“All the months are crude experiments, out of which the perfect September is made” – Virginia Woolf.
Summer is gone, Autumn is here and September was sweet. It’s the kind of month that doesn’t fit. It doesn’t feel like summer. Autumn is not it’s season and Winter is way off. It’s my kind of month. So this September, I bought books, some on a whim, some after an excruciating thought process and some that were on my TBR list for years.
A few days ago a, I went to a Book Fair in Gaiety Theatre, Shimla. It was really nice. There were lots of books and they were cheap. But I was in a hurry so I had to select fast, which is nearly impossible. Making a choice with that many books needs at least a month. I only had 15 minutes. So I blindly picked two books: Packards by Patricia Burns and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. I can say now that I made a good enough choice. Both seem quite interesting with completely different subject matter. Besides these, I bought three other books on Amazon. These were Brave New World, Canterbury Tales and Purple Hibiscus.
Read below a little bit about the books and why I bought them:
- Packards by Patricia Burns–
It is a family saga set in 1908. Sir Thomas Packard had founded the Packards Department Store on Oxford Street. He is now old and looking for a successor. There are multiple contenders and together, their stories combine to create an interesting read that takes you back to the days of society, debutantes and social circles. I chose this because its cover had a Jane Austen feel to it. But it is much more modern and has much less of those Georgian conventions. So I’m hoping it will live up to the Autumn spirit.
2. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller–
This was Joseph Heller’s debut novel. It is a satire that centres on Captain John Yossarian, an American bombardier stationed on a Mediterranean island during World War II and chronicles his desperate attempts to stay alive. It focuses on the absurdity of war and the bureaucratic systems. The title seemed familiar. Reminded me of the movie ‘Catch me if you can’ but obviously these two are not at all similar.
3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley–
I bought this one because I was craving for something like Orwell’s ‘1984.’ It is a dystopian novel. The title derives from Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest.’ Set in a futuristic society in a seemingly perfect world, it is an ingenious fantasy of the future and considered to be the most enduring masterpiece. It is about attempting to live a meaningful life in a world that has no interest in doing that.
4. Canterbury Tales by Chaucer–
I bought this out of curiosity. Since I have started studying literature, this book is all I hear about. Chaucer is considered the ‘father of English literature.’ So I decided to give it a try. It is a big one. It is in old English and uses a lot of Archaic words. But I think I’ll get through it.
5. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie–
It is a novel about a Nigerian family struggling under the oppressive rule of a devoutly religious and abusive father, Eugene. Kambili, a 15-year-old girl, narrates the story. As she and her brother Jaja spend time with their more liberal and loving, they begin to question their father’s authority. It is the subject matter that drew me to this one. It addresses the issues of identity, gender, and violence in post-colonial Nigeria.
What have you picked for your Autumn? What do you think would be the best book for Autumn? Let us know in the comments below.
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