The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
This book is hardcore sci-fi but infinitely readable that in itself is a feat. I found The Three-Body Problem unputdownable and being a slow reader that can take weeks, months or sometimes a year to finish a book this is high praise. I love how it mixed past and present and how the layers of mystery unfolded as you read on. I have the rest of the trilogy ready and waiting, and I have actually made a start on the next book The Dark Forest.
Heroes and Villains by Angela Carter
I’ve been a fan of Carter ever since reading and studying The Bloody Chamber back in school for A-Level literature. I think she will forever be one of this country’s greatest writers. Heroes and Villains is set in a post-apocalyptic world and reads like a dreamy, nightmarish fairytale.
Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah
This book unravels like a strange dream or a fragmented film where recurring motifs become unsettling and have you guessing where the boundaries between reality and fantasy merge within the narrative. Suah’s prose is also rather magical, and this is perhaps my favourite work of hers that I’ve read so far.
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
I really enjoyed Madame Bovary, and that’s probably mostly down to Flaubert’s wit, and perhaps to a certain degree, the translation by Magaret Mauldon as this book reads very easily which isn’t always the case when it comes to classics. I also think Emma is a fascinating protagonist. She almost feels quite modern the way her imperfections are laid bare and her distaste for the banality of marriage and provincial life.
Honourable mentions: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Naiv. Super. by Erlend Loe and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro.