In honor of our Literature Week, we at Her Campus Helsinki asked our writers for book recommendations as a way of bringing the week to its end. There are classics as well as newer fascinating publications; some are old favorites and others further explorations in different literary genres.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith (2005)
The book I’ve enjoyed reading lately is On Beauty by Zadie Smith. This is a wonderfully written book, which I couldn’t put down and wanted to revisit as soon as I had finished it. On Beauty is vaguely based on E.M. Forster’s Howards End, and tells the story of two families, the Belseys and the Kipps, who find themselves intertwined in multiple unexpected ways. Zadie Smith narrates a brilliant modern story and boldly brings up issues of ethnicity, culture, privilege and academic values. The author explores the struggles of marriage and parenting, looks into the hardships of growing-up and growing old, in a way that feels unique and refreshing. On Beauty has it all – compelling characters, captivating storyline and endless potential to fill your mind with thoughts and you heart with hope. To me, it is a story about beauty of living the imperfect and messy life.
Stranger in the Shogun’s City by Ann Stanley (2020)
This book is based on a real story, pieced together from letters written by a woman, Tsuneno, in 19th century Japan. Not quite your usual novel, but not a history book either: it describes how Tsuneno, who in spite of her well-to-do family’s wishes escapes marriage by moving to Edo to fend for herself. Not only do we get a view of Tsuneno’s life, we also open up a whole window into what Edo – now Tokyo – was like; bustling with samurai, merchants and workers before Japan’s borders opened up for foreigners in 1853. While the story is based on the correspondence between Tsuneno and her family, it is presented in vivid prose form that fills the gaps. As history books talk little about the lives of ordinary people, especially of ordinary women, this book paints an interesting picture in an engaging style and without requiring the reader to be familiar with Japanese history or culture.
Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow (2019)
In this book, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter recounts his efforts to expose serial abusers such as Harvey Weinstein, whose case of rape and sexual assault accusations helped spark the #MeToo movement worldwide. The book delves into the ways in which systems of power protect wealthy and connected men who have long managed to evade accountability. While the stories of brave sources and victims of abuse are at the heart of the narrative, the book also explores how journalists are intimidated and how stories are killed. The plot reads like a crime thriller featuring spies and double agents, which seems incredible at times. The well-structured book is a riveting read for people in need of thought-provoking distraction in these trying times. I hear the audiobook is quality work, too.
Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson (1954)
Tove Jansson was a Finnish author best known for her Moomin books and comics. Despite being written decades ago, the topics in her books are still very much relevant today. My favourite book of hers, Moominsummer Madness, was released in 1954 in Jansson’s native language Swedish and the following year in English. It takes us on a trip with the Moomin family as their home valley gets flooded and they jump aboard an abandoned building floating by. This marks the beginning of an unforgettable journey involving Park Keepers, Hattifatteners, Fillyjonks and much more. Though Jansson wrote primarily for children, I as an adult find all her books thoroughly entertaining. She writes in a completely unique way that defies all conventions and immerses you in the story entirely. Her way of dealing with complex and mature topics with childlike awe gives you a new perspective in life you never knew you were missing, which is why I would recommend her books for everyone.
On the Road by Jack Kerouac (“The Original Scroll”) (1957/2007)
I decided long ago I should start reading literary history classics before its too late, and very recently I decided to try and make it actually happen. Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (1957) was briefly mentioned in one of the books I was reading while studying for my Master’s Thesis, so I decided to launch the year by reading this almost mythical book, one of the unquestioned bibles of the Beat-generation. I read the so-called original version which omits the changes made by the publishers and Kerouac himself after the manuscript of 1951 – changes that were made to avoid defamation and scenes deemed too obscene, for example.
Without going into detail on how the book was ultimately shaped (which is, admittedly, one of the most essential parts of the myth surrounding it), it suffices to say here that it is a roman à clef that tells the story of Kerouac himself travelling by car and train across the United States and eventually to Mexico. During the years the novel depicts, several individual journeys take place and diverse set of American characters are introduced in a peculiar, breathless manner. First and foremost among them is Kerouac’s friend and travel companion, author Neal Cassady, a sort of larger-than-life-ruffian type of character, if you will.
The mastery of Kerouac’s lies definitely in his style and in his manner of writing which makes you feel winded like you are actually on a road trip or in a shady jazz bar with him. It is a window to another world, quite literally a ride in his late 40’s/early 50’s boots. If you are like me, I would recommend reading the original version, even if the other (shorter) published versions are available; especially because it keeps the real-life names of the characters and thus makes the novel more rooted in history and in that imagined moment in time and space where it allegedly came to be.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2020)
This is a classic Gothic story in some ways, but at the same time, it’s something completely new. You’ll find all the tropes: the dark & gloomy setting, the tyrannical male, the maiden in distress, the predatory sexuality, the uncanny, the doubles. But you’ll also find strong female characters, a person of colour as the protagonist and subverted gender roles. The Gothic anxieties get flipped on their head: the haunting is an English person, invading another country. The disease comes from within, spreading outwards. The maiden in distress in a man. What I truly think is spectacular is Moreno-Garcia’s way of reimagining Gothic power dynamics in a way that is current, thought-provoking and just genius, really. Trigger warning: the story mentions of and depicts attempted rape, abuse, incest and violence. Also, this book discusses racism and fetishization of people of colour.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (2020)
This is an excellent and witty new book to add to your list of murder mystery novels. It keeps you in suspense like any good mystery by gradually revealing more of its characters, but Osman has also created something original by depicting four pensioners, pushing eighty, getting actively involved in a murder case. It’s a unique bunch, formed of a former nurse, intelligence agent, trade unionist and a psychiatrist that live in a warm comfortable retirement village in Kent, and have an unconventional club dedicated purely to solving old and unsolved crimes. And its name is… you guessed it. All of them have valuable skills to offer and one of them, Elizabeth, very confidently thinks that they can solve the case that centers the novel. What makes it amusing is how she gets the whole group involved. The story is narrated by an omniscient storyteller as well as by one of the witty characters in this group, Joyce, who keeps a diary throughout the events. While this is a murder mystery, the narration is also delightful and entertaining where the omniscient narrator seems like a relaxed, funny commentator on the investigation and the pensioners since these are part of an old generation. I am not lying when I say I laughed out loud many times. But the beauty of the story is the Thursday Murder Club itself, with its clever members trying to catch the killer.