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20 Books of 2020 (Pt. 25)

481-500

By Annie KapurPublished 4 years ago 13 min read
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Part 25 is a huge milestone for me and I want to thank everyone who has come on this special journey with me. I have done so much reading this year since the pandemic caused most of the world to go into quarantines and lockdowns. I have been concentrating on modern classics so far and making sure that I can get read as much as I can from all over the world during the 20th century. I have a massive interest in how literature developed in the 20th century because it seems that there were not only massive developments but there were also thematic additions. There were psychological additions and I love the way we get a variation of philosophy and psychology within the books, even if some of them are set during the past. War fiction especially, with the discovery of PTSD, became more thorough and realistic. Obviously, with the first and second World Wars, we get a more thorough look as well because some of the writers actually became soldiers, came back and wrote about it. Or, if they were Wilfred Owen, they died there.

So without further introduction, let's begin out next milestone - Part 25, numbers 481 through to 500!

481-490

481. Islamic Mystical Poetry

I absolutely adored this book. It's a poetry anthology filled with all these different poets that admittedly - I've never heard of. I've only heard of about three or four of them which includes Rumi and the man who wrote "The Conference of the Birds". The poetry seems to have themes of worship, love, human relationships, religion, th correct and incorrect ways in which to lead your life and also - paradoxes of life. The paradoxes of life include one guy who admits that he is worshipping in order to get into heaven but then asks whether that will send him to hell because it's a sin to only do something because you're getting something in return. But worship is the only way in which to assure a good afterlife. It's a brilliantly philosophical book which proves these poets were well ahead of their time.

482. Conversations in Sicily by Elio Vittorini

I was on the fence about this one admittedly because at first, it seems like a great book about travelling back home to see a mother who has been left by the father of the family. However, the writing style can be a bit cliché in places and so, I am not going to say it was perfect. However, I did like the language about Italy, of course because it is my favourite country in the world. The language to describe the landscape is great yes, but you'll soon find out what Ernest Hemingway has to say about it too.

483. Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

This is one amazing adventure novel. It's about a doctor who works aboard a ship in the time of James II in order to help with the war effort and to help the soldiers get better. However, once he is on the ship - the ship is overcome by pirates. After this, Peter Blood must find a way back to England before it is too late. It's an incredible adventure story and one of the early pirate narratives. I loved it far more than "Scaramouche" by Sabatini. In my opinion, this book is a lot more interesting and fun.

484. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

I really enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. When I was reading "Commonwealth" by Ann Patchett two years' ago, I only did it because it was on my MA Reading list. However, I really did enjoy that too. Patchett's writing style is so wholesome and so emotive, she captures each aspect of the human experience perfectly. This one is about a boy called Danny and his sister Maeve as they live with their father, their mother has apparently died and the father is remarrying to a woman called Andrea. Andrea's children are absolutely horrid like her and Danny narrates as Maeve becomes more and more annoyed with the situation. The siblings move out of the "Dutch House" (the family home) as yet another massive tragedy attempts to reunite them with their step-family.

485. The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris

Let me say that I absolutely love Joanne Harris's books. This one is no exception, it's about a man called Narcisse who dies and leaves all of his estate in the hands of a chocolatier and a girl called Rosette. The daughter of the man, though she didn't care for him whilst he was alive, is absolutely distraught and tries to get the will changed in her favour by proving that her father was out of his right mind. Whilst all this is happening, Narcisse has left a letter to be read by one key person only - it is about the time that his father murdered someone and how he helped cover it up.

486. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

This book was pretty great, though I didn't think it was as good as "The Underground Railroad" (mostly because "Underground Railroad" was a bit longer than this one). This book is about a delinquent with a pretty big obsession with Dr. MLK called Elwood. He is sent to a reformatory school in Florida and befriends a guy called Turner. As they grow up, though Turner does not agree with Elwood's politics, Turner hears about a devious plan by the administration against Elwood and the two attempt to make things work in their own favour. But when everything goes south, Turner must show up for his friend when his friend can't show up for himself.

487. The Rainbow and the Rose by Nevil Shute

This is a book about a plane going down and the brother of the pilot trying to find out what has actually happened. The plane went down as the pilot was trying to fly a woman out for a doctor, but they never got there and the landing was brutal. Said to have a fractured skull, the pilot is still alive but in a bad condition. His brother is about to find out the truth as he attempts one of the biggest journeys of his life - he's also about to find out a bunch of other things as well. Nevil Shute has this great sensitivity towards how humans are close to each other and this book is no exception. Like his book "Requiem for a Wren" - this book is written beautifully.

488. A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

This book was one I've been putting off for years and years purely because there was always another Russian Novel to read and after reading "Anna Karenina", "War and Peace" and "The Brothers Karamazov" ten years' ago, I got too into Turgenev and the shorter Dostoevsky novels. But I have missed out - this is a Byronic masterpiece about a man who wastes his great talents and gifts on self-absorbed hedonism. A book way, way ahead of its time.

489. First Love by Ivan Turgenev

This book was so creepy. It's about a boy of 16 who is in love with a Princess and follows her around, hoping for her to notice him but she never does. I think the creepiest part was when he was watching her whilst she was reading and he develops this deep and philosophical obsession with her being and existence. It's just so so creepy that I think if you did that today, I would not hesitate to call the cops. That is mad. It is so well-written and it makes the book almost sound sorrowful. But you won't find out why it's sorrowful until the end.

490. Selected Short Stories by Honore de Balzac

This book was a lot better than I thought it would be. I have never really been overly into Honore de Balzac and have always found his books difficult to get into. The reason being was that they're a bit too much about French Philosophy for me and I feel that it's overly romanticised. However, the stories are absolutely amazing. There's one about a pale woman at a party and another about a terrible artist who does something morally incredible that really stood out for me. It was quite a treat after not really being a fan of Balzac for a long time. I may try and revive an interest in his novels now.

491. The Golden Apples by Eudora Welty

There has never really been a female author that I have thought does the Southern Gothic justice. But this woman is basically a female William Faulkner. This book is a tragic saga set in the changing age of Mississippi. Set in the midst of a massive family drama, we have cheating people out of money, people getting into full on fights, people breaking up their marriages and even arson and revenge. This book is filled with great surprises and is written in a way that will move you.

492. Long Life by Mary Oliver

It's a well known fact that the works of Mary Oliver are some of the great joys and pleasures of literary nonfiction. This book is no exception to that rule. It tells the story of various points of Oliver's life by using different natural landscapes, the weather, creatures of the earth, birds, love for animals and so much more. It's a naturalist's dream and is written beautifully with a great concentration on the existential philosophy one would only ever else find in Schopenhauer. A reflection on life and a grand book, it's short but it sure as hell feels like a long-lasting effect on your soul.

493. Shosha by Isaac Bashevis Singer

I thought that this book was going a whole different direction when I read it because it finished on the last chapter. But then, it moved to the epilogue and went really damn emotional really quickly. Shosha is a woman that the narrator grows up with. He falls in love with her in the midst of war and turmoil. As they are both Jewish, they are forced to flee from their home in Poland and even when Shosha returns - he chooses to stay with her in a dangerous place. When they are separated, he cannot stop writing about her. It's a moving novel with an incredibly emotional ending. It's one of the best books I've read this year.

494. Russian Thinkers by Isaiah Berlin

I think I enjoyed the chapter about Leo Tolstoy and the Enlightenment the most. This book is all about how Russians pioneered some of the critiques of literature in the late 19th and early 20th century. These came from people like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and made way for masses and masses of literary commentary in the following years. Isaiah Berlin comments on the different main themes and metaphors, styles and practices used in Russian Literature during his own time and further back. He makes great work of it and it's surprisingly easy to understand.

495. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

I have had this book on my TBR for a very long time and it was one of those classic cases of leaving it for other books when in fact, I was actually missing out all along. This book was so emotional and moving. From the very beginning, a woman goes blind, a child dies, a war breaks out just outside the house of Afra - the blind woman married to a beekeeper. When they move, the husband admits to psychological problems and his wife's blindness becomes even more upsetting for him. The ending is so incredibly emotional - it is a moving chapter of catharsis. This novel should not be missed under any account.

496. Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

I wasn't overly impressed with this book even though I did enjoy it quite a lot. Let me tell you about this book and where I found it. I was on Gates Notes (as recommended by my older brother) and I had found that one of the recently reviewed books was this one. As I was reading it, I realised that even though the information was very interesting - all about how caffeine, jet lag, stress etc. impacts sleep and what happens when people take sleeping pills - I just didn't find it exciting. It was invigorating in any way. It was written in quite a boring and dull style. I was quite surprised that someone could make sleep boring.

497. Travels With a Writing Brush

This book was pretty good but there are some critiques I would give about it. When it comes to older travel narratives, I have read many. This one is somewhat different in the others in that the travel writing is amazing, but there is so little of it in comparison to wide and analytical historical and cultural commentary. I wouldn't call this a travel anthology, I would call this more of an analytical text which looks deeply into them because you get a few lines of travel writing which sounds beautiful, but then you get this dull, solid critical analysis and historical background. I would've much rather seen this in an introduction to the chapter on a particular author, like in the book of Mystical Arabic Poetry.

498. A Special Providence by Richard Yates

This book is set during the second world war and is about a boy called Robert Prentice who has a close familial relationship with his mother. His mother's story is quite tragic because she seems really artistic and smart at first and then she turns out to be self-delusional and a bit psychotic. When her husband dies and her son goes off to war, she's left alone and with little money. Her son tries to help out in ways he can by coming home for brief periods of time but when his mother is in deep trouble, there isn't much he can do. But, he will seek to do whatever he possibly can in the midst of the second world war. Not Yates' best novel but it is an amazing piece of writing, and like Richard Yates' other novels - it investigates the depth and possibilities of human connection and emotion.

499. Petersburg by Andrei Bely

This book is very interesting and I can't believe I missed out on it all this time. It's about Russia just after the war with Japan in 1905 and tsarist support in the youth is dwindling. The son of a tsarist official wants to join the revolutionaries and is given the sordid task of blowing up his father. Stuck between familial relations and getting the job done in order to have acceptance and stature within the realm of revolution, our main character is pretty divided upon what to do. As the book progresses, we get to see just how complex his state of mind really is and what happens when his father discovers something about his son that he didn't know before. It is a brilliant almost Dostoevskyan look at the familial relations between father and son and pretty much remind me of the oppositions of Dmitri and Fyodor in "The Brothers Karamazov" - one of my favourite books ever. So obviously, I enjoyed this book by Bely as well.

500. The Marsh Arabs by Wilfred Thesiger

This is another travel book but this one is so much better than the one about Japan. In this book we are give a true account of a man who goes to Southern Iraq to travel, explore and learn about the desert adventures, the culture of the arabs and the ways of life in the east. Wilfred Thesiger had a mad love of exploration (as we already know from reading his other works beforehand) and these books give testament to the fact that he was far more interested in the rural eastern vagrant lifestyle than he was in the Oxford University western lifestyle he had been trapped in at home. His freedom can practically be smelt from the pages in the sweet essence of liberation.

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About the Creator

Annie Kapur

190K+ Reads on Vocal.

English Lecturer

🎓Literature & Writing (B.A)

🎓Film & Writing (M.A)

🎓Secondary English Education (PgDipEd)

📍Birmingham, UK

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