Napoleon Fantastic’s top 5 novels / September 21 2006
Of course I couldn’t help rising to the challenge…
My all time, no.1 favourite work of literary fiction is The House At Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne. Why? Well I don’t have to describe the book as it’s so well known and universally loved, but to explain my choice, I will say this: never have I come across a more beautiful and useful work of art. Useful because reading it will lift my mood if I am down or enhance my mood if I am feeling up. We all know in our little group of the dubious benefits of chemical enhancement, but when you are Pooh-enhanced, there is no better stimulation for your spirit. Beautiful because the book is full of the innocent and elegant joys of simply being alive, the greatness and perfection of love and of being loved, and full of the childlike excitement and wonder of discovery - various fundamental elements that us bitter and cynical musician types can sometimes misplace.
I love it too for E.H. Shepard’s effortless and charming illustrations which are always as funny and as accurate as the text. (He actually went to see all of Christopher Robin’s nursery toys before he began drawing his unforgettable pictures.) And as well as being truly uplifting, The House At Pooh Corner is just that: very, very funny. A.A. Milne’s world is beyond doubt an enchanted place.
Here are my other 4:
The Catcher In The Rye – J.D. Salinger
The Long Goodbye – Raymond Chandler
Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson (can we include travel books?)
On The Road – Jack Kerouac
Will that do?
Now must dash! Gon Out Backson. Bisy Backson.
Filed under Favourite novel / Napoleon Fantastic's Big Mouth / Uncategorized
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