Three Books to Read Now
Feb. 27, 2025
The Modern Classic: City of Thieves
By David Benioff
David Benioff is possibly best known as being one half of the creative team that gave us the HBO series Game of Thrones. But, to me, he should be a household name solely for his 2008 historical novel City of Thieves.
Set during the Nazis’ siege of Leningrad from September 1941 to January 1944, City of Thieves tracks Lev and Kolya, prison mates on an outrageous quest to secure a dozen eggs for a powerful Soviet general to use in his daughter’s wedding cake. If Lev and Kolya succeed, their lives will be spared. I call this a modern classic because the novel is essentially a coming of age story, a genre that's been around for centuries.
Penguin Books says City of Thieves is “by turns insightful and funny, thrilling and terrifying.” To that, I would add: powerful, evocative, emotional and memorable. Do yourself a favour—read it now.
The Award-Winning New Novel: James
By Percival Everett
Published in 2024, James won the National Book Award and was short-listed for the Booker Prize. According to author Percival Everett, James is not so much a re-telling or re-imagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as it is an “opportunity for Jim (Huck’s slave companion) to be present.”
Thus, in Everett’s version of this American classic, “Jim” is “James”, not the big, dumb, docile slave of Twain’s novel, but a thoughtful man who, like many of his fellow slaves, has taught himself to read and speaks far more wisely and eloquently than the supposedly superior whites. (But only to each other. In front of whites, sho nuff, dey talk jes like dey's spose to.)
I was totally captivated by this book. James and all the other characters—and I mean characters!— are vividly drawn. There is tension and suspense aplenty, as well as witty insights and observations about the Antebellum south.
This is story telling at its best. Which should be no surprise, since the 69-year-old Everett has written, by my count, 24 novels, 19 collections of short stories, 7 collections of poetry, and 1 childrens’ book! If that isn’t the definition of prolific, I'll eat my hat.
The Non-Fiction Work: What I Mean To Say – Remaking Conversation In Our Time
By Ian Williams
Ian Williams is the author of seven books—fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. He too has won prizes, notably the Giller Prize for his novel Reproduction. What I Mean To Say is the book form of the 2024 Massey Lectures, the series launched in 1961 in conjunction with the CBC to provide a radio forum for major contemporary writers to “address important issues of our time.”
What I Mean To Say explores the state of “conversation” today. Williams describes—nay, laments—the deterioration of civic and civil discourse. He looks at “who can speak for whom to whom about what.” And he offers up the vital ingredients for a “good conversation.”
Need I say it….? OK, I’ll say it. We could all use this book right now.