If you’re into fantasy or gothic novels, and don’t mind books that run to 1020 pages, then you might like this odd “cult classic” by the British author (and painter) Mervyn Peake.

It’s usually considered, alongside Lord of the Rings, one of the great fantasy epics, but it is actually completely unlike LOTR, as its fantasy elements are subtle; rather than orcs, elves, hobbits or wraiths and/or bouts of rabid magic and mass killing, the world described here is fringed with a mystical glow — lots of centuries-old ritual, snotty aristocrats sparring off with “primitive” peoples, descriptions of castles and animals that seem to know what you’re saying, etc. It’s also quite funny, and might, in the end, be closer to Alice in Wonderland or Harry Potter than LOTR (though, again, with no magic).

The basic story concerns the Seventy-Seventh Earl of Gormenghast, Titus Groan, and the timeless world that he has been born into. We meet his incredibly depressed father, Sepulchrave, his flighty and also melancholic sister, Fuchsia, a very strange doctor named Prunesquallor and his annoying sister with the pointy nose, Irma, and Flay (played by Christopher Lee in the BBC version), the loyal but cantankerous servant to Sepulchrave.

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Shoebox Review

Catch-22

Joseph Heller

When I first starting reading Joseph Heller’s 1955 classic Catch-22, I had no idea what I was getting into. I had no preconceptions about the novel or even an idea of what it was about. My main source of information about the book was the blurb on the back cover and the vague notion that it was a classic. I simply picked it up and decided, on a whim, to give it a chance. In the end, it turned out to be one of the best literary decisions I’ve ever made.

The plot is simple: Yossarian is a frantic bombardier stationed on a fictional Mediterranean island during the height of World War II whose only goal is to be dismissed from duty by reason of insanity. Despite his best efforts, however; he is constantly thwarted by the notorious “catch-22”: a military law that proves his sanity by the fact that he is acting insane. The story follows him throughout his numerous attempts to prove his insanity and survive the war. The humor of Yossarian’s behavior in context of the war gives the reader images of a world that has gone mad and the repetitive futility of combat.

Since I first read it during my freshman year of high school, it’s been one of my most highly recommended books to friends and family members. It’s a fantastic novel for many, many reasons.

So why should you read it?
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