The year 2021 passed in a blur. Despite many significant life milestones, it’s difficult to accept that a whole year passed. Living through a pandemic does it to you, I think.
I set out to read 50 books in 2021. I managed to read 62, surpassing a goal I thought was too unrealistic. These books are fiction; I do not count the tomes I read for academic purposes in my reading. Of the 62 books, these are a few that stood out to me. These are the books I’d recommend to anyone looking for a good read.
Note: The list does not comprise of books that came out in 2021; I just happened to have read them in 2021.
The Dutch House
“I see the past as it actually was,” Maeve said. She was looking at the trees.
“But we overlay the present onto the past. We look back through the lens of what we know now, so we’re not seeing it as the people we were, we’re seeing it as the people we are, and that means the past has been radically altered.”
A slow, beautiful story that’s spread across five decades, what I loved about this book was the writing. It is haunting, very fitting for a story set around a house that is a monstrosity.
We are often told that a good book is one where we are *shown* things, not told. This book, however, constantly *told* the reader, didn’t really show. It created a beautiful insight to the narrator, and how the narrator sees the world. Although I did not read this to psychoanalyze the reader, I often wondered how skillful Patchett was to *tell* with Danny; it would have been *show* had Maeve was the narrator.
The Midnight Library
“Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices… Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?”
I was seeking refuge in the bookshop across from the library after another grueling day of assignment writing when I came upon this book. Later, I learnt that this has been a highly commended book; at the time, I was taken by the title.
For someone who has anxiety, and often wonder how life would have been had I made different choices – what if I had not dated X or befriended Y – this book was ideal. The prose can feel somewhat preachy at times, but the way in which different threads of different could-have-beens are explored was captivating.
I loved this so much that I gifted to this to a dear friend as a farewell gift. This is definitely a book for gifting.
A little life
“My life, he will think, my life. But he won’t be able to think beyond this, and he will keep repeating the words to himself—part chant, part curse, part reassurance—as he slips into that other world that he visits when he is in such pain, that world he knows is never far from his own but that he can never remember after: My life.”
After years and years of putting it off, I finally sat down and gave this book a go. I will never forget this one.
It broke me in the most terrible and beautiful ways. My housemate would walk in to my room only to find me sobbing uncontrollably, clutching this book. It is painful, but beautiful. The parts that broke me the most were the simple ones – where Jude (our protagonist) appreciates such little pleasures in life that I had taken for granted.
Absolute must read. Please make sure you have someone around to hold you while you read this, as it will make you fall apart.
The Other You
‘They say it’s bad enough to see your double once, but it’s meant to be much worse if you meet them a second time.’ He pauses. ‘The day I see him again will be my last. He’ll take over my life, me, you, the house, my company, all that I’ve achieved, everything that’s precious to me.’
He pauses, eyes welling as the Cornish sun disappears behind a solitary cloud, casting the beach into sudden shade. ‘He’ll steal my soul.’
I love psychological thrillers, but this was the best I read in 2021. It is twisted and freaky, and makes you doubt everything and everyone around you – and yourself. The writing was perfect for the story it told. The suspense was done so well. Stayed up to finish the book, and couldn’t sleep for several days after. Those are the signs of a good thriller.
It ends with us
“Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen.”
Funnily enough, this was the last book I read in 2021. It’s a beautiful book with a main character who felt very real. The choices she makes, the reasons for doing all that – this felt timely. At a time where I have been contemplating life and massive changes to life that happened during 2021, this book gave me hope that I will be strong enough. Highly recommended, especially, for women.
Minoli Wijetunga 