The new year is a good time for making lists and, inspired by Susan Hill, I have compiled my own list of the books that have influenced me, taught me the most about what a novel can be and form part of my writing tool-kit. I hope you find something here to inspire you to pick up something new or to revisit an old friend.
Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
Cider House Rules, John Irving
The Prince of Tides, Pat Conroy
I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith
The Unicorn Road, Martin Davies
The Hours, Michael Cunningham
Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantell
Lamb, Bernard MacLaverty
To Kill a Mocking Bird, Harper Lee
A Story Like the Wind, Laurens Van Der Post
A Kestrel for a Knave, Barry Hines
Mulgrave of the Marshes, John Peel (Not a novel, I know, but a great cure for homesickness)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell
The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver
Notes on a Scandal, Zoe Heller
Sophie’s Choice, William Styron
The Shipping News, E Annie Proulx
The Testament of Gideon Mack, James Robertson
What I Loved, Siri Hustvedt
The Princess Bride, William Goldman
Dune, Frank Herbert
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S Thompson
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Half Blood Blues, Esi Edugyan
Foreign Affairs, Alsion Lurie
The Hand that First Held Mine, Maggie O’Farrell
The Tooth Fairy, Graham Joyce
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