My Top Books of 2022

Here are my top 10 books of 2022! A video is up on my YouTube channel discussing all these titles and why they made the tippity top of my year's reading pile: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R6z-i1zDws

As usual, I followed a lot of book prizes this year. The winner of the Booker Prize ended up being one of my favourite books. It was a thrill to be able to attend the award ceremony and learn that Shehan is a fan of my YouTube channel. It was wonderful to be able to interview Joyce Carol Oates again this year about her most recent novel as well as the new film adaptation of her novel “Blonde”. Of course, a real highlight of the year was having two books of my own published. I was commissioned to write these titles suggesting 50 great romances and 50 great mystery novels. It was a fun project and they’ve been turned into two lovely little books.

I read around a hundred books in the past year but these are some which have made the most impact. From a mother struggling to find out how her daughter died to a recently deceased war photographer seeking his killer, these are gripping tales with characters embroiled in emotionally dramatic journeys. Many portray historic battles and wars through a personal lens. Others depict the deep personal impact chronic illness has upon the lives of families and lovers. These books bring to life the unique personality of characters caught in wide scale social and societal change. Some draw on the models of classic literature while others seem to invent their own form of storytelling.

A few such as “Demon Copperhead” and “Nights of Plague” stretch to hundreds of pages while others such as “Elena Knows” and “The Swimmers” are so slender they could be read in a day. There are scenes of heartbreaking cruelty as well as exquisite tenderness in novels such as “Bolla”, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” and “Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies” which stick out in my memory. Books like “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” and “The Colony” made me laugh as much as they made me cry. Some I read at the beginning of the year, but I only read “Trust” a few weeks ago and I was so struck by its inventive structure to reexamine the way we view history, capitalism and those in power.

Have you read any of these? What are the best things you've read this year?

Nights of Plague by Orhan Pamuk (translated by Ekin Oklap)

Now and then it is such a pleasure to get lost in a long, immersive and well written epic! I've had this feeling in the past with novels like “The Luminaries” and “The Eighth Life” whose long page counts allow enough space to fully reimagine a bygone era and intricately involve the reader with the many twists of fate a large cast of characters experience over many years. Set during the beginning of the 20th century, “Nights of Plague” sits comfortably alongside these other bewitching tombs. The Ottoman Empire is gradually disintegrating and the Sultan sends a few emissaries including the Royal Chemist, the Sultan's niece Princess Pakize and her doctor husband on a ship bound for China. However, it first stops at the (fictional) island of Mingheria which is suddenly beset by a virulent disease. As the governing forces try to repress rumours of a plague these three characters find themselves closely involved in the resulting chaos which unfolds. The instability causes religious, economic and national divides to come to the surface. Murderous plots, scandalous affairs and grabs for power ensue. Pamuk deftly handles the many threads of his story in a way which is fairly easy to follow, creates plenty of intrigue and reveals many surprises with dramatically gripping scenes. This novels works as both a historical epic and a murder mystery with a Sultan who is hilariously keen on the stories of Sherlock Holmes.

It's narrated from the point of view of Mina Mingher, the fictional female author of this tale, who explains at the start that the book is both a novel and a historical account informed by Princess Pakize's letters and records from Mingheria's past. This authorial voice occasionally comments upon the action and interjects to give context to events. Initially I was worried this device would feel too artificial or complex, but it doesn't intrude so much that it detracts from the pleasure of the narrative. It also raises interesting questions to do with how to account for people's past actions and understand history. The killers in this story can be deduced from evidence given throughout the story, but the real perpetrators behind these crimes and the many plague deaths which result because of government action (or inaction) are a different question. Naturally this history still feels very relevant when viewed next to recent world events. Mina enters into the story itself towards the end of the novel in a pleasing and poignant way.

Alongside the immediate action, I was fascinated by the way this novel depicts the rapid formation and transformation of a country. In its skilful depiction of the rise and fall of governments we also follow the dramatic lives of those who might be the most powerful person in the nation one day and a vilified rogue the next. Like all totalitarian governments a great deal of suppression and torture is used to silence unpopular opinions. It's noted how “You really couldn't solve a problem in the Ottoman Empire without throwing someone in prison.” Through blending Mina's fictional recreations and historical accounts we gain a better sense of the path of justice. We also get a female-centred view of the past and what a possible matriarchy would look like compared to the venal male leaders focused more on power than the welfare of the people. Since she is narrating retrospectively we receive a contextual understanding of events versus the country's myth building which is taught in school and emblazoned on national banners and monuments. It forms into an expansive and impressive chronicle which could have only been created by a masterful storyteller.