Since I've come to know a few different published authors in the last couple years, I'm implementing some new rules about the "Shittiest" portion of this yearly "Greatest and Shittiest Novels" series. A book will ONLY be entered under the "shitty" category if (1) I'm quite certain the author is a prick, whether from the work itself or from other news surrounding it, (2) the author already died many years ago, AND/OR (3) the author is already a well-established author with loads of successful novels under their belt, as they should be able to handle criticism.
With THAT out of the way, the books I read in 2020 were defined by three important things:
1. From January-April, I took a literature course called "The Shelley Circle", which was all about Lord Byron, Mary Wollstonecraft-Shelley, Percy Shelley, and John Polidori (Lord Byron's physician).
IMPORTANT CONTEXT: In 1816, a massive volcano in the (then-)Dutch East Indies released so much volcanic ash that it blocked out the sun, causing a global temperature drop, extensive crop failure, typhus outbreaks, and widespread famine. In Europe, there was frost and ice throughout the summer, leading to its name "The Year Without a Summer."
During this time, Mary Godwin, her husband Percy Shelley, and a few others, traveled to Lake Geneva, where Lord Byron and his physician John Polidori were staying. While most citizens of Geneva were starving in the city below, this circle of friends stayed in Lord Byron's villa high up on a hill outside the city. Together, they held competitions over who could write the scariest ghost stories.
2. Around March is when COVID started really taking hold and the world started turning upside down.
3. In September, I moved to Switzerland and essentially stopped reading for the rest of the year (because I was BUSY).
And now, without further ado, here are the best novels I read in 2020...
The Vampyre (1819) by John Polidori
Rated high because of its history. Probably the most influential of all the ghost stories written during competition at Lord Byron's villa, did you know John Polidori, Lord Byron's physician, was the first to popularize English-language vampire stories? Without this novel, there would probably be no Bram Stoker's Dracula, no Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, and (dare I say) no Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. This doesn't even START with all the English-language movies and TV shows that followed (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, heck even What We Do in the Shadows). Without that "year without a summer" in 1816, we wouldn't have ANY of these.
Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Interestingly, I have now read this novel 3 times in school; once in Grade 11 English, once at the start of a course entirely based on the novel before I swapped it for something else, and once as part of the Shelley Circle class.
The Last Man (1826) by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
In January into February, as part of the Shelley Circle English class, we read this novel about an outbreak of "pestilence" that kills nearly everyone on earth. Rather "coincidental", no? Seriously, this could not have been timed better. The sheer perfect timing of this being on the syllabus BEFORE we even knew about COVID is what makes this one of the best novels of 2020. I don't even think it was intentional.
Things We Couldn't Say (1994) by Diet Eman
For most of my life, my grandma rarely, if ever, spoke about the war she lived through (the German occupation of the Netherlands during WW2). Then one day, she handed this book to my aunts and uncles saying "if you want to know what the war was like, then read this. This is it."
Half-Breed (1973) by Maria Campbell
While it's not the best writing (I feel like in trying to write "professionally," she kind of erases her own voice a bit), what makes this read harrowing is that it's true.
The Break (2016) by Katherena Vermette
While a work of fiction, I see this as a sort of 21st century version of Half-Breed.
One Drum by Richard Wagamese
I can only describe this as uplifting.
AND FINALLY,
Here are the 4 shittiest novels I read in 2020:
The Alchemist (1988) by Paulo Coelho
I have absolutely no idea why this book is as famous as it is. It felt self-righteous and wishy washy. Also, I'm not sure it's a healthy idea that someone's "ultimate purpose" (my phrase) is defined in childhood and cannot be changed. There are lots of people who find purpose and fulfillment by following different directions than their childhood dreams, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Also why does Santiago get to go explore the world in search of his "Personal Legend" but Fatima, his fiancée and supposedly "part of" that legend, has to just sit at home waiting for him to return? What about her own "Personal Legend"? Why do even objects have "Personal Legends" but not a single woman? Ahh yes, because someone has to stay home and take care of the animals, the chores, the children, and everything else - naturally, this falls to the women.
Miss Bangkok (2007) by Bua Boonmee
I was hoping for more complex and nuanced insights into Boonmee's life, but somehow the translator seems to have simplified her into a caricature I have a difficult time believing actually exists as she's written. Perhaps the original Thai was written this superficially and bland, but I have a difficult time believing that. Surely someone would have deeper reflections about things they regret if they are going to put those reflections out into the world like this? Or was she merely convinced to write this without actually wanting to? If that's the case, I wish I hadn't read it.
The Invisible Girl (1833) by Mary Shelley
It wasn't only good things coming out of that Shelley Circle course, and as brilliant as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was, she had a few fall flat. For me, The Invisible Girl was one of those. It felt dull and unoriginal, totally forgettable. In fact, the main thing I remember was an excessive focus on a painting and thinking "stooop with the overly-artsy crap, I don't care about a painting." But this may also just be representative of my own feelings.
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