Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Jamie Mollart

Happy New Year! For all the financial services workers in the UK this week marks the start of a brand new tax year (2022/23 as it turns out). So I thought I’d acknowledge it on the blog for a wee change.

But you’re not here for tax chat, you’re here for the books. Specifically you’re here to see which five books Jamie Mollart has selected when he took on my Decades Challenge.

Quick recap before I hand over to Jamie: Last year I set myself the challenge of filling the shelves of a brand new library with nothing but the very best books represented. I knew I could not take on this epic task alone so each week I invite a guest to select five of their favourite books which they feel should be represented in my new library. When making their selections there are just two rules my guests must follow:

1 – Select ANY five Books
2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades.

Sounds easy? I am assured it takes a while to settle on five and there are rumours of cursing and heartache as favourites don’t fall within the five consecutive decades rule.

This week it is my abolute pleasure to welcome Jamie Mollart to Grab This Book. Jamie’s latest novel, Kings of the Dead World is my #currentlyreading book and has been commuting with me on my train trips back into the office now that I am not exclusively working from home. It is making the trip to work much more manageable.

Over to Jamie…

I’ve written two novels and am about to send my third to my agent. The Zoo was published in 2015 to some pretty good reviews and press. I was made an Amazon Rising Star for that year and spent 2015/16 at some cool literary festivals. My second novel, Kings of a Dead World came out in 2021, was an Amazon bestseller, has a Waterstones edition with very beautiful sprayed green edges and was longlisted for the British Science Fiction Association best novel award.

I am a member of the Climate Fiction Writers League (https://climate-fiction.org/), Nottingham Writers Studio (https://www.nottinghamwritersstudio.co.uk/) , I’m a mentor for Writing East Midlands (https://writingeastmidlands.co.uk/for-writers/mentoring/), I have contributed to the Writers and Artists Yearbook (https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/advice/lessons-i-learned-writing-my-second-novel), and the Bookseller (https://www.thebookseller.com/blogs/cli-fi-time-1262857) and I’m a long standing guest on the webs oldest and most influential writing podcast, Litopia (https://litopia.com/)

If you want to find out more about me the best places are one twitter (@jamiemollart) or on my youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsYzJh4RrSdYkM3e0o2WFOg)

If you want to get a copy of Kings of a Dead World with its lovely green edges you can do so here (https://www.waterstones.com/book/kings-of-a-dead-world/jamie-mollart/9781914518027) there’s also a hardback and audiobook version available here (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kings-Dead-World-Jamie-Mollart/dp/1913207455)

DECADES

1970-1979 – JG Ballard – Crash (1973)

I could have chosen any one of several JG Ballard books from the 70’s because they’re all excellent – The Atrocity Exhibition, Concrete Island, or High Rise – but for me Crash is the one which is the best realised. The fact that it was filmed by one of my all-time favourite directors, David Cronenberg, is the icing on the cake. Ballard is all about high concept and Crash is no exception. He always seemed to be able to predict the future in a way which most authors don’t, and Crash is no exception to this. It also demonstrates Ballard’s ability to compress massive concepts into razor sharp narratives.

The narrator, James Ballard, is involved in a car crash which kills the other driver, and when he begins a relationship with the dead man’s wife the boundaries between the mechanical and the erotic become blurred.

When he meets Robert Vaughan, and is drawn into his sphere of influence, Ballard in turn becomes involved in a group who recreate the fatal car crashes of famous people for sexual pleasure.

The book was controversial at the time of release – ‘This author is beyond psychiatric help. Do Not Publish’ – and still has the power to shock, but in our increasingly Petro-chemical/celebrity obsessed world it seems even more important than when it was written. Not for the feint hearted, but for me essential reading.

1980-1989 – Peter Carey – Oscar and Lucinda (1988)

The Booker winner from 1988 is, in my opinion, the most perfect novel ever written. Populated with rich, flawed, and complex characters, this Victorian epic is weird, daring, romantic and challenging all at the same time. It also contains one of the most bravura set pieces I’ve ever read, which I can’t tell you about here because it’s a massive spoiler, but somehow Carey manages to make one act represent the entirety of not only the lead characters relationship, but the whole narrative. Annoyingly the book’s Wikipedia entry manages to blurt it out, so if you intend to read it don’t visit Wikipedia.

Oscar Hopkins is an Anglican Priest, Lucinda Leplastrier is an heiress to a glass factory, they are both gamblers, and when the meet on a ship they both find the other fascinating. It’s a love story that’s more about friendship than passion, while still managing to be incurably romantic. It’s about religion and fanaticism of all kinds, it’s about technology and the allure of it, it’s about how our childhoods affect us and so much more.

Carey loves a misfit character, and both Oscar and Lucinda fall into that category, but they are so lucidly drawn that I struggle not to think of them as real people. It’s one of the few books that I’ve read multiple times, it’s just not something I normally do, but Oscar and Lucinda calls to me regularly and I can’t help but return to it.

Peter Carey is one of the few writers who can turn his hand to anything and succeed every single time. He’s won the Booker twice and been shortlisted for it 5 times, no mean feat, and utterly deserved. Angela Carter also described Oscar and Lucinda as ‘novel of extraordinary richness, complexity and strength’, so if you don’t believe me, you should definitely believe her.

1990- 1999 Bret Easton-Ellis – American Psycho (1991)

The ultimate dissection of 80’s excess and yuppie culture, American Psycho was banned on release in many places, and gained notoriety because of its aestheticized violence. What was largely missed at the time is that the book is clearly a satire and is actually laugh out loud funny in many places.

Patrick Bateman is a slick, vacuous banker on the Wall Street of the eighties. He’s obsessed with his hair, clothes, fancy restaurants, his sculpted body and making sure his business card is whiter and crisper than his colleagues. Oh, and at night he likes to murder people in increasingly depraved and meticulously described ways, whilst extoling the virtues of albums by people like Huey Lewis and The News and Whiteny Houston. As Bateman’s murder spree escalates and his grip on reality becomes more tenuous it becomes more unclear whether what we’re witnessing is actually happening or whether Bateman’s fractured mind is in fact making him the most unreliable of narrators.

American Psycho is probably the most caustic and damning attack on consumerism ever written, unrelenting in its horror show depiction of the American Dream, it is both difficult to read and impossible to put down. On a sentence level Easton-Ellis is second to none (apart from maybe Zadie Smith, who I really wanted to include on this list too), and the whole book reads as a macabre satirical masterpiece.

2000-2009 China Mieville – Perdido Street Station (2000)

What. A. Book. This. Is.

I put off reading it for a while because of the sheer size of it, but oh my days is it worth it. China Mieville is one of the cleverest, imaginative, and downright weird writers out there. Every single one of his books reaches for the sky, most of the succeed, but this one absolutely smashes through it.

It’s 1000 pages of steam punk craziness set in the world of Bas-Lag (which he revisits in The Scar and Iron Council), where magic is real and considered a science, and New Crobozon is a sleazy, sexy, corrupt city full of weird and wonderful species such as the Falcon like Garudas, and the Khepri, who have human bodies and insects as heads.

Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin is a scientist who is approached by one of the Garuda, who has had his wings removed as punishment, to craft a new pair of wings to enable him to fly again. Isaac sends his team out into New Crobozon to bring back as many species with the ability to fly as possible so he can learn the secret of flight. Unknowingly he is brought back a caterpillar which will end up turning into something nasty enough to endanger the whole of the city.

It’s a whole lot more complicated than that and features a massive cast in a wonderfully vivid city. It won the Arthur C Clarke award (he’s won it a record 3 times in total) amongst many others and the legendary Michael Moorcock described Mieville as ‘a writer with a rare descriptive gift, an unusually observant eye for physical detail, for the sensuality and beauty of the ordinarily human as well as the thoroughly alien.’

Mieville has written some brilliant books after Perdido Street Station, not least the amazing The City and The City, but this is his masterpiece.

2010- 2020 – Nobody Told Me – Hollie McNish (2016)

Hollie McNish is so forthright and honest and open and fearless as a writer that she ought to be compulsory reading. Her view of the world is hilarious and disarmingly honest. In this amazing book, which is part diary, part poetry and part essay, she turns her unflinching gaze onto motherhood as she narrates the first year of her daughter’s life.

My wife suffered horrendous post-natal depression with our first daughter, in no small part I believe due to the facile and fake way in which motherhood is portrayed in our modern culture. The awkward, unpleasant bits are whitewashed and hidden from view, and we’re presented with an unrealistic portrayal which is damaging to both mother and child.

Hollie McNish does no whitewashing. With Nobody Told Me she sets out to give an honest, personal, and deeply moving account of what it means to be a new mother, and in doing so goes some way to busting the harmful myths. She covers everything from morning sickness, to what it actually feels like to not sleep properly for months, the first public tantrum, mum guilt, leaky boobs, the changes a woman’s body goes through, but also the amazing gift that is having a child. It’s funny, touching, and profoundly moving.

I love the way Hollie McNish looks at the world and I love the way her words describe it. She’s a rare and genuine talent and should be considered a national treasure.

I have mentioned this before but, for me, the perfect five Decades selections are when I know one or two of the books and have read them before and then there are three books which I don’t know. A blend of new and familiar. Jamie has hit that perfect balance this week and I have already been checking out the books which were new to me.

My thanks to Jamie for finding time to make his selections. Decades continues entirely because of the kindness of my guests who all devote some of their precious time towards sharing the booklove.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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February 25

Decades: Compiling the Ulitmate Library with Fiona Cummins

It’s time to add five new books to the Decades Library. Each week I am joined by a guest who nominates five new books to be added to my ultimate collection of essential reading.

Back in January 2021 I asked myself the question: If you had to fill a brand new library with nothing but the very best books, which books would you put on the shelves? I knew this was not a challenge I could complete alone so I invited authors, publishers, journalists and bloggers to help me. I ask each of my guests to pick five books which they feel should be included in my Decades Library.

Why do I call it a Decades Library? Although my guests are allowed to select any five books I ask that they only select one book per decade from five consecutive decades. This ensures I get a broad range of titles as it’s highly unusual for one author to have a backlist so extensive it covers five decades. There is one fellow though, King his name is, he pops up quite often…in fact stick around there’s another King novel making its debut in the Library this week.

This week it is my pleasure to welcome Fiona Cummins to Grab This Book. Regular readers will know I love the stories with a dark edge to them so it’s a real thrill for me to be able to share Fiona’s selections and add her chosen books to my library…

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy’s Writing A Novel course, where she now tutors in Writing Crime.

Her bestselling novels – RATTLE, THE COLLECTOR, THE NEIGHBOUR and WHEN I WAS TEN – have received widespread critical acclaim from authors including Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Lee Child, Martina Cole and David Baldacci. Her fifth book INTO THE DARK will be published in April 2022. She is published in more than 15 languages.

When Fiona is not writing, she can be found on Twitter at @FionaAnnCummins, walking her dogs or indulging her love of nature photography.

When I was Ten released in paperback on 30/12/21 and the hardback of Into The Dark publishes on 14/4/22.

DECADES

I was thrilled when Gordon of the brilliant Grab This Book blog asked if I’d like to take part in Decades, his Desert Island Discs for books. Imagine filling an empty library – what joy that would be! That said, I found it incredibly difficult to narrow down my choices because there are so many fantastic stories in the literary cosmos. With that in mind, I haven’t necessarily chosen the best books but the books that made the most profound impression on me.

The Borrowers – Mary Norton – 1952

I was obsessed with this series about the Clocks, a tiny family who live in the walls and under the floorboards of the Big House, borrowing from ‘human beans’ to survive. As a child, I remember scouring the library shelves for these stories, burning to find out more about the adventures of Pod, Homily, and most importantly, 14-year-old Arrietty, a fellow book lover with a curious streak.

The Magic Toyshop – Angela Carter – 1967

I read this novel in my teens after a boyfriend bought it for me one birthday. I wasn’t familiar with Angela Carter’s work until then but it started a lifelong love affair with her writing. I was captivated by this coming-of-age story dealing with the complexities of family dynamics and blossoming sexuality through the prism of magical realism.

The Stand – Stephen King – 1979

I can’t remember the first book I read by Stephen King but I do know that once I’d discovered him, I devoured everything I could lay my hands on. In this epic post-apocalyptic dark fantasy, the world has been decimated by a weaponised virus (too close to home right now?!) and the survivors fall into two camps, driven by Good and Evil. King is truly a master at making the reader care about the fate of his (many) characters. His ability to bring them to life on the page is nothing short of genius.

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit – Jeanette Winterson – 1985

Another coming-of-age story (I seem to have a weakness for these) about Jess – adopted into a strict Pentecostal family – who rejects her future as a missionary when she begins to have feelings for another girl. As a teenager reading this for the first time, this book, which Winterson describes as partly autobiographical, had a profound impact on me, opening my eyes to unfamiliar worlds, doing what the very best fiction should do. I later played Jess in a university drama production and this novel has been a fixture throughout my life.

American Psycho – Bret Easton Ellis – 1991

American Psycho blew my mind the first time I read it. This bleak satire allows us a first-hand glimpse into the mind of Patrick Bateman, a sophisticated, handsome and charming Wall Street investment banker who also happens to be a vicious and narcissistic serial killer. The brutality and sadism – the sheer scale of violence – stunned me, but I could not put it down. This was perhaps the first time I recognised the power of writing, that compulsion to read on, even though the subject matter was distasteful, because his storytelling had snared me in its iron grip.

And there we are for another week. Five fabulous books, some I instantly recognise, two I have read and one new name which I will need to investigate further. My thanks to Fiona for taking time to make her selections. Decades continues thanks to the support and kindness of all my guests who give their time to share the booklove.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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October 29

Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Oli Jacobs

This weekend is Halloween so Decades is going full on horror this week as Oli Jacobs unleashes five chillers to tempt your TBR.

But as this is Decades this isn’t just a case of a guest recommending books to read there are rules to follow too. Here’s your weekly Decades recap….

I am assembling the Decades Library, a collection of the very best books as recommended by my guests. In January I started this challenge with no books in my Library but as we reach Halloween there have been over 200 titles recommended. Each week I invite my guest to nominate any five books which they would want to include in the Ultimate Library (so we can ensure the very best books are represented). When selecting their five books my guests can only pick one book per decade from five consecutive decades – a fifty year publication span.

I wanted to make sure the Halloween weekend added some horror titles to my Library and took to Twitter to see if anyone fancied taking on the challenge. Not only did Oli Jacobs step up to help in my hour of need, he has absolutely smashed it out of the park with his selections. I have read four of his nominations and you can bet I will be picking up the fifth book.

Oli Jacobs is a bearded fellow who is mostly found patrolling the streets of Southampton in search of good beer, fine company, and fried chicken. Due to his anxiety, please approach with kindness.

His works include the Space Comedy series Kirk Sandblaster, Revenge Thriller series Mr Blank, and Horror titles The Station 17 Chronicles, The Children of Little Thwopping, and (at time of writing) BBNYA 2021 semi-finalist Wilthaven. He hopes you enjoy.

DECADES

THE LONG WALK – RICHARD BACHMAN (aka STEPHEN KING) (1979)

In truth, I could have chosen Stephen King books for each of these choices, but for the sake of variety I’ve simply chosen this title, not just because it’s one of my favourites, but because it comes via King’s infamous pseudonym Richard Bachman. The story is simple in its cruelty: 100 teenage boys are forced to take part in a gruelling walking marathon known as the titular Long Walk. There are no breaks, firm rules, and armed guards to make sure things go along smoothly. As we meet our ever-decreasing circle of characters, and the world is built around their experiences, we bear witness to all the simple agonies that this event would bring, from cramp to sleep deprivation.

SONGS OF A DEAD DREAMER – THOMAS LIGOTTI (1985)

Thomas Ligotti is one of those horror authors where you either know him and absolutely love him, or are blissfully unaware but intrigued by his work when he is mentioned. Songs of a Dead Dreamer is his first collection of short stories – a format Ligotti mostly deals in – and introduces the reader to his nihilistic carnival of dread. Starting with a seemingly basic tale of child abduction in The Frolic, the stories become more weird and dream-like. Tales such as The Greater Festival of Masks also highlight Ligotti’s unnerving use of masquerades and puppets, and you certainly feel the influence of the likes of Lovecraft through every inch of the purple prose.

AMERICAN PSYCHO – BRET EASTON ELLIS (1991)

Probably the most well known and infamous on my list, everyone knows American Psycho thanks to the brilliant performance by Christian Bale in the film adaptation. What they don’t know, unlike those who have read this story, is how brutal Patrick Bateman is in the book. Throughout Bateman’s adventures in sadism, the levels are heightened and violence more absurd as he falls deeper into his own psychosis. But, of course, the question of whether all this horror is real or not lingers over the whole tale, settling on the greasy sheen of 80s capitalism that stains the whole narration through lists of musicians, appliances, and other aesthetic ghouls.

HOUSE OF LEAVES – MARK Z DANIELEWSKI (2000)

I will confess now this is one of my all-time favourite books, not just because of the multi-layered story, but how the whole twisted tale is presented. Mark Z Danielewski doesn’t just tell us the story of a heroin addict going through the files of a film critic, who was studying a documentary about a strange house, and the notes about the strange house from the family who lived there… yep, immediately it’s one of those stories. A labyrinth tale that Danielewski presents in a fashion that is as artistic as it is engrossing. It is an exercise in reader patience, but one that rewards with a nightmarish tale and true sense of discontent at the back of the mind.

THE LAST DAYS OF JACK SPARKS – JASON ARNOPP (2016)

This was one of these books I discovered thanks to the wonderful world of author networking that social media has provided us these days. Jason Arnopp is a man well-versed in horror and all things terrifying, given his love for VHS and history of rock journalism. The Last Days of Jack Sparks takes the idea of exorcisms, curses, and hauntings, and twist reality around them along with all the modern technology the titular Jack Sparks introduces to try and save his own skin. The atmosphere is tense from the start, and certain set pieces leave you with a shiver down your shoulder. The music studio bit is a stand out for yours truly…

I love a good horror story and always feel I should read more than I do. If you are on Twitter then I recommend searching under the #PromoteHorror hashtag where there are always some gems to be find.

My thanks again to Oli – these are mighty selections and I now find myself shopping for Songs of a Dead Dreamer (I need to complete the set)

DECADES WILL RETURN

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