Once again another December, another list. I admit, though, that I have a lot of fun compiling my top 10 during this month.
Without any doubt 2022 was the year I read more books than ever. As it stands it is over 170 but in reality I read over the 200 mark, mainly because I was selected as a judge for this year’s National Book Awards (the Maltese one) None of those books will appear on this last as that awards book published in the previous year.
When one let’s a jar decide one’s reading choices, one is not really able to read many 2022 publications. Thus this years’ publication stem from the prizes I follow and review copies. Saying that there quite a few surprises as there are two works of non-fiction in the pile: having one is rare, as I generally tend to lean towards fiction but this is the first time two have featured on it.
Anyway enough of me blathering and here’s the top 10 (descending order)
10. Hernan Diaz – Trust
Hernan Diaz’s second novel comprises of four pieces, one being a novella, the other memoir , one a criticism/travelogue and the other a diary. All of these sections are interlinked and the plot and details unfold as one travels deeper in the book. Trust’s historical background is the rise and fall of Wall Street but it’s seen a distinctive way. My review
9. Johanne Lykke Holm, Sakia Vogel (Translator) – Strega
Strega is what I look for in a book: slightly eerie, memorable scenes and a message. This has it all.
Rafa and a group of other girls are hired to work a maids at the grans Olympic Hotel in the (non existent) Swiss town of Strega. However there is one problem: No one ever shows up in this place, which means the girls get up to shenanigans, some within their control and some aren’t.
I was reminded of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, in the sense that there is a horror aspect but it’s through the nervy atmosphere the book conjures up. Like all good horror the big payoff happens at the end.
However, this is not only a book which deals with scares. There’s a strong message about the perceived role of women in society and how that can be subverted. A subtly powerful tale. My review
8. Jarvis Cocker – Good Pop , Bad Pop: An inventory
The only non fiction I really read and enjoy thoroughly are rock star bios but they do tend to follow a formula: the humble beginning, the part about fame and drugs, the realisation that drugs are ruining a life and the quest to stay sober. If I did feature one in my top 10 it would have to be different.
The set up of this bio is Jarvis Cocker rummaging through his attic and taking pictures of ephemera that he has collected throughout his life, which in turn contain a memory. Through objects Jarvis Cocker details his schooldays, the various incarnations of Pulp up until the definitive version we know today. The book ends with the release of Common People so I think there may be a sequel. It doesn’t matter though. Good Pop, Bad Pop is full of funny moments and Cocker is an excellent at telling an entertaining anecdote. My review
7. Sara Baume – Seven Steeples
I love books which are about the passing of time and Seven Steeples does that perfectly.
A couple move into a run down cottage at the foot of a mountain and time passes.
As simple as I make it sound, this is a book about the complexities of the natural and how we humans are powerless against it.
Told in a poetic addictive way, Seven Steeples is a quietly impressive feat of a book. My review
6. David Collard (editor) – Multiple Joyce
Yes, for the first time ever an essay collection has graced my top 10, and furthermore 100 essays about James Joyce and his impact on culture.
This is not just a bunch of dry scholarly papers. Multiple Joyce’s essay are funny and informative, Each one, and I am not exaggerating are a pure pleasure to read. There are highlights one particular one consists of Collard ranting against Paolo Coelho, That alone deserves any place in a bookish top 10. My review
5. Roma Wells – Seek the Singing Fish
Epoque Press are a small publisher who have a knack of publishing quality books. Ever since 2020’s The Nacullians, at least, one of their titles have been on my top 10. Seek the Singing Fish is this year’s title.
I love a good solid story and Seek… provides that: An Sri Lankan has to escape the civil war and through a series of mishaps manages to find her way into London.
Sri Lankan history, immigration, racism and the power of literature are just some of the topics explored but really the joy is reading about the different animal species and metaphors Roma Wells manages to cram in this delightful novel. As an animal lover myself this book struck a chord with me and I highly recommend it to those all armchair zoologists. My review
4. Irene Chias , Mark Vella (translator) – Mur Ġibek: eżerċizzji ta’ tortura u seduzzjoni
This book was quite an eye opener: Fed up with the treatment of women in society, the main protagonist plans a ‘literary torture’ on the men who wronged her by imitating the tortures found in literature, namely novels where women are sexually assaulted, such examples being A Clockwork Orange and American Psycho.
At the same time we get chapters with the masculine point of view of society, which is one dominated by male gaze.
The explores a plethora of themes: rape, sexism, pronouns , same sex relations, gender roles and much more. Yet it never feels cluttered, on the contrary, this book jumps from topic to topic beautifully. I have always believed that literature should provide a learning experience and this one does. Once read, it will be very difficult to forget. My review
3. Audrey Magee – The Colony
After two disappointing years, Booker 22 bounced back with a vengeance, with probably the best longlist the prize has ever had. The Colony was one of those standouts.
The Colony is a complex novel but deceptively so: An Englishman arrives on an Irish island in order to paint. In his quest he his faced with Gaelic, different attitudes and hostility. At the same time a Frencman arrives who is compiling a study of these islanders.
What emerges is that colonization can affect a population’s history and it’s a battle to escape it. Interweaving timelines and historical events, The Colony is a novel that unveils new surprises with each page. My review
2. Daniel James – The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas
Who is Ezra Maas? artist , genius? madman? all three. One thing is that he did have a cultural impact on society and yet all evidence which leads to him have mysteriously disappeared. Actually Maas himself has disappeared but has been presumed dead and anyone who knows him tends to stay quite.
Journalist Daniel James sets out to investigate Maas but gets caught in a lot of dead ends himself so the question is, does Maas exist? Split between three narratives, copious footnotes and some bizarre situations James explores the connections between reality, art and the written word and how each of these are deceptive. Your brain will be twisted but it is an addictive page turner. Plus this is a souped up version from the 2019 edition, which contains some more details and interactive elements.
Maas Lives (review to be uploaded next week)
- Maddie Mortimer – Maps of our Spectacular Bodies
My number 1 book of 2022 is a novel which tackles a topic which no one really wants to talk about: cancer, namely a mother succumbing to it and the effect it has on her children.
Yes it does sound grim but Maddie Mortimer manages to take this situation and make it special. The end result is a playful read. It deals with mother/daughter relationships, grief and love but the jagged timeline and chapters exploring suffering through the cancer cell’s point of view make the reader a full participant in the novel.
This is not light reading. However this is not a downer either. Maddie Mortimer manages to balance everything but do be warned, the last 50 pages or so will break your heart. I do think it is a must read though. Literature does have that power to express those feeling which we cannot and Maps manages, especially if one has lost someone close to cancer. Maps of our Spectacular Bodies is one of those unique novels which crop up every few years or so. I can assure the reader that this a one of a kind read and totally deserving of the top spot. My review
The Bobsphere 
Thanks for to this. I now get to add 4 books to my list!
Great!