Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

Use this Topic to discuss books you are reading or that fit the 6th Scavenger Hunt task.

Task 6: Read a book in honor of Queen Elizabeth II (1926 -- 2022).
Be creative – it could be written by an author named Elizabeth, a book with a character named Elizabeth, a book featuring a royal or an Elizabethan character, etc. (Contributed by Alec)

I’ll be reading a book from The Big Jubilee Read.

To commemorate the platinum jubilee, great works of fiction were announced having been chosen by an expert panel. The list consists of a book from each year of Queen Elizabeth’s reign published by authors of the commonwealth. There are many list books to choose from.

Shereen wrote: "I’ll be reading a book from The Big Jubilee Read.

To commemorate the platinum jubilee, great works of fiction were announced having been chosen by an expert panel. The list consists of a book from..."

Great resource, Shereen!! Thanks for sharing.

Here is a link to the Big Jubilee Read from Reading Groups for Everyone -- https://readinggroups.org/big-jubilee...

And additional information from Wikipedia -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Jub...

Shereen wrote: "I’ll be reading a book from The Big Jubilee Read.

To commemorate the platinum jubilee, great works of fiction were announced having been chosen by an expert panel. The list consists of a book from..."

Shereen, This is such a wonderful resource not only for selecting books, but for seeing how the Jubilee was celebrated. Thank you for sharing it.

I really do not want to "honor" any monarch, in all honesty. In this one in particular, considering the horrible history of imperial rule, is someone I must definitely do not "honor".

So, I'll be going with Midnight's Children on this one, honoring how the Indian people got rid of British rule.

I don't want to honor any monarch either but I do appreciate the list you shared Shereen and there are books I can't seem to understand in what way they have to do with the queen apart from being on that list. I have gladly found a book on the list that is also on the Boxall list as well unread in my shelves. I'll read Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai 🙂

Nike wrote: "I don't want to honor any monarch either but I do appreciate the list you shared Shereen and there are books I can't seem to understand in what way they have to do with the queen apart from being o..."

I'm glad I'm not the only one who would rather not honor any monarch. And this one, in particular, is irrevocably connected to imperial rule of so many peoples that I'd feel highly uncomfortable "honoring" her in any way.

I have Indian ancestry, too, no way I'm honoring Lizzie.

Noting that India was independent in 1947 and Elizabeth didn’t become queen until 1953 blaming her for the Raj seems a bit much but even more, the discussion here is based on personal political beliefs which I would suggest have no place here in a book club. Everyone here is entitled to their personal views whichever side of the issue they are on but this isn’t the place to get on one’s soap box.

Nocturnalux wrote: "I really do not want to "honor" any monarch, in all honesty. In this one in particular, considering the horrible history of imperial rule, is someone I must definitely do not "honor".

So, I'll be..."

I appreciate you bringing this up, I was considering commenting something to the same effect myself. I don't believe in monarchy in general. But, I'm also Canadian, and while I'm white, I do have some Mi'kmaq ancestry, and a great aunt who died in 'mysterious circumstances' near a residential school, and a great grandmother who lived afraid to claim her legal status. These were funded by both the Catholic and Anglican churches- the latter closing their last 'school' in 1969. I'll never honor anyone who was the head of the institutions that did this- while they were in charge. (For non Canadians who haven't heard of the issue- these places are now studied by genocide scholars).

But on a less serious note, I'm reading "Reine Margot" anyway, and will just count that because it has Queen in the title. I do like the idea of reading a book about decolonization for this one though, might check to see if there is one I haven't read yet.

James wrote: "Noting that India was independent in 1947 and Elizabeth didn’t become queen until 1953 blaming her for the Raj seems a bit much but even more, the discussion here is based on personal political bel..."

The monarchy is irrevocably linked to colonial rule and several people who suffered under that rule would rather have nothing to do with anyone who headed it. That India was already independent does not change the fact the institution she headed was directly responsible for atrocities on an historical scale.
And for the record, Lizzie wore a crown whose jewel was stolen from India.

Incidentally, I am merely stating my opinions. I said nothing to the effect of everyone being beholden to them, if you want to honor Lizzie, go right ahead: but there are others who agree with me and would rather, well, not.

If you think that's getting on my "soapbox", that's your problem: not mine.

Amanda wrote: "Nocturnalux wrote: "I really do not want to "honor" any monarch, in all honesty. In this one in particular, considering the horrible history of imperial rule, is someone I must definitely do not "h..."

Thank you for sharing. What happened at the residential schools will forever be a blot to history and a horrible example of the toll of colonial rule. I can hope that families will be able to reclaim the remains of their loves ones.

For another title that deals with post-colonial lit and it'd make a good fit for this entry, I recommend Indigo byMarina Warner

Moderators?????

Open discussion is encouraged. Just be nice and respectful of everyone's opinions.

I think I'll also be going the anti-colonial route on this one. Definitely not an exhaustive list, but Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad all split from the British empire during Liz II's reign, and they all have List books. Those may also be interesting places to look for this task.

I picked Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

Maddy wrote: "I think I'll also be going the anti-colonial route on this one. Definitely not an exhaustive list, but Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad all split from the British empire during Liz II's reign, and t..."

This is good idea! I think I'll go with Nervous Conditions.

Great ideas! I have the same reactions as Nocturnulax, sorry if I misspelled, on my phone. Love the suggestions. I also struggle with “honoring” the Queen. Even though, I know lots of people who love the idea of a monarchy, royal family, and palace life. I don’t get it. I am interested in Prince - the new book out. For the “rules” he’s “broken” in his marriage to Megan and moving to the US. I appreciate the dialogue about it. :)

Maddy wrote: "I think I'll also be going the anti-colonial route on this one. Definitely not an exhaustive list, but Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad all split from the British empire during Liz II's reign, and t..."

Naipaul strikes me as a great author for this.


Mia wrote: "Maddy wrote: "I think I'll also be going the anti-colonial route on this one. Definitely not an exhaustive list, but Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad all split from the British empire during Liz II'..."

It's a great book, I am almost certain you will like it.


Rebecca (Adventurer) wrote: "Great ideas! I have the same reactions as Nocturnulax, sorry if I misspelled, on my phone. Love the suggestions. I also struggle with “honoring” the Queen. Even though, I know lots of people who lo..."

It's close enough, worry not! I do not get it either.

But this is a great opportunity for coming up with anti-colonial recs. Irish books can also count (and the reaction of many Irish people to Lizzie's death was...brilliant, let's just say they were considerably more outspoken that I was. But hey, they did honor her with a song...).

I would also make a case for Virginia Woolf, who criticized the monarchy and the pageantry involved on many an occasion.

Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes has several references to "The Queen" which at the time it was written was Elizabeth II.

Karen wrote: "Absolute Beginners by Colin MacInnes has several references to "The Queen" which at the time it was written was Elizabeth II."

Funny you mention this. I just finished this book and had the exact same thought.

I read Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor in November- too bad I didn't hold off on that one.
I may use To the North by Elizabeth Bowen.

Mia wrote: "Maddy wrote: "I think I'll also be going the anti-colonial route on this one. Definitely not an exhaustive list, but Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Trinidad all split from the British empire during Liz II's reign, and t..."

This is good idea! I think I'll go with Nervous Conditions."

Nervous Conditions is an excellent novel, maybe my favorite by a writer from Africa.

Maybe we should change the wording of the task to "a book connected to Queen Elizabeth II" as some don't wish to "honor" her.

George P. wrote: "I read Blaming by Elizabeth Taylor in November- too bad I didn't hold off on that one.
I may use To the North by Elizabeth Bowen."

I read to To The North, did not see any connection to the monarchy. It was written before Lizzie's reign and I can't even recall any mentions to the monarchy, at all; if they're there, they are very incidental.

If you want to read a Bowen book for this entry, The Last September does touch upon the monarchy much more directly, that and Anglo landowners in Ireland.

The Heat of the Day takes place during the War and I seem to recall one character, at least, being intensely pro-monarchy.

I plan to read The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt.

Nocturnalux wrote: "George P. wrote: ...I may use To the North by Elizabeth Bowen."

I read to To The North, did not see any connection to the monarchy..."

The connection is simply that the author's name is Elizabeth. I haven't read any of the 6 Bowens in the list yet and would rather start with one of her 3 "core" novels. To the North has the best avg rating on Goodreads but I'll consider The Heat of the Day- thanks for the suggestions.

Maybe the whole concept of "honoring" should be removed from this game? I remember a couple of years ago we were asked to read a book "in honor of" Scarlett O'Hara and I was surprised because of the racism in that book, but since I am White and not American, I felt it was not my business and I didn't object. But I was uncomfortable with it so I think I should have - and I would like to do that retrospectively now by suggesting we don't have these "honoring" categories.

It would still be possible to have "a book connected to"... but "honoring" has a supportive connotation that we might not all feel, especially when politics are involved.

If you don't get it, consider the difference between "read a book connected to the Nazi regime in Germany" and "read a book in honor of the Nazi regime in Germany"... or communism, or whatever other regime you have strong objections to.

Your concerns are noted and we will take that into consideration as we develop next year's Tasks.

Please remember these concerns as you suggest Tasks for next year.

Daniel Deronda; George Eliot; 2/28. The author shares a name with the queen. The author's given name is MARY Ann Evans, while the queen's given name is Elizabeth Alexandra MARY Windsor. Yes, it's a bit of a stretch, but you take what you can find, ;)

I think I'm going to switch to reading Queen Margot by Alexandre Dumas (La Reine Margot in French). I already had this in my (long) to-read list, and found it when I searched "queen".
Though it was dropped from later editions of the 1001 list, it has a really good avg rating on GR of 4.15, several of my friends liked it a lot and I can get the audiobook free from the library.

Bob wrote: "Daniel Deronda; George Eliot; 2/28. The author shares a name with the queen. The author's given name is MARY Ann Evans, while the queen's given name is Elizabeth Alexandra M..."

I actually love your creativity: I'd never have come up with this one!

Ellinor wrote: "Bob wrote: "Daniel Deronda; George Eliot; 2/28. The author shares a name with the queen. The author's given name is MARY Ann Evans, while the queen's given name is Elizabeth..."

Thanks.

The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926 (the queen's birth year).

I also found many list books published in 1952, the year she ascended to the throne:

- The Old Man and the Sea
- Invisible Man
- Wise Blood
- The Killer Inside Me
- Excellent Women

I finished Queen Margot by Dumas and enjoyed it, quite a story and evidently a lot of it is more or less true.
There was a French movie based on it about 20 years ago and I got that from the library. It accentuates the violence and changes Queen Marguerite from a very young well-educated woman to a somewhat older, not especially intelligent promiscuous one. A more-faithful less- exploitative new version could be successful I think.

Night Boat to Tangier, Barry, Kevin - Queen Elizabeth reigned during the fall of the British Empire and the beginning of the break-up of the Commonwealth of Nations. Ireland was the first state to leave the Commonwealth and Kevin Barry is Irish.