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.
