The first time I met my future sister-in-law, Jo (who was visiting Australia from the UK), I (very drunkenly) insisted she read Candy by Luke Davies. I'm still not sure what kind of first impression recommending a book about an extremely graphic descent in to heroin addiction leaves. I'll have to ask her one day. Anyway Jo is the ideal sister in law. Not only do we make a brilliant team when it's necessary to gang up on my brother but she shares my deep passion for drinking wine, terrible reality TV programes and women's magazines. Also, over the past few World Cups, she's taught me everything I know about football and lately this has been proving to be one of my most important skills. These are her three favourite books of all time.
Va' dove ti porta il cuore (Follow Your Heart) - Susanna Tamaro
I actually saw the film first when I was living in Rome and loved it so much I immediately bought the book. A bit later I found an English version - which makes it much easier to re-read! It's a beautifully written story, written as a long letter from an elderly grandma to her beloved but absent granddaughter. As the story unfolds we gradually learn about the family's past and the relationships between the three strong women (grandmother, daughter and granddaughter). Written like a diary it's a lovely mixture of everyday details in with the gradual revealing of secrets that the three generations of woman have kept from each other and the consequences of these. It's a happy-sad book but ultimately I find it really uplifting: it's about being true to yourself, and "following your heart", which seems like a pretty good way to live!
The Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Handed to me as I lazed on Bondi (my copy still has grains of sand in it!) I pretty much read it straight through, and then went back to start again, armed with the 'twist'. Not wanting to give too much away to those that haven't read it but basically Pi is narrating the story of his life - including the ship wreck that resulted in him spending 227 days lost at sea in a lifeboat, with only a zebra, orang-utan, hyena and Richard Parker the tiger for company....I love that whenever I read it there's a different way to interpret the story: is it survival fiction? Are they really just animals? Or actually people? Or religions? And what does that mean when some of the boat's inhabitants eat each other?!! There's a rumour that Ang Lee of Crouching Tiger and Brokeback Mountain fame is directing a version, due for release 2012...can't wait to see what he does with it!
Finally Little Women! I read it as a kid and it's still a real comfort read - tucked up in bed ill or on a rainy day. I'd like to say that it's because its a classic example of 19th century American feminist fiction but mostly it's just because the main character is cool and creative and ahead of her time. And we share the same name!
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