No, it’s not science, but I’ve been meaning for a while to put up a short list of fiction that I’ve enjoyed and want to recommend.
The Raj Quartet (1966-1975) by Paul Scott. This, I think, is the greatest semi-obscure work of English-language fiction of the 20th century. It’s a series of four novels, and a sequel (Staying On, 1977), about the end of the British occupation of India. Like A Passage to India, its centerpiece is a purported case of rape, limning the ambiguous and difficult relationship between India and Britain. You may have seen the BBC television adaptation, The Jewel in the Crown (also the title of one of the novels). If you’re a fan of luscious Fitzgeraldian prose and finely-woven plot, this is for you. Staying On won the 1977 Booker Prize. This is a great book to take on a long trip.
Life of Pi (2001) by Yann Martel. Another Booker winner (2002), it’s a must-read if you love animals, biology, and fiction. I can’t say too much about this one because I’m recommending it as summer reading in an upcoming issue of Nature. You won’t be disappointed.
Blood Meridian (1985) by Cormac McCarthy. This “Western” (and I use the term loosely), set in the mid-19th century, is the story of a young runaway who joins a gang of Indian hunters, and their bloody travels along the Texas border. It’s dense and violent, and the prose is hypnotic. When you open a McCarthy book, you are immediately thrust into a unique and mesmerising world that you’ll either love or hate. McCarthy’s Border Trilogy, three novels written later (and also set in Texas/Mexico), are nearly but not quite as good as Blood Meridian.
Anything by Geoff Dyer, a writer whom I recently discovered. Dyer is a fantastic writer with an amazing range. His jazz/fact/fiction novel, But Beautiful, is a must if you love jazz, and his small collection of reviews and other nonfiction, Anglo-English Attitudes: Essays, Reviews, Misadventures, is a good introduction to his breadth.
I read_Life of Pi_ in 2002 before it won the Booker and before the controversy and therefore, before it became a must read, so I was able to judge the novel on its own merits and not be influenced by the hype. I enjoyed it and went on to read Martel’s _Self_ (1996). Although I read _Life of Pi_ because I love good fiction, I will reread it for the biology as you suggest. In which upcoming issue of Nature will your review appear? Please let Larry Moran know as well; he will be pleased (I hope) that Americans may be reading novels written by Canadians while drinking Tim Hortons’ coffee.
Have to disagree on “Life of Pi” It started off well enough, but the ending made me think “oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!” and fling the book across the room.
Here’s another – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. Narrator is a high-functioning autistic adolescent boy (I forget if he’s explicitly Asperger’s or not). Fascinating, and extremely poignant (he sees other people having emotions but doesn’t understand them at all – it’s as if he’s watching fish swim).
I read Life of Pi in translation after seeing the good reviews. One of the very few new books I’ve read. Expensive as hell, but one of the only things I could think to wish for Crimbo that year (as I recall it at least).
I’m sure most of it went over my head. I guess I should reread it, but now I’m not sure I can without being overwhelmed with memories. (My mother gave it to me.)
They’ve sent Jewel in the Crown here recently (within the last coupla years …), but I haven’t seen it.
One of the best books I recall reading (before my brain shut down) is Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess.
Can’t agree with you on Life of Pi but Geoff Dyer’s work is a pure joy. His “Out of Sheer Rage” about trying to write about D.H. Lawrence is a magical fusion of author and subject.
If you want a really good funny(!) blend of biology and fiction then you simply can’t go past Alessandro Boffa’s “You’re An Animal Viskovitz”, or William Kotzwinkle’s “The Bear Went Over the Mountain”.
_The Origin of Species_ by Nino Ricci
http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385663618
how to get that book?
rigih
To which book are you referring?
Blood Meridian is the best novel I have ever read. It was given to me several years ago and it was the first thing by McCarthy I had experience with. Blew. Me. Away. It’s writing on a level I had never experienced before. A difficult read, to be sure, but absolutely genius. I recommend that book to anyone who listens. Here is a funny review that encapsulates my enthusiasm: http://www.rodneyanonymous.com/meridian.html
Blood Meridian was the topic of a Yale lecture committed to YouTube. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a bit of college lit nostalgia, or who enjoyed the book.
The “authentic” Gary Jennings books, Aztec, The Journeyer, & Spangle are the best, Sow the Seeds of Hemp and Raptor are just OK. I dislike the posthumous Atzec series.
Thanks for the Geoff Dyer tip, Jerry! He’s a great writer – some of the pieces in collection of articles you refer to are very poignant for someone of his age/background (ie a Brit raised in the 1950s). “The Airfix Generation” not only hits all the right Nostalgia buttons, it also says something about memory and our generation’s attitude to WW2. I’d have cited it in my book!
I love anything by Robert A. Heinlein, but Stranger in a Strange Land is the best of what I’ve read. It’s science AND fiction – how cool is that?
Jerry
In which issue of Nature can I find your summer reading recommendations article?