Our Favourite Reads from 2019

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

Ibsen’s play challenges conventional Victorian society through his creation of a strong female character (Nora), who chooses her freedom over the patriarchal family life she finds herself in. The theme of the sacrificial woman becomes an important topic within the play as Nora sacrifices her family to have freedom and create a new identity for herself.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare’s play follows a grief filled Hamlet as he battles with his conscience and desires to exact revenge after his father’s murder. Hamlet’s obsession with death, shown through his soliloquy’s and encounters with the ghost of his father, comes to represent his need for the truth to be uncovered. Death is the consequence of revenge which convicts the characters to their tragic fate, amongst their incestuous desires and Hamlet’s increasing misogyny towards women, which shows the breaking down of the family unit.

To My Unconstant Lover by Isabella Whitney

An empowering and humorous poem which exposes Isabella Whitney’s reactions to the news of her past lover’s marriage. The poem serves to list many examples of famous men and Gods from Greek and Roman mythology who were unfaithful but are instead remembered for their bravery and heroic actions. Whitney’s references to powerful women, complimenting their truth, intelligence and beauty rather than focusing on the fact that they were also betrayed by men, makes for an enjoyable read.

Small Island by Andrea Levy

Set in 1948, just after the end of World War Two, Levy’s novel follows two women (Queenie and Hortense) and the struggles of racism within society. This theme is followed through showing Hortense and her husband Gilbert’s struggle with living in a predominately white society, with Queenie’s ignorance towards race inequality foregrounded to emphasise this as she unknowingly partakes in the prejudices.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ explores the violent treatment of women in Eastern societies by following the lives of two female protagonists, Mariam and Laila, who -through their marriage to Hosseini’s antagonist, Rasheed – are forced to endure various forms of violence.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

Chandler’s fast pace crime fiction novel takes the reader on a journey around the twisting backstreets of LA, uncovering hidden connections and further corruption as the story unfolds. This novel is the first in the series following private detective Philip Marlowe as he is employed by Mr. Stearnwood to find his daughters husband who mysteriously disappeared. Though the search isn’t as simple as just finding one missing person.

Ode to Autumn by John Keats

The speaker in Ode to Autumn mourns the death of life within nature as the season fades into the silence and darkness of Winter. A melancholy tone encases to poem as life seems to decay around the speaker as he becomes on with the natural world. At a time when fast industrialization was taking place, Keats draws the listeners focus back onto the forgotten rural land and the beauty of being isolated from society.

The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan

The thrilling chase of Richard Hannay from the bustling capital city into the high, remote peaks of Scotland instantly throws the reader into a narrative full of unanswered questions. Set in the time where war in imminent, the novel encases the high anxiety amongst the British public and paranoia that entailed. The title ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’ becomes an important motif throughout the novel, which follows Hannay as he attempts to escape the Black Stone and stop their plans to invade before it’s all too late.

The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred Tennyson

The Charge of the Light Brigade tells the story of the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War, where the brave 600 rode into battle severely outnumbered by the enemy. The poem uses lots of repetition, imagery of death and phonological devices (like the plosive ‘p’ sounds and sibilance) to emphasise the soldier’s courageous actions.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

‘Wild’ entails the written accounts of Cheryl Strayed as she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to find herself. The novel reflects on her past growing up, the relationships with her family and her ex-husband, as well as, her drug addictions after her mother’s death. The non-fiction novel takes the reader on an emotional journey with Cheryl as she comes face to face with nature and the harsh terrain of desert heat and freezing cold snow to re-discover the person she lost through the trauma of losing her mother.