Current Reads

1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 

The latest addition to my bookshelf, this consolidation of florid prose and provocative subject matter has eluded me for some time. I'm roughly 80 pages into the 360-page novel right now, and though I find the pretentious narrative voice off-putting at times, I have to respect Nabokov for his prowess as a wordsmith, and the (near-)ephemeral bouts of portrayal of the novel's content that are absolute perfection, for want of a slightly more realistic word.

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

My first exposure to the story of Jane Eyre was watching the 2011 film adaptation while it was still out in cinemas. Though I remember little of it, at the time I respected it for how it was artistically shot in a way that made it differ greatly from many other costume dramas. Like a surprising number of reads, I started this book after acquainting myself with the contents of a friend's bookshelf mid-sleepover.

I've reached the nineteenth chapter of this Victorian classic, so almost halfway through. Like most writers of her calibre I revel in Brontë's style of writing, and though I put little importance on the plot of most the stories I read, I find that of Jane Eyre beguiling enough to keep me reading with interest in what transpires. The first ten chapters (which the narrator herself points out to have documented the first ten years of her life) contain extremely brief parts where the protagonist's portrayed response to her experiences lamentably remind me of a more recent literary trend - the "tragic life" novel, something I have spent a lot of time justifying my abject distaste for. Of course the mirthless comedy of this point is that the two genres of writing are a couple of centuries apart, so I suppose I could blame the fundamental fault I find with this novel on my modern cynicism and attempt at being discerning.

3. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The finishing of this satirical classic has been a work in progress for a staggering two years, but I have thoroughly enjoyed what I've read (about 300 pages) nonetheless, and the novel was once again dug out of my book collection to satiate a week-long stint of ennui. Catch-22 is packed with the humour of absurdity and paradox, whilst retaining a bearable degree of realism through the backdrop of a World War II American bombardier camp in the Mediterranean. The beauty of this novel's content is that the context merely serves as the backdrop for its themes, which highlight the farce of bureaucracy and the nature of paradox, the most prominent of which being the relationship between insanity and self-awareness. This is a staple read for anyone with a love for clever farce, satire and dark comedy.

4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

With the imminent threat of the GCSE English literature exam getting the better of me, I find myself immersed in Nick Carraway's summer of '22 for the fourth time, though I firmly believe that such repetitive reading will not exhaust my profound reverence for Scott Fitzgerald, who I shall prematurely crown my favourite author. With exceptional prose he depicts the conflict of modern ideals and romanticism, and with unfounded wistfulness captures the energy of a nation bound for failure and regress. Since this will be the first time reading it in this particular edition, I have the surprising intellect of a lengthy introduction to (hopefully) help me see the novel through an intelligent eyes. My other set work for English is Oscar Wilde's most famous play, The Importance of Being Earnest.