Nov 19, 2013
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Don’t let the winter cold get you down! There’s nothing cozier than cuddling up next to the fire with a great novel in hand—that’s my opinion, anyway. Here’s a list of some of the books I’ll be reading this winter season:
1. Home by Toni Morrison. Whether or not you’re familiar with Toni Morrison, you will not be let down by her most recent novel. In this narrative she explores post-Korean-War America for a young black veteran, ridden with poverty and suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. What eventually brings him home is the relationship he has with his sister and his drive to rescue her from her own traumatic experiences. This novel is a story about protecting family, overcoming fear, and finding home.
2. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. East of Eden is another tale about family. It follows the stories of the Trask and Hamilton families over several generations, revealing family life as it really is—messy. Besides the effortless entertainment this book provides over the span of six-hundred pages, East of Eden asks existential questions of our fate—are we born into our fates or do we create them for ourselves.
3. Dear Life by Alice Munro. This Canadian short-storyist unexpectedly won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature as only the 13th woman to ever win this prize. She is repeatedly called “a master of the craft” of short stories, and her latest collection Dear Life does not disappoint. Dear Life draws nearest to her own story with a setting in Huron County, Ontario, and with narratives full of autobiographical details.
4. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. If you haven’t read this classic Christmas tale before, it’s time you get started! A Christmas Carol, along with all of Dickens’s tales, is re-told over and over again every year. What makes this short novel so famous is not only the tradition it holds in Western culture, but its cautionary tale that encourages all of us to be more giving during the holiday season.
5. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. After the publications of her short story collections, Lahiri has expanded to writing full-length novels with great success! The Lowland, the second of these novels, tells a heart-wrenching tale of two brothers separated by distinct fates and country divisions and later their coming together. The intimate telling of their separation and reunion makes this novel a must-read for your Christmas break!
Don’t miss out on these fiction masterpieces this winter break!