Boston Latin School Summer Reading 2017 Required for Students Entering Class II

Please read these required titles:  Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree, Tariq Ali; or The Price of Salt, Patricia Highsmith; or Never Let Me Go, Kashuo Ishiguro  Othello, William Shakespeare  The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde  In addition to the books listed above, please select two titles from the list below, for a total of five books. If you are enrolled in Facing History and Ourselves, one of these two must be from the FHAO list. You will receive credit on this from your English teacher as well. Please note this year’s focus is British literature. You may enjoy thinking about how these books help you appreciate this rich and varied genre.  Recommended for long-term loan or purchase for the academic year: How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

18th and Early 19th Century Fiction Jane Austen, Emma: In this book on which the movie Clueless is based, Emma matchmakes for nearly everyone. Charles Dickens, Hard Times: Condemning the Industrial Revolution, this novel shows the power of imagination over facts. Daniel Defoe, A Journal of the Plague Year. This novel, first published in 1722, is written as an eyewitness account of 1665, a year in which the bubonic plague struck the city of London. George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss: Like George Eliot herself, Maggie has a rebellious but noble spirit. Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield: A rural family faces sudden poverty, seduction, and other difficulties. Anthony Trollope, The Warden: Septimus Harding kindly cares for the old men until someone questions his ample pay check. Barchester Towers: A satire on the power struggle caused by the arrival of a new bishop and his ambitious wife

Late 19th and Early 20th Century Fiction Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone: Often considered the first modern mystery, it begins with the theft of a yellow diamond. Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim: This challenging book addresses how a young man comes to terms with his fears of cowardice. John Galsworthy, The Man of Property: An examination of the relationship between material well being and happiness D. H. Lawrence, Women in Love: Its four-way affair is not unlike the author’s own with his wife and their close friends. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage: A handicapped orphan shuns the clergy for unrequited love in Paris. The Moon and Sixpence: Like Gauguin, Charles Strickland leaves business in Paris to paint in the Pacific. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft Frankenstein tells the story of a young science student, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque but sentient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.

Contemporary Works Kate Atkinson. Life After Life: A Novel Ursula Todd: born in 1910 and destined to be born and to die over and over again. Detailing life in England during two world wars, the novel asks whether we can or should avoid our destinies. Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim: A cynical yet amusing view of academic culture Maeve Binchy, The Lilac Bus: A collection of stories about the people who ride the lilac bus on their weekends Light a Penny Candle – When Elizabeth escapes wartime London and maintains relations with her Irish family, she matures. The Copper Beech: Passion and fear bring people together to reveal both crimes of the heart and murder. Christy Brown, My Left Foot: A look at the world from a man with cerebral palsy A.S. Byatt, Possession: Like The French Lieutenant’s Woman, a mixture of the Victorian period and the modern era G. K. Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare: A surrealistic detective story in turn-of- the-century London A.C. Cronin, The Citadel: A young doctor is lured to London for riches and fame, risking the loss of his wife and his values. Roddy Doyle, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha The story of a 10 year-old boy, his friends, his community, and his challenges as he confronts the breakup of his parents’ marriage. Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca: The manor house is beautiful and so was the first wife whose memory still haunts it. E. M. Forster, Maurice: Set in 1913 but published in 1971, this coming-of-age novel focuses on sexual identity. Graham Green, The Heart of the Matter: Integrity gives way to dishonor and murder. The Human Factor: This spy novel involves old warriors with a secret connection to South Africa. Kazuo Ishiguro The Remains of the Day An English butler confronts the hollowness of his long life and the self-deception that sustained him through it. P. D. James, Devices and Desires: This psychological mystery involves a serial killer and a nuclear power plant. Gus Lee, China Boy: A young boy grows up in a family that makes it difficult to be either Chinese or American. Helen MacDonald H Is for Hawk Deep in mourning after the death of her father, MacDonald purchases and trains a goshawk named Mabel. Closely following the work of Arthurian novelist T.H White, in the memoir she documents her many fits and starts as the bond grows between woman and bird. Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses: A sixteen-year-old boy rides out of Texas on horseback to escape the collapse of his family and the pressures of life. David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas Six stories in six different time periods from a mid-19th century Pacific voyage to a future, post-civilization world. Brian Moore, Black Robes: A novel set during the time of the Jesuit attempt to “save” the souls of the natives of Canada Iris Murdock, The Green Knight: This novel asks us to decide if an action is self-defense or attempted fratricide. Gloria Naylor, Linden Hills: The question of sacrificing one’s self for success is explored. Edna OBrien, Country Girls: Barbara and Kate come to Dublin from the west, Kate to marry and Barbara to seek fortune. Ellis Peters, Monk’s Head: Detective story with Brother Cadfael, an 11th century monk A Morbid Taste for Bones: Another story with Brother Cadfael, rich with local color of the Medieval period Pullman, Philip Broken Bridge – Ginny leaves Wales for Liverpool where she learns about her Haitian mother. Barbara Pym, Jane and Prudence: Jane, the vicar's wife, prefers matchmaking to homemaking when Prudence comes to visit. Some Tame Gazelle: With pathos and humor, it explores the quiet lives of middle aged Belinda and her sister Harriet. Henry Roth, Call it Sleep: David sees the ugliness of immigrant life and the angst of his eastern European parents. Emily St. John Mandel Station Eleven The Traveling Symphony dedicates themselves to keeping art and humanity alive as they move between the settlements of the altered futuristic world. Isaac Bashevis Singer, Enemies: A Love Story: It tells of the effects of the Holocaust on a survivor who settles in Brooklyn. Jason Wallace Out of Shadows Robert moves with his family to Zimbabwe in the 1980s after the war is over and a new era is beginning. However, he is confronted with racism and violence at the elite boarding school in which he is enrolled. Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited: Captain Ryder nostalgically remembers his seduction by the aristocratic Marchmains. Fay Weldon, Letters to Alice: On First Reading Jane Austin: Using Austin as a guide, the author advises her niece. Edith Wharton, Age of Innocence: In Old New York scandal is worse than disease. Marianne Wiggins, John Dollar: Stranded on a desert island, two adults and eight students deal with issues of survival. Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse: Using stream of consciousness, Woolf deals with our relationship to the small issues of life.

Drama Fania Fenelon, Playing for Time: Women survive the concentration camps by playing for time on their musical instruments. Athol Fugard, Master Harold and the Boys: Love can overcome cultural differences. Brian Friel, Translations: A clash of cultures makes Yolland and Marie similar to Romeo and Juliet. Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer: In this comedy written in 1773, women use their intelligence to get their way. Sean O’Casey, Juno and the Paycock: The Boyles illuminate the follies, evils, and strength of Ireland in a time of turmoil. Richard Sheridan, The School for Scandal: Containing elements of Restoration comedy, the play explores scandal and love. J. M. Synge, The Playboy of the Western World: Ireland’s great playwright captures the essence of the Irish spirit.

Non-Fiction Peter Ackroyd, London: A Biography: A journey inside the city, charting its voyage through the centuries and drawing portraits of those Londoners who have made the city the marvel it is Brendan Behan, Confessions of an Irish Rebel: An autobiography David Bodanis, E=MC: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation Stephen Bryer et al., Pinstripes and Pearls: The Women of the Harvard Law School Class of ’64 Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R.Tolkien: The authorized biography of the creator of Middle-Earth Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World. Widely considered the best and most interesting biography of William Shakespeare. Christopher Hibbert, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici: Story of Lorenzo il Magnifico of Florence Nick Hornby Fever Pitch The story of a series of football matches (soccer games) played from 1968 to 1991 by a first-division English team, Arsenal. Elspeth Huxley, The Flame Trees of Thika: Moving to Kenya, the author’s family starts a coffee plantation. Roy Jenkins, Churchill: A Biography: The story of the man who most famously said, “Never, never, never, never give up.” Carol Ann Lee, The Hidden Life of Otto Frank: The biography of the father of a most famous girl Julius Meier-Graefe, Vincent Van Gogh: A Biography: An unusually vivid and moving portrait of the artist Nancy Mitford, Frederick the Great: The story of the Austrian emperor The Sun King: The story of Louis XIV, his court, and the power struggles that ensued Anthony Simpson, Mandela: The Authorized Biography: Mandela’s emerging from twenty-six years of political imprisonment to lead South Africa out of apartheid and into democracy N. Wilson, Tolstoy: A Biography: The life story of the Russian novelist