THE TOP 10 NOVELS I HAVE READ(PART 1)
I have always imagined being asked, ‘What are the 10 best novels you have ever read?’
In answering this loaded question, I would naturally issue a disclaimer.
Why? You ask?
Well, the best novels are not always the most memorable and are therefore not the most enjoyable. Novels like David Copperfield, To Kill A Mockingbird, Gone With The Wind, Jane Eyre and Oliver Twist are routinely picked as the greatest novels ever written. I have read them all but they are not books I would want to read say 3 times a year. Reading is a very subjective exercise. Some books tickle your literary palettes; others simply do not, no matter how many times you taste them!
Growing up, I always had my large nose buried in something; a novel, a wildlife magazine, a car magazine, a football magazine, a wrestling magazine, a comic book and some other ‘not-so-nice’ books.
In a ‘reading career’ spanning nearly over 3 decades and leaving in its wake, torn books, torn magazines, some of which belonged to my parents, others to friends and neighbours (some of these books were never returned; others were returned in a radically altered state, nowhere near the state in which they were initially obtained), I have been lucky to read and appreciate some really good novels. Naturally, this ‘reading career’ has been replete with thorough spankings for innumerable literary crimes (if you saw the state in which some of these books were returned, you would think whoever had handled them was 6!).
Magazines, plays and comics made for some good reading but it was the novels; always the novels. They had a way of transporting me to another world. Sure, one knew they were works of fiction (well, most of them) but that did not stop you from momentarily believing in them.
It was a given that nearly all of Michael Crichton’s facts were imaginary but it was not out of place to perhaps imagine that there were ‘Eaters of the Dead’ out there somewhere. Chinua Achebe threw readers into pre-colonial, colonial and immediate post-colonial Nigeria like no other author before and after him while Jackie Collins combined danger and raunchiness in a highly inappropriate but yet attractive package; Jeffrey Archer’s books are ‘success stories’ where some penniless fellow challenges the status quo, said status quo normally represented by privileged Oxford and Harvard Graduates.
Stephen King, Anne Rice, Clive Barker, Peter Straub and Dean Koontz ensnare readers where the human mind is most vulnerable; in the dark! Sidney Sheldon (despite the criticism over a dynamic writing style) showed great flexibility moving from espionage (Windmills of the Gods) to family dynasties (Master of the Game, Morning Noon and Night, Bloodlines) revenge (The Other side of Midnight, The Best Laid Plans), enjoyable heists (If Tomorrow Comes, After the Darkness with Tally Bagshawe) and Legal drama (Rage of Angels). Mario Puzo certainly needs no introduction having made a franchise out of the Mafia (whether modern or medieval).
The works of Ian Flemming, Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsythe and Robert Ludlum are recognizable by their gravitation towards espionage although Tom Clancy’s efforts are far more technical in explanation (taking entire pages to describe some mechanical feat). Either way, this particular group of authors have fed fat on World Wars 1 and 2 as well as the cold war.
Then there are the fantasy experts, those with that ability to transport readers to another dimension borne out of the most powerful human gift; imagination! Authors like J.R Tolkein, J.K Rowling and C.S Lewis imagined worlds like ‘Middle earth’, Narnia and Hogwarths and it is a testament to their skill that they could ensnare readers and pull them in.
V.C Andrews’ books about dysfunctional families, abused and abandoned children and ‘bad mothers’ are good reads once the reader gets over that prickly, disturbing feeling.
So we have a group of icons; Chinua Achebe, C.S Lewis, Jeffrey Archer, Madeleine L’Engle, J.R Tolkien, J.K Rowling, Stephen King (and his equally entertaining alter-ego, Richard Bachman), Dean Koontz, Peter Straub, Anne Rice, William Dehl, John Grisham, Dan Brown, Mario Puzo, Sidney Sheldon, Kevin Folet (The Key to Rebecca), Frederick Forsythe, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, Jackie Collins, Francine Pascal, David Baldacci, Ian Flemming, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jean Auel, George Orwell, Ernest Hemmingway, Thomas Harris, James Patterson, Jules Verne, Rider Haggard, R.L Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling (Jungle Book), Terry Goodkind, Walter Pandani, V.C Andrews etc. If it were possible to reverse time, I would have been more careful with some of the books I read when I was much younger. The task of re-acquiring hard copies of these books is surpassed only by the 12 tasks of Hercules and even Hercules never had to pay through the nose. While it is easy to download a good number of these books, I consider the arduous task of physically recovering them adequate penance for my many literary sins.
Plays will be excluded from this top 10 list as they do not quite have the same feel as novels otherwise some really good plays would have featured. Autobiographies are also excluded for the simple fact that they are not works of fiction; it is easy to write someone else’s story but much harder to imagine a story and write it.
We could easily list a whole bunch of criteria but that would make us worse than the snotty, snobbish critics who are actually paid to review books (now that’s some job). Instead, we could ask the most important question; which novels do we find ourselves reading over and over again? How many of the characters can we remember at the drop of a hat? How much of each novel’s plot can we remember? Naturally, the plot, characters and endings of each novel may be discussed so anyone who has not read any of these books should consider this a HUGE SPOILER ALERT AND WOULD DO WELL TO CLOSE THIS PAGE RIGHT NOW!
SO, FAIR WARNING THEN.
STILL THERE? OK. HERE WE GO.
HONOURABLE MENTION
These are 6 superb books that just missed the top 10.
SHE – RIDER HAGGARD.
I first read this in the mid 90s. I got it from my dad’s shelf and today, no one knows where it is. All I can say is; mea culpa!
King Solomon’s Mines also by Haggard is popular and is a great read but ‘She’ (pun intended) just shades it by being a better blend of mysticism, adventure, religion, love and predestination. If you can ignore the uninformed (and racist) portrayal of Africans as fetish, cannibalistic and savage black men with strange customs (and yet controlled by a white queen) then you will find that it is enjoyable.
Ayesha, a sorceress also known as ‘She who must be obeyed’, is a white Greek immortal living as a Queen among black African slaves in the lost city of Kor. A woman so beautiful men are cursed to die loving her, Ayesha’s beauty is rivaled only by her jealousy and frightening capacity for violence and vengeance.
Step in Leo Vincey who just happens to be the descendant (and outright reincarnation) of Ayesha’s one true love, a man she killed over 2000 years ago in a fit of (you guessed right) jealousy. Now 25, Leo travels with Horace Holly, a man appointed as his guardian (as per his late Father’s instructions to Horace Holly just before he died) to Africa in order to fulfill his destiny. Shipwrecked, they come into contact with Ayesha and are privy to magic, chemistry, telepathy, sorcery and love, the likes of which they will never experience again.
Ayesha’s ultimate plan is to take Leo to the mystical pillar of fire (where she once bathed herself 2000 years ago to achieve immortality) and make him immortal so he can be with her forever but is Leo ready to spend eternity with this dangerously beautiful but unpredictable queen?
Memorable Characters:
Ayesha
She who must be obeyed; A 2000 year old immortal sorceress who is said to be so beautiful her looks can kill. Ayesha has waited over 2 Millennia for Leo. Resistance is futile when a woman has waited that long.
Horace Holly
Guardian to Leo Vincey. Horace is NOT attractive but is a great intellectual and acts as Leo’s moral compass. Like all men, he is enchanted by Ayesha but unlike most, quickly realizes how such love puts a man in great peril.
Leo Vincey
The descendant and outright re-incarnation of Ayesha’s past lover Kallikrates, Leo carries a unique bloodline and is destined to meet and love Ayesha the way no other man can.
NEEDFUL THINGS-STEPHEN KING
‘Needful things’ is the last Castle Rock story.
Fans of Stephen King know Castle Rock, Maine is the setting for some of his truly disturbing works; Cujo, The Dark Half and The Sun Dog (from the collection of stories titled Four Past Midnight) never fail to raise your ‘hairs’ on end. I first read Needful Things in 2000 and returned it in one piece. That is more than can be said for other books.
Leland Gaunt, an immortal salesman who may or may not be related to Randall Flagg or Robert Gray (or any of Stephen King’s devils with sweet sounding names) opens a shop called Needful Things in Castle Rock, a small town in Maine. The shop contains just about anything one can think of. A Sandy Koufax card? Gaunt has it. A splinter of wood from Noah’s Ark? Yes. A toy horse racing game which predicts horse racing results? Yes. A cure for arthritis? Yes! A Bazun fishing rod exactly like the one you and your father went fishing with when you were a child? Yes. A pair of glasses which takes you to Graceland with Elvis Presley? A foxtail; neither silk nor fur but just its own secret self? Yes! You see, Mr. Gaunt sells anything a buyer wants; almost like the shrewd fiend picks it from their minds.
The Price? Oh it can never be fully paid! It is just too steep so Mr. Gaunt suggests that buyers bring whatever they have in their pockets and play little tricks on other residents of the town to balance out the outstanding substantial sum (naturally, the total sum is dependent on the buyer’s greed and desire). However, there are residents in the town who have had issues with one another and each trick is accompanied by subtly planted notes that implicate the victim’s worst enemy.
Afraid of losing their precious items purchased from Mr. Gaunt’s store, the people of Castle Rock get to work and the results are quick and devastating. Each resident erroneously links the trick to an unsuspecting and innocent enemy. Old wounds are re-opened and old grudges once again see the light of day and when two of the town’s feuding residents engage in a bloody, fatal battle, they truly set the ball rolling and well, you get the idea.
You see, Mr. Gaunt knows about every feud in Castle Rock; knows who hates who and knows of every imaginary slight. Two men of God who hate each other, one a Baptist, the other a Catholic, are soon at each other’s throats. Naturally, their congregations join in on the hating.
The residents of Castle Rock are addicted to their ‘purchases’ from Needful Things and would do anything to keep them. Soon total chaos ensues and it is of course a ‘coincidence’ that Mr. Gaunt later gives these customers special guns free of charge to ‘protect their property’. Only one man is not fooled and that is Sheriff Alan Pangborn.
So, can Sheriff Pangborn stop this little town from going up in flames? Can the good Sheriff stop Mr. Gaunt from turning Castle Rock upside down? And finally, can our hero resist buying from ‘Needful Things’ when Mr. Gaunt finally offers an item that he has so badly desired for years?
Memorable Characters
Leland Gaunt (Mr. Gaunt to you, dear reader)
Devil? Demon? Ghoul? Stephen King is an expert at creating such ambiguous evil entities. You never really find out who or what Gaunt is. You do know the man is charming, debonair and impossibly tall, has blue eyes (actually his eyes are also black, green or to be quite honest, any colour you like); has white teeth (they could also be yellow, depending on his mood); has no lines on his palms (well, as you might have guessed, Gaunt is not really a man); has rats for dinner and sells the rarerest of goods.
A much simpler phrase to describe our antagonist would be; Caveat Emptor!
Gaunt is thousands of years old so it comes as no surprise when he frequently tells lesser mortals to shut up and pay attention when they are with their ‘elders and betters!’
But overall, he is just a business man who plays on the greed of others and hates the word ‘but’.
So what if human souls are the final currency in which our impish, immortal salesman trades? Or that our urbane fiend sometimes bares sharp teeth and wisps of smoke come out of his elongated ears? Just remember ‘Mr. Gaunt knows best’ and everything will be fine.
Oh and one more thing; ‘the dealing isn’t done until Mr. Gaunt says it is done!’
Brian Rusk
Poor unfortunate soul (no pun intended) who sets the ball rolling. First customer in Leland Gaunt’s shop and the first victim. One minute, our teenager is enjoying a baseball game with Sandy Koufax, the next minute, he is hurling rocks at peoples’ windows and leaving notes that implicate their old enenies.
Ha! The life of a teenager. Who would ever suspect a kid?
Danforth ‘Buster’ Keeton
The Town’s menacing, mentally unhinged Head Selectman who is unaffectionately called ‘Buster’ behind his back by people who know better than to say that name to his face. He has embezzled a lot of public money, blown it on horse-racing and now faces an impending audit. Danforth knows ‘they’ are on to his illegal acts and when Gaunt sells a horse-racing game to our now degenerate gambler (a game that ‘predictably’ predicts horse racing results), it is not so difficult for the offer to be accepted. By then, the deranged Head Selectman is desperate enough to accept anything that can help to beat ‘them’.
Sheriff Alan Pangborn
The town Sheriff.
Alan Pangborn’s wife and son died in a tragic accident but that has not stopped the good Sheriff from keeping the peace. Sharp as a whip, Alan tries to unravel the mess created by Gaunt.
Patricia Polly Chalmers
Arthritic pretty woman who runs ‘You sew and sew’. Love interest of Sheriff Pangborn.
A TIME TO KILL-JOHN GRISHAM
I read this in my first year in University in 2001.
Jake Brigance is everyone’s favourite street lawyer. The type that gives young lawyers some hope that the magical defining brief could just come out of nowhere.
Somewhere in Mississippi (one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…okay that’s not funny), a young Black girl is brutally raped and savagely beaten by 2 racists (in this case, white supremacists). The girl’s incensed father cocks an M-16 and arranges for a quick meeting between these boys and God. This naturally attracts a double murder charge because nice men just do not shoot M-16s at people.
Brigance is appointed as lawyer to our gun-toting father as the incident quickly divides the town and the country along racial lines. Everything is thrown into the fray except the kitchen sink. Black and White groups converge and threaten to turn the town upside down unless the right verdict is given; for the blacks, the right verdict means setting the man free; for the whites however, it means a black body dangling from a rope and twitching. Add an ambitious district attorney and a hanging judge and we have the trial of the century.
As is always the case, the fate of Carl Lee Hailey, father of the brutally beaten and violated girl, will be determined by 12 men and women who are not expected to harbour any form of prejudice against this ‘violent’ African-American man.
An all-white Jury should do the trick then.
Although a work of fiction, John Grisham’s legal thriller almost sounds real in the manner that it explores the American Justice system (especially the States that still observe the Death Penalty), race relations and man’s inhumanity to man. It is however much deeper than that. John Grisham’s cautionary tale speaks to the prejudice that exists in our hearts. It speaks to the prejudice that makes us hate or dislike others for the most subjective of reasons.
It is a book that has with time proved prophetic with the recent racial, ideological, ethnic and religious tension in America and the rest of the world.
Memorable Characters
Jake Brigance:
Everyone’s favourite street lawyer; streetwise, humane, passionate and dogged. Lawyer to Carl Lee Hailey. Grisham’s version of Robert Shapiro.
Carl Lee Hailey
Father of the girl who was raped and beaten. He takes matters into ‘M-16 clutching’ hands and ‘offs’ the guys who did it. He is naturally charged with murder.
THINGS FALL APART-CHINUA ACHEBE
I first came across this book in 1994 and have since then read it at least twice a year.
Okonkwo was already known throughout the entire…. nearly every Nigerian knows that opening line (especially literature students).
Is there anything that needs to be said about Things Fall Apart? It is Chinua Achebe’s most popular work (not my favourite Chinua Achebe book but we will get to that later) and is a refreshing rendition of the story of the Igbo, set against the impending colonization of the South East by the English.
We are introduced to Ogbuefi Okonkwo of Umoufia, a big strong man whose life has been built on ‘solid personal achievements’. Okonkwo is one of the Lords of the Clan and we are told of the hardship that this self-made man endured while young, albeit achieving early fame by defeating the local wrestling champion. Our hero believes this much was achieved due to hard work and not through the benevolence of gods or spirits.
Okonkwo is so carried away by self-importance and achievements that it is even believed that he has no reverence for the gods. Sadly, these doubters are seemingly proved right when he thoroughly beats Ugoye (his wife) during the week of peace (a week so sacred that even if you found your wife in bed with another man, you would not react). Yet such is Okonkwo’s popularity that when a neighbouring clan brings a young boy to Umoufia as a peace offering to atone for a grievous crime, the condemned lad is placed in his care. Despite warnings, Okonkwo bears a hand in the boy’s death after it is decreed that he be sacrificed, and our hero’s life begins a downward spiral. First, the man whose entire life has been based on achievements and worldly possessions is banished from the Land for 7 years for accidentally killing a young man during the boy’s father’s burial. While on exile, Okonkwo’s son joins the white man and the new religion. Naturally, Okonkwo nearly kills said son with a big stick.
By the time Okonkwo returns to the clan after 7 years, much has changed. The white man has settled among the natives (albeit in the evil forest) and Okonkwo has dropped down the ladder of the elite and men of prominence. As our hero begins the slow journey back to relevance in the clan, the white man’s religion has become more than just a distraction; it is now an obstacle. It soon becomes clear to Okonkwo that life will never remain the same again in Umoufia unless and until the white man is expelled. Dislodging the white man will not be easy but then Okonkwo has never done things the easy way.
Things Fall Apart is a book deeply rooted in tradition. At every turn, Chinua Achebe extols the virtues of Igbo culture and it is worth noting that the men are dogmatically inclined to obey their gods, even at the expense of friendship. When Okonkwo is banished, Obeirika, a man one would call his best friend, takes part in the ‘cleansing’ of his compound as well. When Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, picks up Okonkwo’s favourite child in the middle of the night, there is no protest; nor can there be! Ancestral spirits and masked Egwugwu are rightly revered and feared and there is order; even if such order is borne out of fear and not natural obedience (this is in itself subjective as there is really no form of order that is not coerced). It is into this ‘perfect’ world that the white man introduces a new religion and a new government. Chinua Achebe takes the classic tale of ‘old meets new’ and produces a truly heart rending but timeless story; one that many a generation would still enjoy.
Memorable Characters
Okonkwo
Wealthy, impatient, strong, courageous, reliable… A thousand words may not truly describe this icon and in this writer’s opinion the second greatest character created by Chinua Achebe.
Chielo
The Priestess of Agbala invokes fear and unease but is really a tender if traditional woman at heart.
Obeirika
Okonkwo’s friend and perhaps the only man our hero listens to.
Nwoye
Okonkwo’s first boy who is nothing like his father and finds his intimidating legend a tough act to follow. Nwoye befriends the unfortunate Ikemefuna and is greatly saddened by his death. He is constantly chewed out by his father for being effeminate and lazy and later converts to the new religion, further enraging Okonkwo.
Ikemefuna
A young likeable lad who is given to Umoufia as a peace offering by another town after his father murders a son of Umoufia and his wife.
Ikemefuna is doomed from the moment he steps into Umoufia and it is only a question of when and not whether he will die. He forges an enduring friendship with Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye and his death orchestrates a series of events leading to Okonkwo’s tragic end.
THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA- ERNEST HEMMINGWAY
Nature has always been man’s finest attraction and this writer will readily admit to being enthralled while growing up. I still search for episodes of ‘Last of the Wild’, a series of wildlife videos from 1976 featuring just about every animal known to man.
Then there was that giant book on nature that I borrowed from our neighbours in 1993, “the ABC of nature”. Naturally a couple of pages had been torn out by the time it was returned under the watchful eyes of a strict father.
Hemmingway’s sea adventure is a timeless masterpiece. You can build roads and skyscrapers, even build supersonic cars but the ocean never changes; it remains the same. Mankind’s various attempts to settle down in space (despite knowing nothing about at least half of what we have in the sea) are laughable and books like the Old man and the sea serve as a sharp reminder of that fact.
After 84 straight days of fishing without success, Santiago, a ‘down-on-his-luck’ old man goes fishing off the coast of Florida in a boat and hooks an 18 foot Marlin. After 3 days of intense battle, the Marlin finally succumbs. Because it is too big, Santiago leaves it in the water tied to the boat. Naturally, the dead Marlin leaves a trail of blood and on the journey back, it is attacked by sharks. The old man fights valiantly (as much as his creaking bones will allow) killing some of the sharks but is unable to stop the onslaught. By the time Santiago returns to shore, the sharks have eaten the entire Marlin except for its head and tail. No one believes the old man caught this monstrous fish, not after the kind of luck the last 84 days have brought.
This writer has always imagined Anthony Hopkins as the Old Man. Can some big shot in Hollywood please shell out the money for this and make it happen?
The Old Man and the sea is not your typical ‘fishing book’. It is very much unlike Jaws and Beast (both by Peter Benchley) and more like Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea in that it explores much deeper themes, one of which is obviously the inevitability of ‘mortality’. Santiago beneath all that perseverance and expertise is damn old and this is shown time and again but despite this limitation (the mother of all limitations if I might add), he fights an 18-foot Marlin and countless sharks in a battle that is ultimately futile.
The Old Man and the Sea is a story of great courage and doggedness but the overall message is this; we will all grow old one day and there really is nothing we can do about it.
Memorable Characters
The Old man:
The eponymous old man is not an immediately likeable character. Santiago eats raw fish and dreams a lot. You would too if life has not been good to you. As you might have guessed, he is not exactly the luckiest person even if resilient, brave and determined. However, a damn good big game fisherman resides somewhere in this man and by the middle of the story you will find yourself rooting for him in this battle with Mother Nature herself.
The Marlin:
‘That’s a 20 footer’.
’25! 3 tonnes of him’.
Robert Shaw’s iconic role as Captain Quinn in the Steven Spielberg movie, Jaws (a slightly faithful adaption of Peter Benchley’s novel) just makes you want to fish, does it not? This writer did a little bit of fishing himself as a teenager and while there is nothing quite as exhilarating as hooking a big fish, a lot goes into actually hooking that big fish. If it is a small fish, you can reel it in almost immediately. If it is a big fish however (anything from 5kg upwards can damage your fishing rod)you need to know when to close the bail-arm thus tightening your line; and know when to release it, thus giving the fish more room to maneuver and tire itself out. If a particular fish has taken so much of your time and strength, it must be celebrated. The 18 foot Marlin (it could only have been a Blue Marlin) finally succumbs after 3 days of hard fighting.
Someone give that fish a medal!
THE MATARESE CIRCLE – ROBERT LUDLUM
It was in 2003. A friend could not stop praising the book. ‘Akin, you simply have to read it’, the friend insisted. So I did.
Robert Ludlum is better known for the Jason Bourne series and some really good books like the Gemini Contenders, the Rhineman Exchange, the Scarletti Inheritance, the Aquintine Progression (almost stole this from a friend but the heist was ultimately unsuccessful), the Sigma Protocol and a host of others. You also have the bad ones like Cry of the Haulidon(what was he thinking?) but ultimately, it is the Matarese Circle that stands out among a long line of espionage themed works.
Something is brewing in the world of espionage. A group known covertly as the Matarese now has its men in the CIA and the KGB and virtually every government in the known world. When the top agents of these two security agencies are framed and targeted for elimination, they must work together to find out who is responsible for their ordeal and most importantly, find out what the Matarese is.
The Matarese Circle is a thoroughly enjoyable book. The idea of a Russian and American Agent working together is one for the ages. We follow Brandon Scofield (No! Not that Scofield! This one does not break out of prison) of the CIA and the super-intelligent Vasili Taleniekov who has eidetic memory (there is a scene where he memorizes an entire list within a very short time) in this unprecedented collaboration. Together the two agents realize that there is a plan by the Matarese to produce the next American President, a high ranking Senator who is the son of the leader of the Matarese.
In the ensuing chaos, the two agents learn to trust each other and most importantly learn that the mission is always more important than the agent, hence the great sacrifice made by one of them at the end. A truly gripping read, the Matarese Circle is my favourite Ludlum novel. It delves fully into the world of espionage and global politics without relying so much on technical explanations like Tom Clancy’s books.
Memorable Characters
Brandon Scofield
CIA top marksman and top agent who is framed and targeted for elimination. When the shocking truth is discovered, the CIA agent must do the impossible; trust an agent of the KGB.
Vasili Taleniekov
KGB top marksman, multi-linguist and top agent. Highly intelligent man who must now trust an agent of the CIA.
MY TOP 10
Now that we have skimmed through those who just missed the grade, it is time for the top 10 in NO PARTICULAR ORDER.
One book will be revealed each day for the next 10 days.
Until then, Ciao!