fiction files redux discussion

So let's say you've got a friend, and that friend has just one year left to live (for whatever reason). What 5 books would you suggest they read before kicking the bucket and why? Would they be the same 5 books you'd read personally?

I don't think this needs to be a "what are your favorite books?" type of thread, but rather a what do you think is important for someone to read before they disappear.

Disclaimer: as fas as I know, I'll be here beyond a year. I was just thinking about this the other day and wasn't sure I could give a good answer.

I would definitely not be one to suggest books that expounded on death or the afterlife. I would strictly suggest books that are enjoyable. Because I would want my friend to ENJOY their last year and only spend their time positively. So in that case my five would be 1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith 2. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman 4. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith 5. Heavy Weather by PG Wodehouse

And yes, these would probably be mine too. Just books that are a joy to read.

Glad you're not dying, Dan.

I guess I don't think there are books that are universally important for everyone to read. And if I only had one year left, I would probably mostly read escapist stuff, as a way to take a break from thinking about myself and life and big existential ideas, whereas my reading selections without knowing my expiration date are often based on big ideas that I want new ways to think about. So I guess you've asked a trick question, Dan!

Gah!

I shall relate an anecdote and then weasel out of the assignment.

When I was 19 one of my former English teachers called me in distress. A colleague was marrying a woman with a 16 year-old daughter who had a progressive disease that would cause permanent blindness within a year. The girl was described as very intelligent and wanted a list of "great literature" that she could read within that time. (I assumed that she would be learning Braille eventually, but it was never mentioned.) The teacher had a skimpy Great Books list, yet she wanted me to compile a supplement, and I only had a weekend to deliver it.

I remember being nervous, but I did provide a list. Homer and the Greeks were on the teacher's list, so I started with the King James version of Job. There were some long novels on the teacher's list, so I chose short stories by Tolstoy, rather than Anna Karenina; and Hard Times, instead of a mammoth work by Dickens; and Dubliners, rather than Joyce's Portrait. Being a barbarian, the only non-Western books I recommended were the Bhagavad-Gita and Sunflower Splendor: 3000 Years of Chinese Poetry. (The size of a phone book, but meant for browsing.) I also suggested that she get a lot of art books from the library. I did make one controversial choice when I selected Tristram Shandy, because it has visual jokes that can't be reproduced in Braille, and because I was stupid. (I hope she tossed it aside when she got bored.) Gah! I still feel guilty, imagining the poor girl being frustrated by Laurence Sterne ... but really now, in high school I knew a girl who loved Uncle Toby and carried around a copy all year. (Maybe she never finished it!)

As a penance, I never compile lists any more. Maureen is the only one from this group who has read any of my recommendations ... and she experienced some kind of spiritual crisis after reading The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch, so I'm still committing acts of Evil in the name of literature.

Instead: I shall point at For the Love of Books and let those other busybodies chatter about reading.

What a bone-chilling story Adrian! So much pressure.

And hey, I don't think it's true that only Mo has taken your recommendations. Wasn't it you that recommended the Harry Fannin novels to me?

Patty wrote: "And hey, I don't think it's true that only Mo has taken your recommendations. Wasn't it you that recommended the Harry Fannin novels to me?"

I don't remember that, but I think you liked The Neglected Books Page.

Dan puts the pressure on us, but he hasn't mentioned any choices! :P

It took me six months to read Anna Karenina so I definitely wouldn't recommend that to someone with a year left to live/see. Good thinking with the short stories, Adrian.

I think that it's interesting that you mentioned escapist sorts of books. It's easy to say this now but I'd like to think I'd look for things profound in some way, and probably things that would expound on death. I am pretty sure I'd read the Tao Te Ching a few times. I've always felt it calming. I'd probably also reread Gabriel: A Poem by Edward Hirsch.

At the same time, Percival Everett's I am Not Sidney Poitier and any of the Jeeve's books by Wodehouse would make the cut.

I guess, just like in any other situation, I am always hoping to find and read the best book for my current frame of mind.

And to end on a more positive note: Clive James - Latest Readings

“If you don’t know the exact moment when the lights will go out, you might as well read until they do.”