There has been so many books published over the years in both classic and contemporary genres that it is so hard to know what is valuable or interesting to read and what is not. In this article I aim to highlight the books you really need to read before you reach the pearly gates.
1. Brideshead Revisited
Brideshead Revisited is a remarkable novel written by author Evelyn Waugh. Published in 1945, the book revolves around many very interesting and diverse themes such as love, religion and background differences. Waugh manages to intertwine these varying elements to create one of the best novels of our time.
Not only is Brideshead Revisited well-written (which it undoubtedly is), it is also a very interesting read as we read about the romantic life of the novel’s protagonist Charles Ryder who meets the more affluent aristocratic Sebastian Flyte while they are both attending Oxford. Flyte brings Ryder to his family home Brideshead, and the two have a wonderful romantic time together until Flyte’s mother Lady Marchmain arrives back and slowly we see Sebastian fall further and further into alcoholism through the roots of his problem: his mother, religion and an unfounded sense of guilt.
Charles has a romance with Sebastian’s sister Julia too but this romance ultimately fails because the religion is a major element of her life too and she refuses to get a divorce in the end to be with him.
2. The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a classic gothic drama by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. Published in 1890, the book is a symbol of how vanity can affect someone and how real beauty is the beauty you possess inside.
When artist Basil Hallward paints the object of his affection and desire Dorian Gray he does not realise the can of worms he is about to open in doing so. Urged on by the detrimental meddling of Lord Henry Wotton, the young Dorian Gray endeavors to live a life only filled with pleasure as he remains the same as he looks on the canvas. But inside, his sins are making him look as he really is–rotting away with his sins which include killing Basil Hallward and causing the suicide of his other love in the novel, Sybil Vane.
It is a perfect take on good versus evil in a person’s mind and how good is always the right answer and path to take in the end.
3. The Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy
The Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is one of the most popular series of novels in recent times. The novels really took off and were read by everyone on beaches, in cafes, on public transport.
Written by writer E. L. James, the series of novels was published on the 20th of June 2011 by Vintage Books. Telling the story of the shy, awkward virgin Ana and how she embarks on a relationship with the dominant and intensely sexual Christian Grey, Fifty Shades of Grey is a must-read modern novel and lives up to its hype. It is a book that is quite realistic in the way it conveys the emotions of the characters. Nothing seems contrived and how they both react and see the world on a daily basis is linked to their pasts, especially in the case of the secretive and complex Christian and the journey Ana embarks on as she tries to peal away the layers of his past by knocking down the boundaries which he has built up. Despite rumours to the contrary, I would say that the book is very well written.
Subsequent novels in the series by the UK author were Fifty Shades Darker (Published on September 15th 2011) and Fifty Shades Freed (Published on January 19th 2012).
4. Wuthering Heights
Wuthering Heights was the only novel written by Emily Bronte before her death. The superb novel was published in 1847 and told the story of the romance of Heathcliff and Cathy.
The story is one of love but also revenge and it follows Heathcliff from his from childhood to his death. Heathcliff rises in his adopted family but then suffers as he is made a servant and runs away when the woman he loves, Cathy, decides to marry another man. He comes back later in his life, educated and affluent. He embarks on getting his revenge on the two families that he thinks have ruined his life.
It is a must-read novel, and though its reputation can put a lot of people off, it’s an interesting and accessible novel . This is a book with a lot of heart and two very complex main characters in Heathcliff and Cathy.
5. In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood is a nonfiction novel written by Truman Capote. The novel was published by Random House in 1966 and was the novel which Truman Capote was writing during the period of his life covered in the 2005 film Capote in which Philip Seymour Hoffman played Capote and subsequently won an Oscar for his portrayal.
The novel centres around the Clutter family who were killed brutally in their home in Holcomb, Kansas on the 15th of November 1959 by murderers, who were on Parole from Kansas State Penitentiary, Perry Smith and Richard “Dick” Hickock. The novel also follows their subsequent trail and eventual hanging.
Capote was a truly gifted writer. He did what many authors do not do when they approach writing true life crime–he made the victims human, not just a statistic, and he showed the people connected to them and the community in which they lived in a very human light too.
6. The Rose Tattoo
Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece The Rose Tattoo has had many different media incarnations. It was originally a play which was first staged on Broadway in February 1951 before the film version came out in 1955. The play was later published in book form.
Telling the story of a widow who is Italian-American and lives in Louisiana, it is a very authentic story about a woman called Serafina who has distanced herself from the world outside following her husband’s death and thinks and expects that her daughter Rosa will do likewise.
It is a tale of love lost and then found and it is based on Williams’ relationship with his boyfriend Frankie Merlo.
7. The Harry Potter Series
The Harry Potter series was an amazing series of fantasy novels written by British author J K Rowling. The series which was written for children became a hit with both its target audience and adults alike and a worldwide success for its author, making her rich beyond her wildest dreams.
Published from 1997 to 2007 by Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) and Arthur A. Levine Books (US), the plot of the seven novels centres around orphan wizard Harry Potter as he embarks on the first major adventure of his life: going to study in magical school Hogwarts. There the boy wizard meets his two best friends Ron and Hermione and battles each year with the evil Voldemort who killed his parents.
The books in the adventure are: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the HalfBlood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
8. The Quare Fellow
Written by Irish writer Brendan Behan, The Quare Fellow is a play set in a prison. It was published later but the actual play was first produced in 1954. The prison the play is set in is Mountjoy Prison in Dublin and the antihero of the story, The Quare Fellow, is never seen or heard but his function is as the play’s central conceit. He is condemned to die the next day, for an unnamed crime but whatever the crime is, it disgusts his fellow inmates far less than that of The Other Fellow, a very camp, gay man.
The story is a realistic portrayal of prison life in Ireland in the ‘50s, and a reminder of the terrible days when homosexuality was illegal. The death penalty was also not uncommon. It is based on Behan’s experiences in prison and shows the barbarity of capital punishment which was then used in Ireland. The play also lets loose on the fake piety towards politics, religion and sex.
However don’t be put off by the realistic harshness of the play. Behan is renowned for having humour in his writing and he adds humour into the mix.
9. Cloud Atlas
The novel Cloud Atlas is difficult to categorise. It is a bit of everything really from romance to sci-fi and everything in-between. It tells six varying stories in the one novel and is a true modern masterclass in how to write a really lengthy novel and keep it interesting all the way through.
Written by British writer David Mitchel, Cloud Atlas tells the stories of Robert Frobisher, Rufus Sixsmith, Luisa Rey, Sonmi 451, Timothy Cavendish, Adam Ewing and Zachry as it swings from decade to decade and from genre to genre. There is certainly going to be stories and characters that you will prefer based on your own personal tastes but all the stories are written by Mitchell to perfection.
It is not light reading but it is perfect if you are looking for a novel to last you that bit longer and is very intriguing in both story and structure.
10. One Day
Written by English author David Nicholas and published in 2009 by Hodder & Stoughton with an amazing cover design by Craig Ward, One Day is a romantic novel centred around the romance of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew.
The romantic leads embark on a long process to get together which has many ups and downs. The book shows their lives and their relationship on July 15th in successive years in each chapter for 20 years. They do eventually get together but I won’t ruin the complete ending.
The novel is a brave and realistic look at growing up and not getting what you want in life straight away like you thought you would and the regrets in love that you have.