't overwhelmed by the stories, I didn't feel very much for a lot of them but there were some that stood out for me and made me feel like maybe I should give Sci-Fi more of a chance. The first story I loved was one about London being on fire and all the water being turned to ice. There's a lot of story, there are some very interesting characters and the story is written in quite an immersive style. The next story I enjoyed was one about something colliding with the sun (I'm not going to tell you what it is, that's a spoiler!) and causing a massive catastrophe. It is written in a very realistic style, the writer clearly knows his stuff when it comes to the cosmos. There's a story about an all-female world as well which kind of had me a bit what the hell at times, but it was fairly different. I enjoyed this book enough to finish it, but I'm going to have to try other Sci-Fi books in order to find out whether I can really get into this genre.
297. Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor
I wasn't a huge fan of this even though I thought that the story was a great and different idea. This book relies heavily on the understanding of various reasons as to why people believe in superstitions. It's set in Mexico and deals with the death of a 'witch'. The book goes through the different superstitions that people believe about her, including her own mother. However, I think it relies too much on these evil things and rather misses the characterisation without bias a bit. When I was reading this book, I found the tone angry and a bit much from time to time. Ultimately, it eventually gave me a bit of a headache because it reads like someone is constantly shouting at you for a lot of the book. Be that as it may, it's a brilliant concept - I just didn't like the writing style that much. It doesn't fulfil what a Latin American Novel should be - though the storyline does in every way.
298.The Earth by Emile Zola
This book I have actually read before unfortunately enough for all of us. I'm not going to lie to you, I needed something I could laugh at and normally I can laugh at Zola's work. Emile Zola has always meant a lot to me ever since he scared the crap out of me with Therese Raquin when I was 14. My favourite book by him is The Beast Within, but this one - The Earth, is something completely different for Zola. This work is far more vagrant and seems to make dry humour about the agricultural business as well as the people who live on farms. The way in which this goes about human relationships seems to be more of a tolerance than that of love and requirement. Zola is great at making certain characters look like utter assholes though and that's what I've always loved about his work.
299. After Claude by Iris Owens
I always like books with strong characters but seriously, this one was very, very strong. Harriet is about to break up with her partner Claude, but he breaks up with her first and kicks her out of the apartment in Greenwich Village. What happens next is basically Harriet sorting her life out, exerting revenge and ignoring the advice of every single person around her. It's a very character driven novel with the first person narrator being Harriet. It tells us about her arguments with Claude over a film, it tells us about how both of the personalities clashed and that's why they broke up and ultimately, it shows us Harriet's soulfulness, which I really loved. She is an incredibly complex character with her own thoughts and opinions that don't seem to be formed from any other person in the book. I love this about her and even though the plot was a bit dry - the characterisation really makes up for it.
300. Miraculous Mysteries ed. by Martin Edwards
Well, we've made it to 300 and really, I needed a crime fix so I chose this one. Locked room mysteries have always been one of my favourites because there's so little information to go off and when they do start unravelling the crime - there seems to be more than meets the eye concerning the locked room and how this person died. One of my favourite stories was by Dorothy L Sayers and it was about a policeman and a ghost, it was absolutely brilliant as Sayers always is. The other one I really enjoyed that stood out for me was the one about the man who was strangled in a locked room in the pitch black and cries out for help - but he ultimately dies. Nobody saw what happened because it was a pitch black room and everyone is a suspect even though everyone is trying to find answers. It's an incredible book with a ton of mysterious twists and turns - the best part probably is that people tend to believe in hauntings and ghosts too, so there is an element of the supernatural here as well. It's just amazing.
About the Creator
Annie Kapur
195K+ Reads on Vocal.
English Lecturer
🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)
🎓Film & Writing (M.A)
🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd) (QTS)
📍Birmingham, UK
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