Read and Appreciated in 2001
An Admittedly Myopic “Writer’s Dozen” of the Eccentric, Sublime, & Time-Worn
My year’s best list is a vagabond’s list, a crazy-quilt of different subjects, styles, and genres. It does not pretend to be a conventional “year’s best” list because this has not been a conventional year for me. Due to constraints on my time, I could not indulge in voracious reading. (You will note a number of specific and general omissions, many grievous. I am currently, for example, still reading two wonderful books—Basbanes’ book on books, Patience & Fortitude, and Peter Ackroyd’s London: The Biography.) However, I still read a number of books, published loosely around 2000-2001, that, for me, stood up to the best of those previous years when I did glut myself on books. Some of these books may have gone undetected by the echo-location systems of many readers…
The Book of Prefaces, Alasdair Gray
(Bloomsbury)
As the title suggests, Gray’s book collects prefaces from as early as the 12th century and includes the prefaces to, among others, Frankenstein and Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark. Gray also traces the evolution of the English language through his selections. The unique typography, a Gray trademark, serves an important purpose, as he includes numerous notes on the texts presented. An eccentric masterpiece.
The Exploits of Engelbrecht, Maurice Richardson
(Savoy)
With an afterword by Michael Moorcock, a design by John Coulthart, and some of the original illustrations from Lilliput magazine, this reprint of the adventures of the surrealist sporting club’s most famous member was among most entertaining and beautiful of books published in the last couple of years.
King of the City, Michael Moorcock
(Morrow)
Moorcock’s “sequel” to Mother London opens with a marvelously inventive scene, itself worth the price of the book. Possessed of crackling energy and an astonishing attention to detail, King of the City rivals Angela Carter’s Nights at the Circus for sheer imaginative power.
The Nefarious Circi of Harold Roper, Colin Thubron
(Morrow)
Better-known for his travel books than for his fiction, Thubron has produced a work of amazing power and scope. Set in the America of the late 19th century, the novel follows the (sometimes fantastical) exploits of Roper as he tries to maintain financial and creative control over three circuses that, having gathered in Detroit, make their separate ways to San Francisco, New York City, and New Orleans.
