I seem to have read an unusually high number of books this year – surprising, because it was a unusually busy year. Looking back, I realise that long train journeys provided hours of reading time. I often took two books with me on a trip in order not to run out of reading material.
Anyway, here are my five favourites of the year.
Richard Flanagan, Question 7. I read this at the start of the year and in a way it was the best thing I read all year – ‘best’ in the sense of most bracing and thought-provoking. Richard Flanagan knits together several strands which don’t seem connected until he makes you see that they are. His father’s experience during World War II, the relationship of HG Wells and Rebecca West, nuclear physics and the development of the atom bomb, the author’s near-death experience when kayaking in Tasmania – all these subjects have been deeply reflected upon and are wonderfully refracted in the book.
Miriam Toews, Fight Night. I love the work of this Canadian author and Fight Night might be my favourite among her novels. It follows the adventures of a multi-generational family of women living together in Toronto. Wacky, philosophical, funny and poignant, it makes you want to live in Miriam Toews’ world. My daughter and I went to see her at the Edinburgh Book Festival this year and were thrilled to find that she looks just as you hope she would look.
Peter Medawar, Memoir of a Thinking Radish. I enjoyed this forthright and witty autobiography of a distinguished biologist who won the Nobel Prize in 1960. His work on acquired immunological tolerance opened new pathways in skin grafting and organ transplantation. The sheer amount of hard work he put into his various posts – both in research and in administration when he became head of this or that institution – is inspiring and instructive to read about.
Rachel Clarke, The Story of a Heart. Another fascinating medical book, telling the true story of a heart transplant from one child to another. The author describes how the whole process impacts the children’s families and the healthcare staff involved in looking after the young patients. Clear, compassionate and illuminating.
Anne Brontë, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. This kept me going through my trip to London in December to record an album of piano music. I looked forward to continuing the story at the end of each day. Wildfell Hall was written in 1848, when the author was only 28 years old (she died the following year). Now considered one of the first feminist novels, it tells of a young woman who shocks society by leaving her husband in protest at his drinking and his bad behaviour, taking her child with her. I felt it was over-written at times, but understood that the style was provoked by the intensity of feeling. What superb imaginations those Brontë sisters had!
What books have you most enjoyed this year?
Dear Susan, I have never written to you before but have been a great admirer of your playing since the Domus days – the 2nd Fauré quartet is one of my favourite recordings – and also of your books, several of which I have read with great pleasure and profit. I am a retired professional singer, having worked nearly all my life in Austria, but chamber music has always been my closest to my heart.
I have read many wonderful books this year, but perhaps the very best was North Woods by Daniel Mason, which tells the story, over several centuries, of a patch of land in the eastern United States and the families and communities who lived there. Highly original, poetic, witty and a great story, this is my top recommendation.
A Happy New Year to you and all who read this, WILL MASON
Thank you, William, for this recommendation. I had never even heard of ‘North Woods’, but I will certainly look out for it now that you have mentioned it. I know Daniel Mason through his historical novel ‘The Piano Tuner’, and it sounds as if this is another enjoyable historical reconstruction.
I had been aware for years of ‘The Lives of the Great Composers’ by Harold C Schonberg but thought it sounded a bit of a potboiler. Not at all – having finally bought a battered copy in Oxfam I find it’s lively and full of great stories I’ve seen nowhere else. Regarding your selections, my late father the science writer Dr Bernard Dixon would have been very pleased to see you include Peter Medawar, who was a friend and hero of his. In 1989 Dad edited a collection of classic science writings called ‘From Creation to Chaos’, the illustrious selection panel including Medawar, Dorothy Hodgkin, Fred Hoyle and Jonathan Miller. In his introduction Dad thanked Medawar “whose distinctive elegance in science, literature and philosophy may never be equalled”. A highly recommended book.
Thank you, James – ‘From Creation to Chaos’ sounds wonderful and I’ll try to get hold of it, especially as your father was the editor.
There are second-hand copies on Amazon – such a fantastic way of tracking down pretty much any book!
I read a book called ‘Schubert: The Piano and Dark Keys’ by Elizabeth Norman McKay, now sadly deceased. I really enjoyed it, she looks in some depth at the music Schubert wrote in keys like a flat minor. It’s quite a short book and I found something of interest on almost every page. Happy New Year.
I’ve never come across that book, but it sounds great. I’ll look out for it. Thank you James
Susan
Good evening
As a fellow jazz fan, I really recommend Ricky Riccardi’s “Stomp off, let’s go: The Early Years of Louis Armstrong.” I am addicted to books about vintage jazz musicians and this is the best I think I have read, not only chronicling Armstrong’s emergence as the first Great jazz soloist from an extremely humble background but also shedding light on how the music evolved and the levels of musicianship and learning that were apparent from the off. It was a fantastic life that Armstrong led but outlining this in parallel with how the levels of technique and musical theory grew at the same time makes this a compelling read. It eschews the myths to reveal a reality which is far more interesting and demonstrates how Armstrong quickly outstripped his mentors and contemporaries to produce music which was already revolutionary before his first recordings with King Oliver in 1923. Riccardi is a brilliant writer and researcher , identifying those musicians that both influenced Armstrong as a soloist and enhanced his musical knowledge. The generalised notion of Early Jazz musicians frequently being musically illiterate is taken apart in this book. (The likes of Fate Marable , for example, leading a band where Armstrong would have played some classical repertoire.) This book really put me into the world of jazz in 1920s and places you in the clubs and studio as history was being made. Having yourself written about jazz in the 100 piano composition book, I think you will find Riccardi’s research to be fascinating.
I am now reading “A heartful of rhythm” by the same author which takes the Armstrong Story on from 1929 to 1947 and puts his singing and trumpet playing into the broader, popular context. This book is really good too. Riccardi clearly sees Louis Armstrong as the pre-eminent musician in 20th century popular music.
Cheers
Ian
Thank you Ian, these books sound fascinating. I haven’t come across them, but will look out for them.