Coming towards the end of April, we’re a third of the way through the way through the year. What’s the favourite book you’ve read so far in 2009? What about your least favourite?
I haven’t done a lot of book memes lately because they either were on things I’d previously written about or just didn’t strike my fancy. But it is kind of interesting to think about looking back this early in the year.
I don’t have much problem identifying my favorite so far: Hans Fallada’s Every Man Dies Alone. The story of sincere but futile personal protest against the Nazi regime balanced psychological strain against the commands of personal conscience. Written shortly after World War II, the novel’s imperfections are offset by the authentic feel of life in Berlin during the war.
I have much more trouble picking a “least favourite.” I can’t say any of the more than two dozen books I’ve read so far were disappointments or failures. Limiting it to books published this year, I would say The Magic Bus and Seahawk fell short of my expectations. The emphasis in that sentence is on “my” expectations. Both succeeded in their own regard, they just didn’t perhaps use a focus I might have preferred.
At least you resisted evil.
Hans Fallada, Every Man Dies Alone
