Best Books of 2011: The Top Ten

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100 books, books, literature

Picking up where I left off a few days ago, here is my top ten books of 2011.  It took a lot of deliberation to cut it down to these ten.  You can check out my honorable mention list here and the full 75 here.

#10: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre

The quintessential Cold War spy story, replacing the glitz and glamor of James Bond with the grit of the real world.  Le Carre’s story of a washed up spy used as a pawn in power politics is surprisingly poignant.  This book is absolutely a modern classic.

#9: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Kesey’s novel about the inner workings of an insane asylum is one of the most disturbing but inspiring books I have ever read.  The book features anti-hero Randle Patrick McMurphy, one of the great modern literary figures.  Read the book, watch the movie, and thank God for whatever dash of sanity you possess.

#8: Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

McCarthy is an author with a tremendous reputation in modern literature.  I am happy to say that this book lived up to McCarthy’s fame.  Telling the story of Cornelius Suttree and his band of homeless associates, Suttree is a darkly humorous look at humanity from the underside.  This book’s ranking suffered in comparison to The Road, also by Cormac McCarthy (and appearing higher on my list).

#7: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Vonnegut’s heartbreaking story of Howard Campbell is both humorous and depressing.  Through subtle wit, Vonnegut reminds us that the person we present to the world is the person we are, whether we realize it or not.  Read it and remember the value of sincerity in everyday life.

#6: Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

The very first book I read in 2011 remained one of my favorites throughout the year.  It follows Oleg Kostoglotov as he undergoes treatment for cancer in a Soviet hospital.  At once an examination of the harsh nature of Soviet rule and a look at the frailty of all existence, this book is not easily forgotten.

#5: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Gibran’s slender volume about a fictional prophet preaching a final sermon before departing a village is more like poetry than simple prose.  The philosophy espoused by the titular prophet is one of inclusion and love.  We all would do well to take his words to heart.

#4: A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Though For Whom the Bell Tolls still ranks as my favorite Hemingway book, A Farewell to Arms runs a close second.  Hemingway uses the heartbreaking love story to highlight the depth and power of emotion.  Set against the backdrop of World War I in all its dehumanizing horror, this story reminds us all that an individual’s feelings can be overshadowed by war but not destroyed by it.

#3: Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche

This book is Nietzsche at the top of his philosophical game.  It is direct and profound, calling all accepted social and ethical norms into question.  Whether or not you agree with Nietzsche, you cannot ignore him.

 

#2: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

This book is beyond all description.  McCarthy has turned the story of a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world into a timeless epic that offers hope in the face of unspeakable horror.  If this man doesn’t win the Nobel Prize in the next few years there is no justice.

And the number one book I read in 2011 is…

Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis

 I tend to become obsessed with authors, and Kazantzakis was my obsession for 2011.  Zorba presents the classic struggle between spirit and intellect, with the titular Zorba representing the wildness within us all.  Stunning in its originality, this book will make you both laugh and cry out at the strictures society has placed on our individual spirits.

Hope you enjoyed the list!  I look forward to many more excellent books in 2012.

#1: Light in August by William Faulkner

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100 books, book review, books, literature

More than a week into the New Year, I finally finished my first book.  Yesterday I completed William Faulkner’s Light in August.  I have only read two other Faulkner novels, The Sound and the Fury in high school and As I Lay Dying in 2010.  I enjoyed both of those works and looked forward to this book with high hopes.  Faulkner did not disappoint.

Light in August weaves together the stories of three main characters.  The first is Lena Grove, a young woman from Alabama who went to bed with Lucas Burch on the promise that he would marry her.  She gets pregnant and Burch skips town, promising to send for Lena when he has a good job and has set up a home.  After months without word, Lena sets out on foot.  She eventually reaches Jefferson, Mississippi, where Bruch is part of a small whiskey bootlegging operation (under the name of Joe Brown).

The second major character is Joe Christmas, who started the bootlegging operation.  Christmas was an orphan who appears white but has been told from a very young age that he is part black.  He was adopted by a strict Christian farmer who tried to force Christmas to adopt his puritanical ways.  Christmas rebelled and ran away.  After decades on the road, he eventually comes to Jefferson and begins an affair with a woman long since shunned by the town for her sympathy to the black race.

The final major character is Gail Hightower, a disgraced minister in Jefferson.  He is obsessed by the story of his grandfather, who died in a Confederate cavalry raid on the Union stores in Jefferson.  This obsession caused him to seek the appointment to Jefferson following seminary.  His singular focus on the events of the past drives his wife away, and she is eventually killed in scandalous circumstances.  The resulting disgrace causes Hightower to lose his position, but he stays in Jefferson as something of a hermit.

The lives of these three characters are brought together by the murder of Christmas’ mistress.  Lucas Burch/Joe Brown tells the police that Christmas is guilty and a manhunt ensues.  Hightower’s only remaining friend, Byron Bunch, falls in love with Lena and tries to shield her from Burch/Brown.  Christmas is captured and his long-lost grandparents ask Hightower to lie and establish an alibi for the murder.  In the end, Christmas is killed trying to escape, Burch/Brown flees from Lena and her newborn baby, and Hightower is left to reflect on his life and prepare for his death.

This was a phenomenal book.  I went through a bit of a funk halfway through and didn’t seem to make much progress, but I don’t blame the book.  Once I applied myself, I got back into a groove and couldn’t put it down.  Faulkner goes beyond establishing a simple setting.  He creates an atmosphere where you can feel the history of the characters guiding their actions and determining their fates.  The themes of loneliness, racism, religion, and love are all profoundly explored in the course of the narrative.  It is a wonderful example of a master artist at the top of his craft.

The Current Count:

1 Read, 99 To Go