Hi friends, this week’s review is one I decided to add at the last minute. It was originally meant for the booklist last week, but after reading it for a third time, I thought it deserved a review post of its own. So, if you are an avid bibliophile like me always looking for the next best read, this is definitely the book for you!!
Title: The Reading List
Author: Sara Nisha Adams
Genre: Fiction – contemporary
Publication details: William Morrow; UK, 2021
ISBN: 9780063025288 (Hardcover)
What this book is about: The story starts in Harrow Public Library in Wembley when librarian and teenager Aleisha, discovers a crumpled reading list inside a tattered library book and decides to read the books on it. In them, she finds herself transported away from everything – her loneliness, her troubles at home – one page at a time. When widower Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to connect with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha introduces him to the magic of the reading list. An anxious teenager and a lonely grandfather form an unlikely book club of two. Some stories never leave you, and some change your life, forever.
My review: This was not your average book about reading books or saving a library, this was something that had a bit of everything. What really sparked for me was the rapport the two main characters had as they both started reading the books from the list. Getting to know Aleisha and Mukesh, their lives and learning of their different family dramas felt really humbling to me. Although the book is split into nine parts and there are different characters that start each part, the main story revolves around this inter-generational pair of readers. At first I thought the other characters were confusing, but after having read the book for a third time, I realised they were the other people who had picked up or found the reading list, either inside a book or somewhere else. The description of the library scenes and the all-too-familiar difficult customer interactions really got me giggling. Through the books we find Aleisha and Mukesh connecting not only with each other, but with their family and growing as individuals. I really loved the discussions they had as they finished each book and found the lessons they took from each book really humbling, especially those Aleisha talked about.
“…The list wasn’t just a distraction for her any more, She’d learned how to fight for something you believe in from Atticus Finch; she’d learned how to survive with a tiger like Pi; and from Amir in The Kite Runner she’d discovered it was never too late to do the right thing.”
Mukesh was a character I really resonated with. Even though both my grandfathers passed away when I was younger, I found the perfect one in Mukesh. When he finally bonded with his little bookworm-granddaughter Priya, and they read the books together, it brought tears to my eyes. And I loved how although he wasn’t a great reader, he managed to connect with her just like the grandmother had before she passed.
“He knew the world Priya was in right now. There was something magical in that – in sharing a world you loved; allowing someone to see it through the same pair of spectacles you saw it through yourself.”
Adams has truly created a literary masterpiece in this amazing read!! For a debut novel, I found myself captivated from the beginning to the end. Although young Aleisha’s life takes a tragic twist, I found the resilience and courage she showed towards the end heartwarming. It felt right when Mukesh helped her out when she felt as though her world had ended.
“…’Please try to remember that books aren’t always an escape; sometimes books teach us things. They show us the world, they don’t hide it.’”
This engaging literary read about the power of literature and how it connects us, both to others and within ourselves, is a title that will be unforgettable!!
My rating: 5 ⭐
My favourite quote:
“…‘I think you can read whatever you want into anything. That is the point of books,’ Mukesh said hesitatingly, hoping he was channeling a little of the Atticus Finch wisdom.” – Mukesh to Priya
Books on the list:
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee,
- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott
- Beloved by Toni Morrisson
- A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth.
Miss Mahee's Library of Reads 