As there is less than two months to go until 2023 arrives, it is that time of year again to do a book review of the most enjoyable, entertaining books that I have read in 2022. I hope that you consider reading some of the books described throughout this article, and that you take as much pleasure in reading them as I did. Despite everyone having their own preferred genre and style of author, most of the books that I read are widely known and appreciated, several of which have won awards such as the Pulitzer Prize and several other literary awards. That being said, here are the three greatest books I have read this year.
If you are seeking a novel to satisfy your craving for historical fiction, All the Light We Cannot See written by Anthony Doerr is sure to stimulate your imagination in the vivid imagery and irreplaceable descriptions that Doerr instills in his readers. The plot of this novel centers around a young girl, Marie-Laure, and boy, Werner Pfennig who are experiencing the Second World War at different locations within Europe. Laure’s father works as a tour guide at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, close to where they live. As the father and daughter move across different areas of Europe, they unknowingly are carrying one of the world’s most valuable jewels that the Natzis are looking for. On the other hand, Pfennig is an orphan who grows up in a small coal mining town in Germany. His geniuses in engineering allow him to escape the orphanage and join a Natzi training camp where he quickly learns the sinister motivations of his country. The book has won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, was a finalist in the National Book Award, and ranked in the top ten books in the New York Times Book Review. Jess Walter, the author of Beautiful Ruins, described this book as “Dazzling…Doerr writes beautifully about the mythic and the intimate, about fate and love and history and those breathless, unbearable moments when they all come crashing together.”
Canadian authors, such as Margaret Atwood and many others, have proved our nation to be home to extraordinary writers. Atwood’s most recent dystopian novel, The Testaments, is a beautifully written novel that keeps you entertained and wondering what is next to come throughout the entire novel. The Testaments is a sequel to the widely known, internationally acclaimed Handmaid’s Tale. Based in the futuristic Canadian city called Gilead, citizens (especially women) are given little to no individual rights and freedoms. Their everyday choices such as what they wear to who they communicate with is dictated by the government. Becka and Jade, the main protagonists throughout the novel, have to learn how to escape the totalitarian government of the Republic of Gilead and warn people outside of the city what is soon to become of their national government. A section of the novel reads; “Over the years I’ve buried a lot of bones; now I am inclined to dig them up again – if only for your edification, my unknown reader. If you are reading, this manuscript at least will have survived. Though perhaps I am fantasizing: perhaps I will never have a reader.”
Trevor Noah’s only novel Born a Crime, is a thrilling biography that dives into the shocking reality of apartheid in South Africa. Now an internationally recognized comedian with his own evening show called The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, he describes stories of his childhood that shed light on the racial injustices that apartheid initiated in his home town of Johannesburg, South Africa. As he is a child of a Swiss father and an African mother, his existence was simply illegal under the rule of apartied at that time, hence the name of the novel. Despite his heart-rending childhood, Noah manages to describe his upbringing with a unique sense of humor that makes the novel impossible to put down. Every chapter will leave you wanting more, from his witty, strong-minded mother to his mischievous teenage years, the novel is endlessly entertaining and is a book you can read cover-to-cover in one day. His descriptions stir an array of emotions in the reader, and despite the hardships he went through, his novel is thoroughly inspiring. An excerpt from his biography reads; “Whilst my mother couldn’t give me access to the world, she at least made sure to let me know it existed. A kid cannot dream of being an astronaut if he does not know about space.”
Now that you have more ideas on what to read in the upcoming year, maybe you’ll discover a new genre of books you never knew that you enjoyed. As a reader, it is important to occasionally venture out of your comfort zone and try new authors and styles of writing you have never been exposed to before. That being said, happy reading!
