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?

Trust by Hernan Diaz

It's impressive when a novel draws you so fully into its story only to pull the rug out and make you question the validity of what you're reading. Diaz presents four different manuscripts about Wall Street tycoon Andrew Bevel and his brilliant wife Mildred in a way which makes you reassess and question the legitimacy of what came before each part. Every section creates a persuasive picture of these figures and their role in financial affairs which led up to the Great Depression. Though the novel continuously reframes the same characters and events it shows them from radically different angles. Far from being convoluted or repetitive, this gives a dynamic understanding of how narrative can be shaped to fit the ideologies and points of views possessed by different authors. Moreover it's captivating how it lulls the reader into the magnetic glamour and power of these individuals who are at turns sympathetic and suspicious, seductive and repulsive, the saviours of America and the scourge of the nation.

Diaz cleverly plays off from the double meaning of words such as “trust”, “bonds” and “futures” which refer to financial arrangements as well as human relationships. In doing so, he shows how business isn't simply a matter of mathematical equations because there are real world implications and its motives are often based in human emotions. The novel interrogates a capitalist system which allows high proportions of a nation's wealth to be in the hands of relatively few people. The way the story plays out makes us question the honesty behind the stated moral imperatives of moguls who claim to be acting in the best interest of the general population and their country while also increasing their own power and wealth. Crucially, the story also depicts an example of a man driven by communist ideas who earnestly endeavours to query the system and spread news of an alternative ideology. However, his schemes seem as egotistically driven as the financial leaders he scorns. Threaded through the stories of these domineering men on either side of the political divide is a virulent misogyny which leads to the suppression of women's voices. So it feels only fitting that the final two narratives of this novel are handed over to female characters who relate their points of view in a memoir and diary entries.

The novel is deeply compellingly in its series of dramatic reveals which cleverly prompt the reader to piece together an understanding separate from any single one of these narratives. But I think it's also a valuable exercise in questioning how we view history and the motives behind certain stories – especially those that are spun by people in power. Excessive wealth is so often justified by tales of individuals who have earned it through hard work and ingenuity. It's condoned through philanthropy which washes clean any cut throat measures or misconduct which led to its creation. These persuasive mythologies lead to complacency. However, as Diaz demonstrates in this book, there are multiple viewpoints which give very different perspectives on how and why such fortunes are built. It's a message and methodology we should carry with us whenever reading the news or listening to the self-satisfied stories of those in power.