My 2017 Watch List
- The Logophile
- Jan 1, 2017
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 24, 2018
A new year means new books. Which means I will be spending copious amounts of time wandering through book stores and libraries, looking for the hottest new releases.
I have (somehow) managed to shortlist some of the books I will be keeping my eyes out for this year.
Letters to a Young Muslim
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by Omar Saif Ghobash
I read about this book in Time magazine. As soon as I read the description I knew I had to add it to my list. The book is as it says on the tin. It is a series of letters written by Ghobash to his sons, on how to survive in the modern world as a Muslim. It approaches issues which are currently so raw and open, and offers solutions and encouragement for today's young Muslims.
Letters to a Young Muslim tackles head-on the western attitudes towards Islam, and brings to light the effect on Muslims around the world. I read an excerpt and within the first few paragraphs my skin prickled with goosebumps. Heartfelt and sadly relevant.
Difficult Women
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by Roxane Gay
This one is also extremely relevant. Not a novel, nor a series of letters. Difficult Women is a collection of stories dealing with the hostility women face in all aspects of life. There is no holding back when dealing with issues ranging from sexual assault to infidelity. The collection draws attention to the fact that women of all race, colour, social status face all of the same problems, but also very different ones. Arranged marriages and glass ceilings, Difficult Women deals with the lot. I will definitely be buying myself a copy. Watch this space for a review!
Six Four
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by Hideo Yokoyama (translated by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies)
A crime thriller like no other. Yokoyama's sixth novel has tipped him to become the next Steig Larsson. Originally in Japanese, Six Four sounds like a breath of fresh air, in the claustrophobic crime/thriller genre.
Here is the story of not one, but two missing girls. A former (seemingly disgraced) detective is forced to revisit a fourteen year old case when his own daughter is abducted. Old mysteries birth new information and complications which had previously been overlooked.
Be ready for bureaucracy, old mysteries being revisited, and the past twisting itself into the present; but not as you know it. I have seen words banded about describing Yokoyama's style: idiosyncratic, unorthodox, demanding of attention. It seems that Six Four is an engrossing maelstrom of riddles, emotion, and crime which leaves the reader needing to come up for air and drag themselves back into reality.
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me
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by Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie's novel is an ode to his childhood. Through a compilation of poems, essays, and photography, Alexie opens a window into his past. Growing up in poverty with abusive parents and a mother for whom he developed complex feelings, You Don't Have to Say You Love Me is a heart-wrenching, poignant memoir of innocence and innocence lost.
Alexie intertwines raw emotions with humour, giving us anger and tenderness in the same breath. I can already tell that this is one of those books where I will need to find myself a quiet corner and shut out the world. I know I will be left feeling heavy but fulfilled.
Homegoing
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by Yaa Gyasi
A debut novel New York Times bestseller. It must be good, right? AND Gyasi has already been compared to Toni Morrison! Two sisters: two roles. One a slave, the other a slave owner's wife.
Homegoing tells the tale of two sisters forced apart, and the effects on themselves and their decedents 300 years later. Moving from 18th Century Ghana to the present day, we feel the full force of what has been left behind by the acts of others.
I am preparing myself to be taken on an emotional roller coaster through different cultures, values, and teachings. I am ready to be reminded of the repercussions of slavery and ignorance.
The Princess Saves Herself in This One
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by Amanda Lovelace
After easily working my way through Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey, I cannot wait for this to be released! So excited. This contemporary poetry isn't all that bad is it? I am completely intrigued by the way in which the anthology is set out - 4 parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, and you. The first three parts tell Lovelace's life story, encompassing love, grief, and healing to name a few themes.
Lovelace has the bravery to deal with the difficult issues we face going through life, and provides us with inspiration and a way to heal. We will all find something to relate to, and I can just tell I'm going to keep going back to this one.
The Come Back: The Lost Neruda Poems
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by Pablo Neruda (translated by Forrest Gander)
Another anthology. A Spanish translation of love, loneliness, history, and daily musings. I have been a fan of Neruda ever since I was a teenager and luckily stumbled upon"I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You". 21 of the Chilean Nobel Laureate's lost poems.
Neruda is a master at getting your heart racing, of making you feel things you have no right to feel, and of making you think and re-think what you believe you know. I will be waiting in May to add this book to my collection, knowing I will be tirelessly flicking through and re-visiting pages when I need hope, reassurance, or to smile.
Human Acts
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by Han Kang
A 2016 Man Booker International Prize winner - check. True crime turned novel - check. Shock factor - check.
Kang has confessed that the primary themes of her books are acts of human violence. Human Acts is a collection of stories from victims of the 1980 Gwangju uprising in South Korea. This book will be nothing short of emotional. Hard-hitting and stomach-churning is what I predict from this novel.
Each chapter is interconnected, telling the tales of the victims' dealing with issues ranging from censorship to torture. The themes and issues are enduring and relatable to the world over. Sometimes we need a shock to our system in order for us to open our eyes. One thing is for sure: I will be going into this with an open mind and heart.
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