In response to popular demand (well, three people from the Monday evening book club), the following is a list of what I think are the ten best books I read in the past year:
An Indo-Canadian heartbreaker culminating with the 1985 Air India disaster.
Dunant, Sarah. 2006. In the company of the courtesan
Sixteenth century Venice from the perspective of a dwarf who is also a high class hooker's business partner.
Fforde, Jasper. 2005. The big over easy : a nursery crime
Who murdered Humpty Dumpty? Detective Inspector Jack Spratt of the Nursery Crime Division is out to find the answer. So silly but so very witty.
Gruen, Sara. 2006. Water for elephants : a novel
A beautiful but gritty tale set in a Depression era circus in the U.S.
Lawson, Mary. 2006. The other side of the bridge
Why wasn't this book nominated for any of the big Canadian book awards? An Ontario East of Eden. Beautifully written AND a great story.
Nemirovsky, Irene. 2006. Suite Francaise
The author, a Russian Jew, did not survive the second World War but her story about the French and their German occupiers did.
See, Lisa. 2005. Snow flower and the secret fan : a novel
See's story is based on recent research which uncovered evidence of a secret system of writing practiced by upper class women in one province of China during the nineteenth century.
Setterfield, Diane. 2006. The thirteenth tale : a novel
A not-so-cozy English suspense thriller. Gorgeous book jacket.
Smith, Alexander McCall. 2006. Blue shoes and happiness
The seventh and latest instalment in The No. 1 Detective Agency series. Smith and Precious Ramotswe just keep getting better and better.
Wright, Ronald. 2006. A short history of progress
The only non-fiction entry. Wright provides empirical evidence of the Earth's iminient destruction in a brief, convincing and conversational style. Ignore at your grandchildren's peril!
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