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Recommended Reading — From McLuhan & Davies CEO, Roger HB Davies
Good writers read, and clients often ask us for examples of good writing. What should we read?
So here's a list of recommended contemporary novels. The best in modern British, Canadian and American authors.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larsson — Lisbeth Salendar, heroine, is (shall we say) seriously weird. Ignore the tattoos, ignore her brilliant mind, her punk appearance, but you won't ignore her persona. Lisbeth (& Blomkvist, the investigative journalist) are the strangest partnership in crime fiction. Another series of books from the fine Swedish stable of crime writers.
This trilogy from Larsson is special for one simple reason: the books are really well written page-turners, not always guaranteed from this genre. You need to get past the long list of Swedish names, if you're not Swedish! But note: not family reading. Somewhat sordid, at times, & violent.
Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks — Spanning 69 years, this family saga will likely sit with you for days. You need to get past an erotic love story and the horrific descriptions of life and death in the trenches in World War I. A search for love, against a family history, set in France and England. One of the best-written contemporary novels to come out of Britain in recent years.
Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis De Berniers — Second World War classic set in German-occupied Greek islands. Charming, provocative. Much better than the movie.
Crow Lake, Mary Lawson — Family growing up with diverse expectations in Northern Ontario. Atmospheric; you can almost smell the lives of those that stayed and those that didn't.
Fingersmith, Sarah Waters — Historical crime. Life among petty thieves — fingersmiths — in Victorian London, with enough turns and twists of fate to keep you going.
Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver — Modern-day Evangelist takes his four daughters and wife into the Belgium Congo in the 1950s. Makes Out of Africa look a bit tame. Women seem to prefer more than men!
Straight Man, Richard Russo — Academic anarchy at work, with the protagonist mishandling his role as English department head. Witty, insightful, biting ... and you will laugh.
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