By Hannah Stewart ’12, A&E Co-Editor
Do you want to read a good book this weekend? Here are some of the English Department’s favorites.
Mr. McGivern’s picks
- The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe: Wolfe’s first novel focuses on the American melting pot that is New York City in the 1980s. Choosing to show the tension between the Bronx and Wall Street communities, this novel has biting precision and cynicism.
- Paris Trout by Pete Dexter: This 1998 National Book Award winner is about a white man shooting a black girl in a small Georgia community after World War II. He does not feel any remorse, but is shocked when the trial does not swing in his favor. The court case causes plenty of tension in this socially divided town.
Ms. Floyd’s picks
- Mr. Pip by Lloyd Jones: Ms. Floyd calls this “a brilliant read,” and stresses that it is “not a retelling of the story at all; rather it’s an application of the lessons within.” The novel is “set on an island off of Australia that is experiencing a civil war and the one and only white guy that agrees to hold ‘school’ in the mornings since all the teachers have fled. But they only have one book—you guessed it: Great Expectations.” Ms. Floyd claims that the book has “beautiful lyrical writing about the horror of war,” and that she “read it in one sitting.”
- Dark Places by Gillian Flynn: Very, very dark and very, very well-written. In a nutshell (emphasis on ‘nut’) the main character’s family is killed by her brother and a group of people form the “Kill Club”, which tracks down victims of crime and offers to buy mementos. She is hard up for cash and is soon caught up in them. Ms. Floyd said, “I can usually figure out the ending to any novel, however tricky, but this one got away from me (almost!).”
Dr. Martin’s Picks
- Dune by Frank Herbert: Dr. Martin has read this “heady yet entertaining sci-fi novel multiple times.”
- Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders (The Deptford Triolgy) by Robertson Davies: This trilogy is constantly evolving; according to Dr. Martin, “each novel [is] written from a different character’s perspective and is a great series of stories “
- The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff: A “pleasant (and quick!) little read” about Eastern philosophy.
Mr. Carey’s Picks
- Catch-22 by Joseph Heller: According to Mr. Carey, this is “one of the most savagely funny novels of all time.”
- The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas: This is a “true classic filled with adventure, romance and beautiful writing.”
- 1984 by George Orwell: Although it is “not for the faint of heart,” this novel is “incredibly compelling and truly timeless.”
Mrs. Dunn’s Picks
- Union Atlantic by Adam Haslet: Mrs. Dunn calls this a “great book pitting a retired and eccentric history teacher against a ruthless banker determined to build a mansion on the Massachusetts coast.”
- The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell: This is “a historical novel” and “a straightforward linear narrative that combines a forbidden love triangle with bouts of high adventure.”
- A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks: This thriller features “a potential terrorist, a hedge-fund operator, and a London Underground driver, [who,] among others, populate a story of greed and redemption.”
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