Book picks from 2019

I managed to read 51 books in 2019. Here are my recommendations from the 51:

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Ferrante captures young female friendship in all its inexplicable beauty, in its interdependent on support and jealousy. I have never read a coming of age story that was so relatable. So honest that I felt the need to reach out to my own school friends. The struggle to rise above your circumstances and the self discovery feels universal. To me, the rest of the books in the series don't match up to it. I watched the National Theatre's adaptation into a play and was deeply disappointed but was delighted with the Italian TV show directed by Saverio Constanzo!

Milkman by Anna Burns

A wonderful read, it's a serious tale of The Troubles but the barely 16yr old girl's troubles are nonetheless all too contemporary and unsettling. It casually highlights the 'us vs them' peppered with witty sarcasm and all kinds of digressions. Characters remain unnamed (like 'maybe-boyfriend' or 'third brother-in-law') and things just happen to our narrator without her so much as making a statement, giving you the uneasy feeling that it could happen to you, in your town and feels extraordinarily contemporary.

Circe by Madeline Miller

It was refreshing to read a traditional tale, after all the twists and turns the modern day books seem to contain. It's a sympathetic reimagination of a Greek "evil" temptress, Circe as someone who was ignored by her parents like an unwanted child. Since little is known about the character, the author seems to draw heavily from a better done version - GRRM's Cersei. The harsh father, the scorn of society, the epic love for her child, all seem to be portrayed similarly. But I recommend it since it pushed me to read more books on mythology, in general.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

It's an epic intergenerational story of Koreans through Japanese colonisation, WWII and the partition. The first of its kind that I read and yet it's so similar to much of the colonised world that it is relatable in spite of the foreignness. 

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

I had been looking for a good mystery and it couldn't get better than this. The twists are unpredictable and the story is a puzzle you piece together through the narrator who wakes up a different character every day. It makes for a thoroughly unique experience.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

It's a beautiful read as a lonely woman with a horrible past learns to develop friendships and to live ordinarily like everyone. It's warm, funny and full of hope; how the smallest act of kindness can go a long way. It envelops you like a snuggle blanket and a cup of hot coffee.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

It's a short children's book yet it captures grief so succinctly and is relatable regardless of age. It's about a boy whose mother has cancer; how he copes with it and the toll it takes on him. His love for his mother and his perseverance to be a responsible boy who can take care of her is tender and endearing. 

Books that I would NOT recommend at all:

Origin by Dan Brown

Harappa by Vineet Bajpai

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

If you want to have a look at all 51, here are some links:

Good Reads 2019 Year in Books

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2019/50347599

Twitter thread of 140 character reviews

https://twitter.com/SlishaCrazy/status/1092725939266641921

Blog post on H1: http://slishacrazy.blogspot.com/2019/07/books-i-read-in-2019-til-end-of-june.html

Blog post on H2:  http://slishacrazy.blogspot.com/2019/12/books-i-read-in-2019-second-half.html