Top University Reads: First Year

Behold, my first year as an English Literature student has ended. Although this means hours slaving over essays are over, and cramming for exam season is a thing of the past (for now), I have read some absolutely amazing texts this year that I would have never touched before doing this degree. If there's one thing that is invaluable about an English Lit degree, it's that I've become so much more open-minded literarily, and some of these new favourites have truly revolutionised the way I think about the world around me (which is what you would like literature to do really).

So below is a list of the favourite texts I've studied this year and why you should read them too:

1. The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

One of the first books I studied this year and tells the story of young teenager Melanie who unexpectedly becomes orphaned and must move in with her uncle and his new, strange family in the countryside. The novel is fantastical, feminist and outrageous. If you've read Carter before, you might have an idea what kind of tone this novel is, but it retains a sense of reality whilst intermixing just the right amount of Magical Realism. The narrative presents a beautifully raw coming-of-age where the ambiguous ending forces you to question today's society; especially for a young woman.

2. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Short story written by German author Kafka that takes place in its entirety (until at the end) in the household of the Samsas. One day, the breadwinner son, Gregor, wakes up to find he has transformed into a giant insect. Complications, strangeness and tragedy ensues. This was a little story but can be read in many ways, depending on your levels of optimism.  I really liked how it dealt with the domesticity of the family that was forced to operate alongside one entirely different factor: an inhuman, ghastly son. 

3. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

Somewhat similar to The Metamorphosis in setting, Ibsen's play, A Doll's House remains inside the front room of a house as the audience/reader takes a private look into the characters' lives. The story centres around Nora, a mother and wife who is troubled by her position but feels unable to escape it. A surprisingly modern ending and some highly impacting dialogue, this play really had a cinematic feel to it.

4. The Aeneid by Virgil

Of all the books I had to study for my Epic Literature module, The Aeneid was by far my favourite. In comparison to Homer's greats, I found the plot of this epic poem to be more exciting and moving whilst also making an interesting, ambivalent commentary about civilisation. There was a lot of fast-paced action which transformed my expectations of this Roman classic into a piece of thrilling and complex literature. Virgil dealt with the theme of the gods in such an intricate and complicated manner which really added another level of fascination. The ending was also by far the most satisfyingly ambiguous which not only creates some great entertainment, but made a statement of the archetype of the hero.

5. Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter

This novella takes place during the First World War when the deadly Spanish Influenza complicates and interrupts a beautiful romance between a soldier and journalist. Reminding me a little of Atonement but in a condensed form, this short story was absolutely fantastic. Porter has such a careful grasp on language and there were so many beautiful quotations that I couldn't stop reading over and over. This novella also addresses the unconscious and the mental state during an illness in an extremely beautiful way. Not necessarily my favourite text in terms of ability to analyse, but the writing itself was simply stunning.

6. Endgame by Samuel Beckett

Definitely the strangest text I've studied this year but this was the very thing that intrigued and amazed me about this play. Beckett's play is a short but extremely confusing commentary on family life where a ridiculously absurd exchange between two men on a simply-designed stage questions the human condition. The play takes place in a transcendent, uncertain time, where the outside has become 'Zero' and nothing much matters except the nonsensical words that the characters throw at one another. Immediately after finishing the play, I now have a real desire to see this performed.

7. Howl by Allen Ginsberg

I had read fragments of this poem before, and am a massive fan of the Beat Poetry generation in general. But studying Howl brings the poem to an entirely new, incredibly intricate level. Ginsberg really understands how to communicate what can't usually be explained through beautiful metaphors, strange analogies and form and complex rhythm. Because of this, I can't really summarise what the poem is about, which I think is the entire point, and yet I drew insurmountable amounts of meaning from this poem. Read it once, read it again, read it countless times after that. Each time, the meaning will shift and evolve and make you see things differently. It's incredibly powerful.






8. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis was a wonderful surprise and defied all my expectations. The graphic novel takes place in Iran but is by no means limited to the tragedies of war. Although this is a pertinent theme to the story, the true journey follows the autobiographical story of Marjane through her adolescence and the struggles that feel startlingly close to home. A Bildungsroman that is delightful at times and terribly haunting at others, Persepolis connected with me on a level I wasn't expecting it would where the bold and simple artistic style of the illustrations are reason enough to read it.



I hope some of these suggestions sound enticing. I definitely didn't expect to enjoy any of these texts as much as I did when I saw them on the reading lists during the month before university started. If anything, my degree has really taught me to not judge a book by genre or synopsis. Here's to more reading and expanding my mind!