All writers should be able to rattle off their favorite novels and books. I recently read a blog about Norman Mailer’s top 10 in the 1980s. What struck me was his comment that all were read in college. It seemed odd to me that he should not find any work after that time worth mentioning.
Whether it be 10, 25, 3, or some other arbitrary number, it’s good for writers to make such lists. Our favorite books remind us why we write and what we find entertaining. Plus lists are always good, right?
It’s funny but I believe I read only one of my 10 books in college, The Man Who Died. The rest were discovered along the way, read and reread, admired and remembered. Here’s my list in the somewhat magical order of how old the book is. What’s on your list?
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
I love books that play with structure and language. Its nests of structure large themes of empire and greed make it compelling to me still even after several rereadings.
The Man Who Died (aka The Escaped Cock) (D.H. Lawrence)
This is a retelling of the story of Christ’s resurrection and embracing a more pagan orthidoxy. It’s a strange story told with Lawrence’s usual spareness and ambiguity. It’s not well know but worth looking for.
The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner)
This was the book that taught me the power of storytelling and words. The construction is almost symphonic as the 4 parts move from ambiguity to clarity. I’m just amazed by its complexity.
Pale Fire (Vladimir Nabokov)
There are Lolita people and Pale Fire people, and though I understand the importance of the first, I’m in love with the second. Another “experimental” novel, Nabokov plays with structure and words in a profound, innovative, and difficult way.
A Sport and a Pastime (James Salter)
This is a funny little book that I love because the language is so straightforward, yet everything is presented like a dream. The novel follows two lovers throughout the length of their affair but is told in snippets of flashback by a narrator whose not entirely reliable. Another book worth searching for.
The White Hotel (D.M. Thomas)
This novel deals with a psychoanalytic approach to the horrors of WWII and the holocaust. Its several parts all made up of differing forms including a very long poem, letters, and memoir. It’s a beautiful and powerful book.
Bright Lights, Big City (Jay McInerney)
Some people find this slight, but I think it’s a very well written novel and probably the first to deal with the larger issues of Reaganism and the go-go 80′s of NYC. Also, I love Love LOVE that second person voice.
White Noise (Don DeLillo)
Underworld is more important, but White Noise is, for me, the perfect novel. It’s funny, fast, complex, and beautifully written. I read this over 2 days during a terrible part of my life and by the end I felt a little better about myself and the world. Surely that has to be the mark of a great book.
Mason & Dixon (Thomas Pynchon)
All of Pynchon’s books are off-putting for their heft and complexity. But each is so different one can always find the right combination of heft and complexity to make reading the novel worth it. For me, it all came together with Mason & Dixon. The two famous surveyors seem to be a colonial version of Laurel and Hardy but with very modern sensibilities and points of view. Just don’t let the 18th century usage get you down.
The Road (Cormac McCarthy)
I wasn’t going to add this book, but as I thought about it and remembered it, I realized just how profoundly moving this novel was to me. Not only is it a gruesome presentation of the most base aspects of humanity, but it’s also a very hopeful book, and one of the few books today that seems to have no fear of discussing religious ideas. It is as biblical as it is post-modern.
Filed under: me, favorites, lists, Norman Mailer, novels, top 10
