Ms SMITH recommends...
In our continuing series of staff
recommendations, Ms Smith shares her thoughts on some of the books that have been
important to her over the years.
Sophie's World
by Jostein Gaarder
This book came along at the right time. My Dad
gave it to me when I was eleven and questioning
the world in ways I hadn't previously. It's stayed
with me in a way that few books do. I suppose it's
a philosophy book of sorts and is digestible
without being patronising.
Persuasion
by Jane Austen
This is my favourite Austen novel. It's the last
book she published and the wisdom she
cultivated through her writing life shows: the
narrative is controlled and the characters are
finely drawn. I re-read this recently on a trip to
Bath, where much of the novel is set, and it
brought the book alive. I rarely re-read novels
because there's so many others to get to, but there's a depth you
discover when you read a good book like this a second time.
The Blind Assassin
by Margaret Atwood
Atwood is a genius. Her writing is versatile and
modern. She takes risks in her work and
experiments widely (she draws sci-fi cartoons as
a hobby)! When I was in form V in school we
read her novel Cat's Eye as part of our
comparative course; I found her narrative
powerful and went in search of other texts she'd
written. I've read almost all of her books at this
stage and hope she keeps writing them. The Blind Assassin is a
literary cornucopia - there's family, friendship, crime, love, power, a
strong narrative, sense of place, characters you care about, and even a
bit of science fiction. Also the story within a story within a story (the
literary equivalent of the Marmite jar) is ambitious and successful.
Lifelines, New and Collected
It's a shame that people are less likely to pick up
a poetry book than a novel. Poetry is actually the
most accessible of crafts. If you like music and
language, you like poetry. It's quite simple.
Being an English teacher I get to read a lot of
poetry and enjoy the thought and conversation a
good poem can generate again and again. The
Lifelines series was compiled by students and
teachers of Wesley College where I went to school. This isn't a plug;
it's an excellent collection of poetry with the added bonus of varied
and entertaining letters from well-known figures explaining their
choice of poem.
Ways of Seeing
by John Berger
My Mum recommended this book the year I was
doing my Leaving Certificate and it served as an
antidote to the less inspiring side of exam
preparation! It was written in 1971 but, as with a
lot of good writing, it feels fresh when read
today. When studying History of Art in UCD I
read a lot of critical writing about art and found
some of it was extremely lengthy, pretentious waffle. But this little
book had the power to remind me what is interesting, and worth
exploring, in how we see the world.
Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery
There's a series of 'Anne' books, and this is the
first, and I think the best, of them. They were
written for both adults and children but are more
usually considered children's books. The story's
about an orphan girl who is sent to a new home in
the town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island in
Nova Scotia (there's a lot of good literature of or
about Nova Scotia) and charts Anne's time settling in to a new
community. It's Anne's talkative, imaginative character that appeals so
much.
The Arrival
by Shaun Tan
Graphic novels are now such a part of the literary
mainstream that creators can tackle more
heavyweight material with the cloak of visual
ease and breadth. Hodges Figgis, the well-known
bookshop on Dawson Street in town has recently
moved its graphic section to a prominent location
on the ground floor; there's now ten times the
choice there was even two years ago. Recently, a graphic novel which
I'm reading at the moment called Dotter of her Father's Eyes, by Mary
and Brian Talbot won the Costa Book Award Biography section,
beating traditional prose biography to the prize for the first time. If
you're interested in this form then I urge you to 'look at' (can we say
read?!) Shaun Tan's illustrated masterpiece. There are no words in this
book (although there are some words in most graphic novels) but the
sepia images tell a powerful moving tale of emigration and
immigration to strange lands. Over the past couple of years some of
my friends and family have left Ireland to find opportunities not
available here due to the economic recession, so this book resonates
strongly.
Untold Stories
by Alan Bennett
Bennett’s writing (he’s best known for his plays)
is underpinned by subtle humour. In this
book he mixes memoir with extracts from his
diaries. He writes beautifully about his family;
there's an unforced tenderness that makes the
book compelling and humane.
The Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer
The tales are master ‘pen-portraits’ written in
14th century ‘Middle English’. Pilgrims on a
journey from London to Canterbury tell stories
as they walk. The teller of the best story was to
be rewarded with a free meal on arrival at their
destination. Originally Chaucer planned a
hundred tales but he only wrote twenty four. His
cast of characters come from all corners of
medieval society and include a knight, a prioress,
a carpenter, a cook, a married woman from Bath and a very bawdy
miller. Some of the stories are humorous and rude while others are
moral and reflective. There are some very good translations but
Middle English is actually quite easy to understand and enjoyable to
read. Anyone interested in how language evolves should have a look
at these colourful tales in their original form.