12 Books for Christmas
Looking for a book to gift this Christmas? Below we have twelve books the staff at Maurice Turnor Gardner can recommend. Whilst we cannot guarantee there’s something for everyone in our selection, the books below may perhaps inspire you to try something different.
Still Life
Sarah Winman
Recommended by Sophie Mazzier.
I loved “Still Life” for so many reasons. It contains several very different types of love story (some requited, some not and some for places, inanimate objects and pets), and is beautifully written with the sympathetic and colourful descriptions of the various characters, and their antics and exploits which while defying credibility at times do not detract from the story. All are portrayed tenderly and evocatively. It starts in Tuscany in 1944 and follows the life of Ulysses Temper, then a soldier and Evelyn Skinner, an art historian who was working for the government, ending up in Florence and we are introduced to all those who then interact with them. My face ached with smiling at the end of the novel which I couldn’t put down and didn’t want to finish.
Freezing Order
Bill Browder
Recommended by Rupert Ticehurst.
“Truth is stranger than fiction” Mark Twain - if you read Browder’s two books, “Red Notice” and “Freezing Order”, you will undoubtedly agree. The books are impossible to put down, as they tell the extraordinary account of a $230m tax refund fraud in Russia. Can tax fraud make for good reading? Believe me in this case it certainly can. The books lay bare the utterly ruthless corruption that has become normalised in Russia. It also tells the story of the incredibly brave people who give up their lives or put their lives at risk to call out this corruption. Either of these books would be well received by somebody who enjoys reading contemporary legal/political non-fiction. The books can be read separately, but there is a certain logic to reading “Red Notice” first.
Little Women
Louisa May Alcott
Recommended by Sonika Panesar.
This book, for me, encapsulates Christmas; the general chaos of living with all your siblings, the big Christmas dinner you have been waiting all day for and the occasional sisterly fight which may or may not end up with someone leaving you alone on a frozen lake (no spoilers intended!). It is a heart-warming and easy read by the fire.
The Romantic
William Boyd
Recommended by Paul Whitehead.
*Spoiler alert* This book has parallels with “Any Human Heart” in that it is the story of one man’s life, but this time in the 19th Century – he grows up initially in Ireland then Oxford, is involved in the Battle of Waterloo, and meets Lord Byron, and Percy and Mary Shelley – all in the first 100 pages or so.
Boyd guides readers expertly through the richly imagined life of this fictional figure, tracing his passage from adventurer and bankrupt to African explorer and minor diplomat in perfectly crafted, immersive prose.
A joy!
A Woman Lived Here: alternative blue plaques
Allison Vale
Recommended by Aalia Hulf.
At the last count, the Blue Plaque Guide honours 903 Londoners, and a walking tour of these sites brings to life the London of a bygone era. But only 111 of these blue plaques commemorate women.
“A Woman Lived Here” shines a spotlight on some of these forgotten women to redress the balance. The stories commemorate some of the most remarkable of London's women, who set out to make their world a little richer, and in doing so, left an indelible mark on ours.
Collected Ghost Stories
M. R. James
Recommended by Ed Powles.
M. R. James is widely regarded as the father of the modern ghost story, and his tales have influenced horror writers from H. P. Lovecraft to Stephen King. First published in the early 1900s, they have never been out of print, and are recognized as classics of the genre. This collection contains some of his most chilling tales, including “A View from a Hill”, “Rats”, “A School Story”, “The Ash Tree”, and “The Story of a Disappearance and an Appearance.”
Lessons: A Novel
Ian McEwan
Recommended by Emma-Jane Weider.
While the world is still counting the cost of the Second World War and the Iron Curtain has descended, young Roland Baines's life is turned upside down. Stranded at boarding school, his vulnerability attracts his piano teacher, Miriam Cornell, leaving scars as well as a memory of love that will never fade.
Twenty-five years later, as the radiation from the Chernobyl disaster spreads across Europe, Roland's wife mysteriously vanishes and he is forced to confront the reality of his rootless existence and look for answers in his family history.
Brit(ish)
Aufa Hirsch
Recommended by Nativ Gill.
You're British. Your parents are British. Your partner, your children and most of your friends are British. So why do people keep asking where you're from? We are a nation in denial about our imperial past and the racism that plagues our present. “Brit(ish)” is Afua Hirsch's personal and provocative exploration of how this came to be - and an urgent call for change.
Lessons in Chemistry
Bonnie Garmus
Recommended by Sophie Mazzier.
“Lessons in Chemistry” was so enjoyable for the sheer unexpectedness of the story line. It starts in the 1960s and is a painful reminder of how difficult life was for women at the time, particularly academics, and has the theme of underestimation running through it. Despite this and various tragic events, it is very uplifting. The main characters are unconventional and uncompromising and beautiful portrayed with all their foibles. One of my favourite characters is the dog, named Six Thirty for reasons which are obvious when you read the book. A first novel for Bonnie Garmus and I hope there are many more.
Empire of Pain
Patrick Radden Keefe
Recommended by Rupert Ticehurst.
I have this year read “Empire of Pain”, the extraordinary story of the rise, fall and absolute disgrace of the Sackler family, and “Say Nothing”, a totally gripping account of the Northern Ireland Troubles. Radden Keefe is a master story teller; his writing is so completely compelling that his books are almost impossible to put down. They will make perfect Christmas gifts for somebody who enjoys non-fiction.
Adrift
Tami Oldham Ashcraft
Recommended by Becks Grant-Jones.
As a female sailor I have been recommended this book by many seafarers. Frustratingly, I watched the film before reading the book, but yet, Tami’s written memoir did not disappoint. In short, a carefully planned passage from Tahiti to San Diego aboard the 44ft yacht, Hazana with fiancé Richard goes horrifyingly wrong. With plenty of artistic license, the Hollywood blockbuster version of Tami’s story is exhilarating, but reading the account, straight from the horse’s mouth, simply cannot be beaten.
The African Trilogy
Chinua Achebe
Recommended by Nativ Gill.
In these masterly novels, Achebe brilliantly imagines the lives of three generations of an African community as their world is upended by the forces of colonialism from the first arrival of the British to the waning days of empire.
The trilogy opens with the ground-breaking “Things Fall Apart”, the tale of Okonkwo, a hero in his village, whose clashes with missionaries--coupled with his own tragic pride--lead to his fall from grace.
“Arrow of God” takes up the ongoing conflict between continuity and change as Ezeulu, the headstrong chief priest, finds his authority is under threat from rivals and colonial functionaries. But he believes himself to be untouchable and is determined to lead his people, even if it is towards their own destruction.
Finally, in “No Longer at Ease”, Okonkwo's grandson, educated in England, returns to a civil-service job in Lagos, only to see his morality erode as he clings to his membership in the ruling elite.