The Colour Purple
We had to start with a classic and we decided to make it topical. The Colour Purple tells the heart-wrenching story of Celi, an African-American living in the South, who undergoes a torrent of abuse throughout the forty years in which this book takes place, from her father, and later from the older man he marries her off to whom she calls "Mister". This particular style of writing is unlike any other - the entire book is a series of letters written phonetically due to Celi's poor education making writing difficult for her. Beautifully sad and thought-provoking, we can't recommend it enough!
Little Man, What Now?
Set in Germany during the Great Depression, we watch the slow deterioration of a man losing hope. With a new wife and baby but no stable income, he drives himself into the ground and the man he becomes is no longer recognisable. This book tells the tale of not just one person, but all the interesting people he meets throughout just a short period of his life (including a nudist, a crazy mother, and a cruel midwife). Although not political, the novel has political undertones: the more desperate the Little Man becomes, the more he understands what Nazism is attempting to promise him.
Way of the Peaceful Warrior
Now this one is an odd-ball. It is the first in a trilogy and is Dan Millman's autobiography. For those of you who don't know Dan Millman (probably everyone), he was a gymnast headed for the Olympics when he was in a terrible motorcycle accident. This novel is his own recollection of meeting a strange old man in a gas station who aided his recovery by teaching him martial arts.
Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman
Thought we weren't going to include any scientific literature? You thought wrong. This is an absolute must for anyone interested in science, and really if you're not, read it anyway. Feynman was one of the greatest, and more importantly, quirkiest scientists of the 20th century and this autobiography (sorry, we usually don't like them either) is packed with hilarious stories of his social incompetence, his curiosity leading him to unlock cabinets holding state secrets just for fun, and his thoughts on the state of teaching in science and what to do about it.
On Beauty
If you've made it to the end of this list, we saved a treat for you: Zadie Smith's "On Beauty". The novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2005 and has remained relevant until 2020, when it is perhaps at its peak in terms of social commentary. The novel tells the story of a mixed-race family in London but rather than just focusing on the racial aspect of their story, Smith decides to show us their family life and the lives of their children, anxious to be intelligent and good-looking, because honestly, isn't that true for everyone? We follow a cheating husband, an unlikely friendship, and an academic disagreement that is truly just to hide classist disputes.
So that's what we read last month and recommend for the month ahead. If you have any recommendations for us, please comment or drop us an email and the book might feature in next month's favourites. As ever, we hope you enjoyed the read!
Roo x
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