Read and Appreciated in 2003
A Year’s Best List
The Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem
Jonathan Lethem, in my opinion, is one of the best writers around and what’s more, refreshingly original. The Fortress of Solitude is certainly one of his best. A friend to whom I loaned the book thought it was one of the best descriptions of childhood he had ever come across. It is a wonderfully offbeat book on race relations, coming of age, popular culture among other things; street wise, smart and funny. Perhaps the writing is self conscious, but it is a joy to read. I immediately felt like reading it again as soon as I had finished, to pick up all the hip references scattered through the book that I may have missed first time round.
Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson
A weighty tome in more ways than one, I enjoyed every minute spent reading it. It reminded me of Dorothy Dunnett’s sagas more than anything else, probably because of the historical context. Some reviewers have commented on his anachronous prose style, mixing antique phrasing with modern idiom. It is slightly disconcerting. Still Stephenson’s racey style saves the day in the end.
The Golden Age and The Phoenix Exultant, John C. Wright
In a word—Wow! I hadn’t read any space opera for ages, but after reading various glowing reviews of The Golden Age I had to try it out. I was not disappointed. These books are highly literate, exquisitely imagined space adventures in a far future Utopia. Shades of Cordwainer Smith with a dash of cyberpunk.
Ilium, Dan Simmons
The most recently read of this year’s new collection, but certainly not the least. Up there with the Hyperion Cantos, this book is much more tongue in cheek than Simmons’ previous SF books and very comical in parts. I was tickled by this description of the goddess Aphrodite standing outside Ilium “...pointing and gesturing toward the battlefield like a big-breasted George Patton.”
Simmons writes in such a visual style, one wonders why none of his books have been made into films. Ilium would make a great film. Highly recommended for an entertaining and exciting read.
Many Dimensions and The Place of the Lion, Charles Williams
Charles Williams was the most interesting writer of the Inklings which included Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. His novels are unusual supernatural fantasies Christian oriented but more on the mystical side of the spectrum. They are old fashioned in a way (the characters are called names like Damaris or Quentin) but they are quite a trip into the fantastic. Demonic possession and angelic intervention are common themes. I intend to re-read more of Williams soon, as these two books have served to pique my interest.
As I never go anywhere without a book, and as I get through at least two a week, there are plenty of others I read (or re-read) and enjoyed as well including the Moomintroll books by Tove Jansson, Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.
