These are the top 12 books that I read in 2023 - some new stories, some old that I have read before, but all utterly brilliant.
THIS book is inspired by the real-life friendship between Anne Sharpe, a governess to one of the Austen clan and the most famous Austen of them all, Jane. It’s such a lovely book - it’s main theme is friendship but it has lovely character development - I felt like I got to know everyone really well - plus there’s a unique blend of fact and fiction. We already know that Jane Austen was witty and interesting, and this book supports that thoroughly.
SET in the 1950’s, our protagonist, Jean, is a 40-year-old journalist whose life is so mundane, she focuses on what small pleasures she has - a glass of sherry, the first cigarette of the day, a neat pile of ironing - until she is commissioned to investigate the story of a virgin birth. During her research, Jean undergoes a renaissance as she develops friendships and romance and discovers that life has colour after all. This is a quiet book, yet full of dry humour and tenderness.
DARK, Victorian and as wild as the Yorkshire Moors where most of the book is set, this is a must-read even though happiness is sparse and the characters are unlikeable. The Bronte sisters were something else.
TWO British families from two different cultures who have been brought together by a couple, Yasmin and Joe who want to get married. Both families are complex - one is traditionally Indian, one is uninhibited and liberal - both have secrets. The main theme is sex but it’s not lewd and there are lots of rabbit-hole subplots to explore. A bloody gem of a book.
MY current favourite author, her writing is sublime, and all in short story form. This novella sees a poor young girl gets sent to live with the childless Kinsella family in southeastern Ireland while her pregnant mum is bringing another baby in a household full of children. The Kinsellas are desperate to love a child and this child is happy to receive their affection. There are sad secrets in this book and we feel them so deeply because Keegan transports us eloquently to those moments in their lives. This is a desperately sad book and of course, the young girl has to go back eventually. Why did I hope otherwise?
THE big hit of the year! And why not, it’s fabulous. I think everyone must know by now what this book is about. I just loved Elizabeth Zott and her relationship with her daughter (and her dog - the poor dog!) and even the tv series just out on Apple tv is surprisingly good. Bonnie Garmus must be a quivering wreck if she’s thinking to write a second novel.
SET in Scotland, this story (like most of the Bard’s plays) has everything in spades; murder, passion, witchcrafty goings on, torment and guilt, suspicion, betrayal and so much more.
Spurred on by his ambitious wife (one of the most memorable female characters created by Shakespeare), Macbeth kills the King, becomes the King and then kills a whole load more people in a frenzy until he is eventually killed. Phew!
I also like that the titles of two popular books of the year ‘Birnam Wood’ by Eleanor Catton and ‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow’ by Gabrielle Zevin both originated in this play.
Macbeth is told by the witches that he will only be defeated when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. And Macbeth begins one of his soliloquies, "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time; and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!"
THERE needs to be a lot more praise heaped on Yaa Gyasi for this superb book. Also her debut novel! The story starts with two sisters, Effia and Esi. One is sold into slavery and the other is a slave trader’s wife and we follow their bloodlines through seven generations and seven very different storylines. I found myself completely absorbed by this book, the way each of the characters and timelines relate to each other is genius. It is a gripping and at times shocking book, you will gasp and cry and I cannot wait for the next tale written by this huge talent.
AND here we are back with the Bronte sisters. I read Jane Eyre for the first time this year and I could not put the thing down. Jane is the epitome of resourcefulness and strength and I loved how real she was to me. Blimey, those Bronte sisters could write strong women characters. Nothing else like this book.
FICTIONAL interpretation of the life of Joan of Arc. In Chen’s version, Joan does not sit around waiting on religious visions or act on messages from god. She is a feminist, a fighter, a magnificent strategist and soldier and overcomes all kinds of adversity and she only lived until she was 19 years old. We’ve all under-achieved massively by comparison, sorry. This is a masterpiece, unputdownable and magical.
SHAKESPEAREAN vibes in the way comedy and tragedy interplay in this wonderful book. An adopted boy tries to navigate his way around his sexuality as he grows up in a homophobic Ireland; the themes are serious and yet there’s so much humour to counteract the intensity. I love the writing style and I’ve just noticed, two Irish books in my top two!
MY favourite book of 2023 is this beautifully crafted story where keenly observed everyday moments of family life at Christmas in Ireland in the 1980s sit next to the historic shame of the Catholic Church and the Magdalene Laundries. Bill Furlong has to face up to his own upbringing and consider the future of his daughters when he decides to step into a dark situation happening in his own small town.
Not a word wasted, this is a small novella that packs a massive punch. I have read it three times this year, I love it that much.