Tragedy, Thriller, Fantasy, and Sci-fi — 5 Books to Read this December!
The Perfect December Delights!
Words have the power to allure and captivate the human mind; they console us in distress, hug us in misfortune, laugh with us in joy, cry by our side in tragedy, and allure us in our bedtime stories. What is this world if not for words? Who are we if not in language?
Books are the dearest friends to spend your December with — the month with a morbid inevitable sense of tragedy! What other way to spend it if not in the cocoon of words?
I have therefore listed 5 of my favorite books from different genres and time periods to read this December, whether you love mystery or thriller, realism or fantasy, horror or sci-fi, you will find it all!
‘My Dark Vanessa’ by Kate Elizabeth Russell
The book navigates the life of Vanessa Wye — a seemingly normal woman with a tragic past. Can tragedy be unknown by the victim? Yes! Are there times when we are victims but cannot believe it? When we have suffered beyond repair but our mind somehow forms a defensive cobweb to protect us from the reality of our existence and traps us in an illusion of a normal life? A thousand times yes!! and that’s what the author explores in the book — a prime example of a psychological thriller woven with threads of realism hinting at the tragedy of being.
The book can be read as a psychological thriller or simply a critique of the world we live in. It is more like a modern Lolita but surely digs a bit deeper. The narrative is tragic, compelling, beautiful, and somber — all in one! It questions everything beautiful, be it love, friendship, intimacy, affection, or life itself!
Favorite Quotes
“..it feels like my brain rattles around in my skull, my limbs go limp and my mind slips out of me.”
“You know how sometimes there’s a book that’s yours?”
“We’re born, we live, we die,” he says, “and the choices we make in the middle, all those things we agonize over day after day, none of those matter in the end.”
‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde
The novel tells the tale of the most beautiful young man, probably in the entire huge colorful tapestry of the literary world, irrespective of language and era — Dorian Gray! Can beauty be monstrous? What if the beautiful remains unstained forever? Who will bear the filth of the soul? A picture? Yes, a picture! When Achebe said:
“Africa is to Europe as the picture is to Dorian Gray,”
How utterly right he had been! What a commendable simile indeed. Not leaving the topic though, this book makes you experience Keats’ words, “A thing of beauty is joy forever”, and this will lead to that eternal aesthetic joy which is the dream of every book reader.
The novel is undoubtedly the most beautiful and aesthetically appealing piece of writing ever! A hero gone wild, the beauty unleased, and the whole world his canvas to violently throw bloody paint wherever and whenever he wants!
The story of unlimited power and unmatched beauty paralleled with the sheer ugliness of ideals and unimaginable savagery buried deep in a loving heart! It is neither realism nor fantasy but magical realism — a more suited genre for your bleak evenings. The book holds a world of mystery, thrill, love, and horrific fantasy, what more to ask?
Favorite Quotes
“You became to me the visible incarnation of that unseen ideal whose memory haunts us artists like an exquisite dream.”
“He had always the look of one who had kept himself unspotted from the world. Men who talked grossly became silent when Dorian Gray entered the room. There was something in the purity of his face that rebuked them.”
“…to him Life itself was the first, the greatest, of the arts, and for it all the other arts seemed to be but a preparation.”
‘Freud’s Mistress’ by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman
The untold tale of Sigmund Freud’s love for Minna — a fictional record, of course, but inspired by true events and evidence. The best thing about the book is that it is told from the perspective of both characters, the world-famous Freud, father of psychology, and Minna, known to the world as Freud’s Mistress but something way more than that, the woman who owned herself and lived the life she needed to not the one she wanted.
And somewhere at the corners of the pages, another character, trapped in the backlight, Freud’s wife Martha, the sister of his mistress, the bearer of all the tragedies!
The book has the most appealing setting ever, rain and coffee, trains and lovers, intellectuals and philosophers, all things we want to read in the cold weather sitting by the fire!
And above all, the romance that won and the love story that failed — an unfulfilled longing of the man who is the analyst of unfulfilled desires who screamed to the world about their ruining impacts — himself a victim! And the woman who deserved to be heard, who deserved better, but life happened! A fine blend of seduction, deceit, and tragedy. The book is historical fiction; the most perfect genre for December.
Above all, it is so realistic, almost feels like a record of one’s own life, we find characters completely relatable and that’s the allure of fiction — to find people whose behaviors, sufferings, struggles, and life stories mirror ours, those who live at the edges of happy endings, always hoping for them but never finding them.
Favorite Quotes
“Most men don’t appreciate a bright wit, unless it’s their own.”
“Sometimes the heart is drawn to not only the light. Sometimes, it’s drawn to the dark ambiguities of character and brooding silences.”
“She silently wrestled with competing emotions — gratitude, sorrow, envy, and love — more than she could bear. But, if the heavens should reverse themselves, and she was given the opportunity to relive her life, she knew that she would make the same decisions.”
‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley
The earliest sci-fi gothic tale and by a female writer too! The novel tells the story of the brilliant Dr. Frankenstein and his accursed creation! The book has an alluring appeal for mystery and horror lovers. But more than that, it dissects the eternal question of being a monster! Who is a monster? and how are they made? Do they have pointy horns and long tails or do they just look like us? living among us? or are they created by us, by our society and the sick ideals it has?
The book is mostly narrated from the perspective of Dr. Frankenstein but Mary surely gives enough room to the creature he creates (you may read the detailed review I recently wrote on Frankenstein). The setting is mostly autumnal with dark nights, thunder, and stormy rains. The genre is sci-fi and gothic, the most perfect horror tale to ever exist!
Favorite Quotes
“..by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch — the miserable monster whom I had created.”
“I felt the bitterness of disappointment; dreams that had been my food and pleasant rest for so long a space were now become a hell to me; and the change was so rapid, the overthrow so complete!”
“Nothing is more painful to the human mind than, after the feelings have been worked up by a quick succession of events, the dead calmness of inaction and certainty which follows and deprives the soul both of hope and fear.”
‘The Language of Thorns — Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic’ by Leigh Bardugo
The book is inspired by folklore and myths and tells six different tales of love, magic, revenge, and betrayal in haunted woods and savage towns with beasts, monsters, and mermaids. December is the month for mystery and thriller but a dash of fantasy makes everything better.
The book not merely tells the tales but draws it at the margins for you, the exquisite illustrations by Sara Kipin turn it into a dangerous and exciting journey, walking through the woods step by step and reaching the final picture.
The genre is obviously fantasy with a narrative so beautiful that completely blurs all the lines between reality and fiction, making you yearn for the faraway lands and mysterious characters.
Favorite Quotes
“You see, some people are born with a piece of night inside, and that hollow place can never be filled — not with all the good food or sunshine in the world.”
“This is the problem with even lesser demons. They come to your doorstep in velvet coats and polished shoes. They tip their hats and smile and demonstrate good table manners. They never show you their tails.”
“You make your way to a circle of rocks, to a little tide pool, your wish burning like a sun in your mortal heart. You come as so many have before — lonely, troubled, sick with avarice. A thousand desperate wishes have been spoken on those shores, and in the end they are all the same: Make me someone new.”
The books have all the emotions you might aspire to experience on dark December nights. There is the tragic life of Vanessa Wye illustrated with shades of betrayal, mystery, and desperate loneliness. There is mysterious Dorian Gray with his beautiful cursed face and a monstrous heart doomed to live a deceitful life. There are Freud, Martha, and Minna with their real lives worse than Greek tragedies, forever bearing the pain of existence. There is Frankenstein and his creature chasing each other in the ultimate sci-fi thriller killing so many on the way. And then there is a myriad characters in the mysterious haunted world of Leigh Bardugo — each with their peculiar tragic fate, cursed joys, and immortal woes.
Thank you for your time and please give a read to these masterpieces from different eras and genres!
