December 2005
Must Reads
MUNICH FOUND’s reviewer selects her top ten books of 2005
1. THE ACCIDENTAL
By Ali Smith
Hamish Hamilton, 2005
Ali Smith’s writing is intelligent, funny and hugely inventive. The story follows a family that rents a musty holiday home in Norfolk for the summer, and the woman who arrives to turn their lives upside down. Individual family members—each suffering his or her own personal crisis—alternately narrate the story. The Accidental is the kind of book you try to savor for as long as possible, but just can’t put down.
2. HONEY AND DUST: TRAVELS
IN SEARCH OF SWEETNESS
By Piers Moore Ede
Bloomsbury, 2005
This is a refreshingly unique travel tale. As a young man, Ede was left in a coma after a hit-and-run accident. In order to aid his recovery, he goes to work on an organic farm in Italy, where he is introduced to beekeeping. After this initial encounter with nature, Ede travels the world in search of honey and the stories within each jar. This book has it all—travel, history, religion, different cultures, friendships and spirituality. Honey and Dust is a beautifully written and engaging book.
3. THE ICARUS GIRL
By Helen Oyeyemi
Bloomsbury, 2005
Oyeyemi’s debut novel tells the story of an intelligent but troubled eight-year-old, Jessamy Harrison. The daughter of a British father and a Nigerian mother, Jess has always felt like a misfit and relies on her extraordinary and powerful imagination for friendship. The Icarus Girl is strikingly original—if not in its themes, then in Oyeyemi’s confident and lyrical style. It would be an impressive debut novel from any writer, but the fact that the author was only 18 when she wrote it is truly remarkable.
4. ART NOW
Edited by Uta Grosenick &
Burkhard Riemschneider
Taschen, 2005
This was one of the titles Taschen published to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Following the book, Art at the Turn of the New Millennium, it features profiles of and illustrations by 81 turn-of-the-new-century artists from the fields of sculpture, photography, painting, installation, film and video and performance art. The text is in English, German and French. Art Now is an accessible and interesting read for all art enthusiasts, whether expert or layperson.
5. SHARON AND MY MOTHER-IN-LAW: RAMALLAH DIARIES
By Suad Amiry
Granta, 2005
Suad Amiry’s diary, charting the Israeli invasion of Ramallah in 2002 is a refreshingly different take on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. She writes about all aspects of her life, including local gossip, relationship problems and the struggle to live a normal life. Amiry’s sharp and constant humor means she’s able to laugh her way through humiliating situations. Amiry’s is a spirited, thought-provoking and very human diary.
6. BANKSY: WALL AND PIECE
By Banksy
Century, 2005
Banksy, an artist from Bristol, England, argues that graffiti is not the lowest form of art, but the most honest of art forms. With graffiti, he reasons, there is no elitism or hype—it can be viewed on some of the best walls in town and nobody is put off by the price of admission. The pages are filled with photographs of his most impressive works and though the volume’s text is highly amusing, his left of left-wing, anti-capitalist opinions may be a bit too dramatic for some people. But there is no denying that Banksy is a talented and imaginative artist.
7. ON BEAUTY
By Zadie Smith
Hamish Hamilton, 2005
On Beauty tells the story of Howard Belsey, an English academic teaching in New England, and his family. Issues such as race, marriage, class and politics make it an interesting read, though it’s not as flawless as some reviews would have you believe. Smith’s real talent is her humor and her ability to paint a vivid picture of the characters with the sparsest prose, for example: “Erskine was dressed this evening in a three-piece suit of the yellowest of yellows, the curves of his bumptious body naturally resisting all three pieces.”
8. THE INSIDER: THE PRIVATE DIARIES OF A SCANDALOUS DECADE
By Piers Morgan
Ebury Press, 2005
This is the book I am most ashamed to say I enjoyed, because Piers Morgan is an obnoxious twit. In fact, Rupert Murdoch summed him up rather well when he said, “The trouble with Piers is that his balls are bigger than his brains.” This diary begins in 1994, when Rupert Murdoch made 28-year-old Morgan editor of the News of the World. It spans his career at the News of the World, and later at the Daily Mirror, until he was sacked in 2004 for publishing photos of British soldiers apparently abusing Iraqi civilians. This book is a fantastic insight into the boozy, sleazy world of the tabloid editor. Replete with celebrity gossip, political scandal and off-the-scale rudeness, it is an embarrassingly good read.
9. THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE
By Audrey Niffenegger
Vintage, 2005
This novel tells the extraordinary love story between Clare and Henry. Henry is diagnosed with chrono-displacement disorder, which means that his genetic clock resets and he finds himself pulled into his past or future. His sudden disappearances bring both traumatic and funny experiences. Niffenegger describes the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare’s relationship, and their struggle to lead a normal life. This is a moving and humorous novel.
10. 44 SCOTLAND STREET
By Alexander McCall Smith
Abacus, 2005
How does McCall Smith do it? He seems to be writing best-selling books at an impossible rate. This novel started life as daily installments for The Scotsman newspaper. McCall Smith writes about the residents of 44 Scotland Street, a fictitious building in a real street in the author’s hometown of Edinburgh. Those familiar with the city will recognize the characters, but it’s not necessary to enjoy the book. His writing is clever, funny and immensely readable. In fact, I can’t think of a better way to describe it than with words of a reviewer who likened reading McCall Smith to “sitting in a warm bath.”
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