Five 5-Star Reads of Lockdown

While lockdown may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, it afforded me a total dedication to intellectual pursuits. I read voraciously and rated the books I read. Here are my top reads, the special ones getting 5 stars.

Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
One of those books I hate to finish because I worry that something as great will not come along for a long time. This author creates a suffering but flawed character you cannot help but love. Add to this the most vivid nature descriptions, which help you live in her world, and this is a book you cannot put down.

It tells the story of the Marsh Girl, Kya, who has been abandoned by her family, the State, and everyone in between. She learns to live alone, alongside the gulls of a march in North Carolina. While she survives admirably, she cannot ignore her need for love and her beauty soon attracts two local lads, each of whom will have a huge impact on her life.

You will love Kya and the perfectly-painted setting.

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor, Adam Kay
This book is horrifying, heart-breaking and hilarious all at the same time. Everything we thought we knew or suspected about the healthcare system is here, and much more. 

In his diary entries Adam Kay offers up an irreverent and painfully honest account of the harsh realities of working as a doctor in the NHS. It is an important and timely book that gives us a rare insight into the health system and it is equally relevant to Ireland. You will want to read this in a single sitting and be prepared to laugh and cry in equal measures.

You will come away with newfound respect for anyone working in a hospital and for this writer. I devoured it.

Shadowplay, Joseph O’Connor
A historical novel will always attract me and when it is written in as humorous and accomplished a manner as this is, I’m onto a winner. 

Based on the real-life relationship of Bram Stoker with the greats of Victorian theatre, Ellen Terry and Henry Irving, as well as Stoker’s work at the Lyceum theatre, the story flits from Dublin to London, casually mentioning big names from the time like Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats and Jack the Ripper. All the time, Count Dracula haunts Stoker, as we anticipate but do not see the writer’s success in bringing this character to life. It is a clever, entertaining and moving story about loss, love and loyalty.

You will be rooting for Stoker to succeed.

The Narrow Land, Christine Dwyer Hickey
I love the way this novel interweaves the sometimes ugly and sometimes beautiful truth of relationships with an exploration of the nature of inspiration. A quiet gem of a book. 

This novel is based on the real-life relationship between American painters Edward and Jo Hopper with the primary focus on Jo’s struggle with jealousy and self-esteem. Set in 1950, it tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a 10-year-old survivor of a German concentration camp and Jo. Edward Hopper’s work is a central concern in their life and for the reader.

You will come away wishing for more.

Hamnet, Maggie O’Farrell
A gloriously imagined story about William Shakespeare’s family and the time in which he lived and worked. I completely bought into it. 

Hamnet Shakespeare died at only 11 years of age and is thought to be the inspiration behind his father’s most enduring play, Hamlet. This novel focuses on the impact of grief on a family and the marital relationship.

You’ll get to know Agnes Shakespeare intimately – a woman usually only mentioned in relation to inheriting William’s ‘second-best bed’. You’ll love her.