10 Amazing Novels that Saved my Lockdown(s)
Guest Article by Abi Prowse, Founder & Editor of Viaggio Magazine
Abi Prowse | Abi is a freelance translator and writer from the UK, and the founder of Viaggio. Following a lifelong obsession with writing, and an even greater obsession with adventure, she launched Viaggio in January 2020. She aims to help other travellers plan their trips, and to tell her stories along the way. A lover of Aperol Spritz, French Bulldogs and anything Italian, you can often find her with a camera in hand. Abi is also a proud We Are Travel Girls Ambassador.
Overview
When Cullan first approached me to write this piece for his wonderful site, I was equally excited and stressed. You see, I read quite a lot under normal circumstances; now throw in a worldwide pandemic and an ever-decreasing chance to socialise with actual human beings, and it feels as if I’ve done nothing but read for the past year. But, hey - I’m not complaining. The issue, of course, was how I would ever be able to choose just ten of my favourites.
Of all the novels I have read over the course of Europe’s numerous lockdowns, these books in particular gripped me the most, some even lingering in my memory more than a year later. Whether they left me sobbing or laughing, whether they were frustrating or heart-wrenching, each of these novels taught me something. Is that, after all, not exactly what books are for?
Read on to discover the 10 novels that saved my lockdown.
10. Scenes of a Graphic Nature by Caroline O’Donoghue
Set off the west coast of rural Ireland, Scenes of a Graphic Nature tells the story of Caroline: an Irish woman living in Essex with her mother and her terminally-ill father. When she finds herself at an impasse in her floundering filmmaking career, she decides to travel to Ireland with an old friend in an attempt to uncover a hidden secret on the fictional island of Cliphim. The island had been the scene of a great tragedy during the 1960s, of which her father was the only survivor.
This is a novel which speaks about the messiness of friendship, love, and the confusion surrounding one’s own identity.
“That’s what it comes down to, I suppose. I was obsessed with what I was, because I had no idea who I was.”
9. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
You don’t have to like Shakespeare to enjoy this beautifully-written novel, inspired by the life of his son, Hamnet. It was with some reservation that I began reading Hamnet towards the very beginning of last year’s lockdown - but it only goes to show that, as the old adage goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Hamnet was such an enchanting, haunting read that I largely forgot it had anything to do with Shakespeare at all; in fact, he is merely a secondary character in the life of his family. Set during the 1500s, peppered with elements of the supernatural, this novel is a stunning testament to family ties, marriage, and loss.
“Every life has its kernel, its hub, its epicentre, from which everything flows out, to which everything returns.”
“She, like all mothers, constantly casts out her thoughts, like fishing lines, towards her children, reminding herself of where they are, what they are doing, how they fare.”
8. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
The gritty debut novel from Scottish-American writer, Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain is a heart-wrenching account of the childhood of Hugh ‘Shuggie’ Bain. Growing up in working-class Glasgow with an alcoholic mother and largely-absent father, the novel spans the 1970s - 1990s, and touches on so much more than just the life of sweet, gentle Shuggie. When his family are relocated to a council flat near the mines, his father then abandons them there, leaving them to fend for themselves. Shuggie Bain explores the ideas of addiction, sexuality, and human relationships, and is undeniably moving.
“The day was flat. That morning his mind had abandoned him and left his body wandering down below. The empty body went listlessly through its routine, pale and vacant-eyed under the fluorescent strip lights, as his soul floated above the aisles and thought only of tomorrow. Tomorrow was something to look forward to.”
7. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
I started and finished this 300-page book within the same day - a fact which speaks volumes about the beautiful flow of its writing. But what struck me particularly about The Midnight Library was the concept behind it: the idea that each decision we make can drastically alter not only our own life, but the lives of those around us, too. The protagonist, Nora, is utterly relatable and decidedly normal, which draws the reader even more deeply into her story.
“She realised, in that moment, that she was capable of a lot more than she had known.”
“You don’t have to understand life. You just have to live it.”
6. Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
The sci-fi aftertaste to this heartwarming novel about love and loneliness is what makes this story particularly unique. Set in a remote cabin in a dense forest, Joanna is a young research student carrying out fieldwork during the summer break. One evening, her lonely life is disrupted by the appearance of a bedraggled, bruised child who claims her name is Ursa, and that she is an alien sent from the stars. Before she can go back home, she has to witness five miracles - so Jo agrees that she can stay. Where the Forest Meets the Stars is a deliciously quirky and deeply moving novel.
“Words fail when you most want to say the right thing. People think they need to say something, and it never makes me feel better. I know. I have decided language isn’t as advanced as we think it is.”
“Art is supposed to represent how you see the world, not exactly copy it.”
5. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Set in 1980s Chicago, The Great Believers speaks boldly and candidly about the loss and tragedy experienced during the AIDs crisis. Focusing particularly on the character of Yale, an art director at a gallery in the city, the novel allows the reader to watch from Yale’s perspective as, one by one, his friends and loved ones are all gripped by the disease. After a while, he is left with only Fiona, the younger sister of his late friend Nico; when Fiona catches wind that her estranged daughter has run away with a cult in Paris, she travels to find her. A work of critical acclaim, The Great Believers is an epic tale of humanity.
“And was friendship that different in the end from love? You took the possibility of sex out of it, and it was all about the moment anyway. Being here, right now, in someone’s life. Making room for someone in yours.”
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4. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames
I had never heard of this novel before I stumbled across it, in the under-stocked English section of an Italian bookstore, but it turned out to be one of the best books I’ve read for a while. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna (unsurprisingly) follows the life of Stella Fortuna: an Italian woman living in America, who finds herself estranged from her sister after a series of events begins to unravel. The story spans a hundred-year period, from the rural villages of Southern Italy to the streets of Connecticut, and speaks eloquently about family, identity, and what it means to be an immigrant in modern-day America.
“This was the trouble with emigration—it dismantled the patriarchy.”
“It’s the best legend, though, and sometimes a good legend is truer than the truth.”
3. The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne
From the celebrated author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, this novel is set in twentieth-century Ireland, and begins with a young, unmarried woman who finds that she has fallen pregnant. She leaves the baby boy with a hunchbacked nun, who passes him onto his adoptive family. In this incredibly-written novel, Cyril struggles to come to terms with his identity and sexuality in an Ireland that only renders things more difficult for him.
“It’s as if she understood completely the condition of loneliness and how it undermines us all, forcing us to make choices that we know are wrong for us.”
“Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And failing.”
2. Beartown by Fredrik Backman
If you’d have told me a few months ago that I’d be shedding tears over a book about ice hockey, then I’d never have believed you. But Beartown is so much more than a book about ice hockey. A remote forest town in rural Sweden, Beartown is known only for its junior hockey team: in fact, the future of the entire town depends on that team’s success. With characters you are immediately drawn into, whose relationships are intimate, messy, and real, Beartown is a novel that will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who feels they don’t quite fit in.
“Never trust people who don’t have something in their lives that they love beyond all reason.”
“If you are honest, people may deceive you. Be honest anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfishness. Be kind anyway. All the good you do today will be forgotten by others tomorrow. Do good anyway.”
1. The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
The easiest part of writing this guide was actually choosing my first-place lockdown read: undoubtedly, The House in the Cerulean Sea takes the gold. A feelgood tale with its roots firmly in the fantastical, this novel is the very definition of escapism; ironically, it has a lot to teach the reader about human nature, and the concept of belonging. Told from the perspective of solitary social worker Linus, The House in the Cerulean Sea takes place in a somewhat unusual children’s home perched on the edge of an island; the children, who are a little different, are seen as outsiders by locals in the nearby town, cast aside by society. But this book is one of hope and solidarity, and will have you crying happy tears until you turn the very last page.
“Hate is loud, but I think you’ll learn it’s because it’s only a few people shouting, desperate to be heard. You might not ever be able to change their minds, but so long as you remember you’re not alone, you will overcome.”
“Change often starts with the smallest of whispers. Like-minded people building it up to a roar.”
BUY LOCAL
Please remember to buy local. When purchasing one or more of these books, shop at a local bookstore, if you can, or directly from the author’s website. Enjoy!
FURTHER READING
10 AMAZING FICTION NOVELS YOU SHOULD READ IN 2021 by Alyssa Bratto
TOP 10 TRAVEL & OUTDOOR BOOKS TO READ IN 2021 BY CULLAN MCNAMARA
Hey, everyone! Cullan here, founder of… well… CullanMcNamara.com. First of all, thank you to the incredible Abi Prowse for contributing the wonderful content and photos! Make sure to check out her Instagram and the Viaggio Magazine website for the travel inspiration you need 🛫
Secondly, I hope you appreciated the guest content and a fresh point of view 😊
Now I have to ask, do you have your own Top 10 Books list you want to contribute? 📚 If so, reach out today! I’d love to feature more readers and creators here, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Happy reading!
- Cullan
“Cullan McNamara is a photographer, videographer, writer, and musician. Back in 2016, he was hired to film and photograph a client’s nine-day hiking trip through Colorado, and he’s been traveling and creating ever since. He now works as a freelancer in the United States. Catch his work on Instagram and YouTube, or check out his podcast [and book], Attempting Local: A Year Abroad in Galway, Ireland.”
— ViaggoMagainze.com