It’s snowing in many parts of the country, and down here in the Smoky Mountains, most schools have closed due to illness. For many of us, it’s time to stay inside and snuggle with a really good book.
I don’t know about you, but there’s a time and a place for big, fat novels spanning hundreds of pages – summer vacations, blizzard conditions outside, school out and cooped up inside. You need a lot of time for a novel of more than 500 or so pages, and you sure don’t want to have to lug such a thing on an airline flight with you.
Most of my own writing tends towards the short and concise, but I dearly love a good, long novel with multiple plot lines, lots of interesting characters you really get to know well, and a story spanning several years. Here are some of my favorites:
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt. This was the “it” book of a couple of years ago. I couldn’t put it down. A young boy finds himself in an art museum during a terrorist attack and develops a certain attachment with one piece of art that mysteriously disappears before the first responders arrive. Arguably too long, but it’s a lot of story for the money.
Russka, Sarum, London, Paris, and New York by Edward Rutherfurd. If you like historical fiction spanning generations, these books are for you. As a history major, I was in hog heaven reading these books and learned oodles of history as well.
War & Peace, Leo Tolstoy (translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky). Okay, if we’re talking big, fat novels, we’ve got to include War & Peace. Yes, I’ve read it, and I loved it. (I confess, I skipped the military history stuff). If you like Downton Abbey type stories, you’ll love this book, too. This fairly recent translation has gotten great reviews.
Stay safe, stay well, Cindy
Sycamore Cove 