wonderful mourning, monday morning

as i aimlessly searched amazon.com for possible soul-shakers, i realized i am suffering from literary withdrawl. it happens each time a really wonderful book graces my day. the world melts away and personal contact with people seems secondary to completely delving into the world of the novel. as the pages dwindle, i always become cognizant that i will soon mourn and work, to no avail, to find a replacement.

this is not the first time it's all happened. jonathan safran foer, gabriel garcia marquez, jhumpa lahiri, j.d. salinger. they exist for our pleasure and misery. so. to fully mourn, in order to move on, i will give you, the people who may or may not be reading this blog, a top ten of books that are so good you will mourn their passing.

in no particular order.
1. unaccustomed earth by jhumpa lahiri. a.k.a. the latest culprit

how does she do it? specialize in little moments and phrases that make the characters not one-dimensional creatures but complex indivuals who denigrate opportunities and don't do the happily-ever-after dance. though all her books are incredible, this one is particularly noteworthy for its depiction of the individual's inherent solitude, and its beauty.

2. love in the time of cholera by gabriel garcia marquez

this book overtakes your life and embraces you into its bosom. ask anyone. if you want to think about love, its forms and follies, here you go. when the dust settles, you will absolutely need to move onto 100 years of solitude. and i feel like i am that kid at the end of reading rainbow... moving on.

3. harry potter and the deathly hallows by j.k. rowling

i cried like a child when this book ended. like a child. there's nothing more to say.



4. extremely loud and incredibly close by jonathan safran foer

though everything is illuminated is a finer work, this look into the life of oskar schell is wonderful. the descriptions are touching (is there a less la la word? i can't think of it) and the viewpoint is fresh. if i could meet one character on a desert island, oskar would make the short list.

5. the heart is a lonely hunter by carson mccullers

truthfully told with a clarity of vision... you want to be able to halt the course of the novel, but knowing it impossible, the tragedy is oddly lovely.


6. nine stories by j.d. salinger

i don't know how he does it, but salinger is the king of clear, simple moments of humanness. the tale of the glass family, woven throughout his works, is somehow enlightening. really, any salinger would make the list.


7. their eyes were watching god by zora neale hurston

oh man. the precursor to morrison, walker and anyone else who has business writing about strong women.




8. the unbearable lightness of being by milan kundera

this cover sucks you in, just like the rest of the book. the final scenes are incredible. the world outside stops, accordingly.

9. the winter of our discontent by john steinbeck

this book has such a clarity that it seems like it should be written now, not then. timeless, yes?



10. into the wild by jon krakauer

oh lord. that damn moose. this is beautiful, somehow.




11. beloved by toni morrison

honorable mention: the corrections by jonathan franzen, white teeth by zadie smith how we are hungry by dave eggers, the god of small things by arundhati roy, jitterbug perfume by tom robbins, breakfast of champions by kurt vonnegut, high fidelity by nick hornby, birds without wings by louis de bernieres