1. 
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
This is an oft-mentioned American classic and one that I thought was about time I read. I knew that the book dealt with US slavery, but I wasn't prepared for the comprehensive view of slavery that it presented. While clearly being an anti-slavery story, Stowe does try to present all views and the complex relationships between some of the slaves and their owners, although there were times when I felt these aspects were contrived and a little too coincidental. For Stowe this was a story aimed more at the white, liberal, free Northern US states' population whom she felt were more talk than action, than at the slave-owning Southern states, which she mistakenly believed would be less critical of her book. The parts dealing with the slaves' stories are poignant and touching, but Stowe often strays into evangelical ranting and condemnation of liberal inaction, aspects of the novel that I found off-putting and tedious. Overall, an educational read. 3 stars
2. 
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
Initially I felt that this was an easy read, with a simple narrator, Howard W. Campbell, Jr., telling his own pretty straightforward story about deception during World War II when he was an American spy masquerading as a Nazi propoganda mouthpiece. But the more I read I realized that the narrator is continuing his deception as he recalls his past and I was never sure whether to believe him or not. He is an unapologetic and unforgiving character who should evoke very little sympathy from a reader and yet by the end of the novel I was feeling very sorry for him, despite him in no way directly requesting such a response. In fact, quite the opposite is true - he wants to be condemned. Vonnegut has written a masterful piece of literature here, one that continues to linger long in the mind after the last page and invites much deeper reflection than the deceptively simple style in which it is written would suggest. 5 stars
3. 
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Bauby wrote this true memoir of his life with his left eye. That alone would make this a remarkable achievement, but what is equally remarkable is how clearly and poetically he conveys his emotions, thoughts and desires as he lies paralyzed in a hospital bed after suffering a stroke that only allowed him to move his head somewhat and blink his left eye. It is not a reflection on suffering, or the story of his life in hospital, although these aspects are included in his telling, but rather a look back on significant events in his life to which his very active mind returns as affirmation that he lived and still lives. It is a book of dreams and hopes. 3 stars
4. 
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
Having seen the movie, which I found very interesting, and not at all what I expected, I decided to buy the book. Naturally, the book was far more detailed and provided a lot of insight into the murderer, Grenouille, and his motivation, but the movie brought out the whole murderer side far more than the novel does. In fact, I doubt that the subtitle to the novel is necessary. Twenty-four of the twenty-six murders that occur in the story take place in the course of a single chapter and no details are provided, besides descriptions of what the murdered girls looked like when they were found. Instead, this is a novel of a character trying to dvelop the perfect perfume, rather than a novel of murder. It is very well written, for the most part, but there were times when I felt that the story became contradictory, as if Suskind had forgotten earlier key words and phrases he used to describe Grenouille's character. And, after all the detail of most of the novel, little details that had me wondering why and how were omitted from the last few chapters. An interesting, somewhat quirky read that leaves a lasting impression. 3 stars
5. 
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Are you trying to talk to your heart? Is your heart trying to talk to you and do you hear it? Or are you trying to commune with the Soul of the World in the Language of the World? Do you know what your Personal Legend is and are you seeking it out before the desire to do so abandons you completely? If this kind of mumbo jumbo is your cup of tea, then this is definitely the book for you. Perhaps I expected something different, a story of intrigue and mystery, as the title seemed to suggest to me, or one of adventure, as the first pages I read hinted at. Instead, I read a meandering and pointless tale, littered with hints of intrigue and mystery that were never fully developed and liberally, but tastelessly, spiced with a mix of philosophy meets Chicken Soup for the Soul. Part of a newspaper review from the London Times printed on the back cover reads: "[Coelho's] books have had a life-enchanting effect on millions of people." I imagine that the reviewer's next sentence was: "One has to wonder why." 1 star
6. 
I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Ed Kennedy is not so much a delinquent as a lazy bum, who decides to take a stand against a bank robber one day and thereby sets off a chain of events, resulting from cryptic message bearing playing cards he receives from a mysterious stranger who seems to know his every move and which allows him to redeem himself and give him a sense of purpose. This story is essentially a mystery as we try, with Ed, to discover who the mysterious card dealing stranger is. It is a beautifully written book and there were times I found myself rereading parts of it just to evoke the heart-warming sensation I felt when reading them the first time. Ed's relationship with his dog is extremely funny, but also telling in terms of his sense of isolation from people. I found the end of the novel confusing and will need to reread it to try to understand it better, but the ending didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book and its beautiful writing. 5 stars
7. 
20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo
A rural Chinese girl with ambition, Fenfang, tries to make it in the movie business in Beijing as a scriptwriter. This story follows her ups and downs as she struggles to make a name for herself and justify her decision to abandon her family and their traditional way of life for the bright lights and modern life style of the big city. It is a very direct and hard hitting novel that investigates the conflicts facing modern Chinese youth as they emerge from the strict hierarchical social structure that China has been into a modern, more capitalist society of the 21st century where the individual is pushing the boundaries and trying to break free from the traditionalist collective thinking that has been a hallmark of being Chinese. A powerfully written, realistic tale that had me immersed in Fenfang's world. 4 stars
8. 
The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco
Yambo, a sixty-something rare book dealer, suffers a stroke which causes amnesia and so he returns to his childhood home to try to rediscover who he is. Instead of rediscovering himself, he discovers the "literature" that forms part of his remaining memory and explains his love for books, from the comic books and novels of his youth to his schoolboy essays and poetry and Eco supplements his writing with actual illustrated extracts from the comics and period photographs of personalities and posters, all of which add an extra dimension to this novel. It is part mystery, part literature review and part World War II history with an Italian perspective, all told under the guise of Yambo's search for himself. As with all Eco's writing that I have encountered, it's a meticulously crafted, challenging read that leaves one satisfied at the end and proud to have finished the book. 4 stars
9. 
Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho
After reading "The Alchemist" I had no intention of reading another Coelho book, but this one was recommended to me, so I thought I would give it a chance. I'm glad I did. The novel is essentially a biography of a Brazilian prostitute in Switzerland, based on a real account given to Coelho by the Maria of the novel. It is an exploration of what love, sex and marriage are all about and a kind of prostitute's manual on what women want from a sexual relationship, told by means of a very interesting story. It isn't an erotic story, although it may be for a teenage boy, but it is very descriptive. Now I have to decide if I want to try another Coelho novel and risk being disappointed. 4 stars
10. 
the curious incident of the dog in the night-time by Mark Haddon
This novel is a fascinating journey into the world of a fifteen-year-old autistic boy, Christopher. Christopher tells his own story and his narration feels real and is absolutely spell-bounding. We get to see how his mind works - his fascination with obscure math problems, his attention to the minutest details, his photographic memory - and live through his insecurities with him as if they were happening to us. Haddon's empathetic writing opens up a new world in which everything is absolutely logical and literal. A must-read. 5 stars
11. 
City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende
This is my Forrest Gump book of 2009. Having read a number of Allende's novels, I was excited about reading another. Almost from the first page realized that it wasn't going to be what I expected. There was no indication on the book, nor in the bookstore where I bought it, that it is a novel aimed at the Teenage market. The basic plot is that an isolated Amazon Indian tribe are under threat from some unscrupulous land grabbing businessmen and Alex, an American teenage boy, and Nadia, a South American teenage girl, save the tribe from destruction. It has some of the Allende trademarks - strong female characters, magical and spiritual elements, a quest - but apart from that it is formulaic and ridiculous. And most irritating of all for me is that Alex and Nadia, white outsiders, are the saviours of the indigenous people, despite their youth, inexperience and lack of general knowledge about their environment and local customs. Why, oh why, in the 21st century are people still writing colonial mentality novels, where the "savages" still need the brain power of the "civilized" whites to survive? 1 star
12. 
Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende
After "City of the Beasts" I had to restore my faith in Allende and this was just the novel to do it. Ines Suarez, the companion and lover of Pedro de Valdivia, the founder of Chile, recounts from her perspective the struggle to shape out a new Spanish colony in the hostile territory beyond the Andes. The characters and history in this novel are based on historical fact. As Allende notes in her Author's Note at the end of the book, "This novel is a work of fiction, but any similarity to events and persons relating to the conquest of Chile is not coincidental." Ines is another of Allende's strong female protagonists, who is courageous, innovative, passionate and doesn't play second fiddle to anyone, while simultaneously being supportive and compassionate. This is a tightly woven tale and makes gripping reading, bringing to life a way of life and struggle that we in the modern world will never have to experience. 5 stars
13. 
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This is a book that has been sitting on my bookshelf for quite some time. I bought it knowing that it is a classic that I had to read, but kept putting it off in favour of more modern novels. Having read all the modern novels I have on my shelf though, it was time for Gatsby. And what a pleasant surprise it was to read it. A tale of 1920s facades, where nothing and nobody is what they seem, Fitzgerald seems to be mocking the facetiousness of his age. More important than the true values of humanity are the values that others perceive you have. Gatsby is great as long as others see him that way, and despite his inner sense of honour, when the mask he wears in society is ripped away, so is his greatness. The novel is a tragedy of love, life and aspirations, powerfully written and yet understated. 4 stars
14. 
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
It is easy to see why Dickens is regarded as the greatest ever English novelist. His writing is evocative, humourous, emotional, challenging and has a cast of characters that come alive in the text and live on in your memory. However ... Dickens does drag things on a bit and is prone to sentimentality and making seemingly coincidental, but too neat, connections between the characters, which left me feeling dissatisfied at the end. He tends to drag the last breath of life out of an incident, until, utterly exhausted, it collapses under the weight of its telling. Nonetheless, this was a novel that had me silently cheering for Nicholas and growling with anger at the antagonists and is worth reading if just to see how effortlessly Dickens can create. 3 stars
15. 
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
When I started reading this book, which was lent to me by one of my students, I skipped through the first few chapters of mindless teenage banter as Bella, in her teenage angst tries to find her place in her new school and with her unfamiliar father, so that I could at least tell my students that I had read the book. Finally though, the action started and I got involved in the story of love between the teenage Bella and the teenage-looking, and acting, 100 year old vampire, Edward. It was interesting reading, and each night I looked forward to getting into bed and back to the book. I am now reading the second installment, New Moon. 3 stars
16. 
Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal
For the benefit of those who won't read this book, I give you the first page:
For thirty-five years now I've been in wastepaper, and it's my love story. For thirty-five years I've been compacting wastepaper and books, smearing myself with letters until I've come to look like my encyclopedias. I am a jug filled with water both magic and plain; I have only to lean over and a steam of beautiful thoughts flows out of me. My education has been so unwitting I can't quite tell which of my thoughts come from me and which from my books, but that's how I've stayed attuned to myself and the world around me for the past thirty-five years. Because when I read, i don't really read; I pop a beautiful sentence into my mouth and suck it like a fruit drop, or I sip it like a liqueur until the thought dissolves in me like alcohol, infusing my brain and heart and coursing on through the veins to the root of each blood vessel.
And thus begins this dark tale of an uneducated working-class philosopher who tries to rescue books from his wastepaper compacter and gains his education from those saved books. It is a beautifully written and engrossing story, but not a light or pleasant read. 4 stars
17. 
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
18. 
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
19. 
South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
Dion Marc Delport