Douglas Stuart-My Favourite BooksLike this list

7 items

• Edinburgh

  Chee, Alexander

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  I am drawn to unapologetic books and this is a masterpiece amongst them. Set in Maine, Aphias Zee, known as “Fee” to his friends, is one of a group of boys who are abused by their choir leader. This is a powerful coming of age story. We watch young…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Jude the Obscure

  Hardy, Thomas, 1840-1928

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  Hardy was roughly criticized for this, his final novel; who would want to read about a poor man of thwarted potential who was mired in poverty and marital sin? This is the book that turned me onto the joy of reading and re-reading it every so often…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Kestrel for a Knave

  Hines, Barry, 1939-

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  They teach this classic in British schools. This is the book that made me want to become a writer. It is the story of Billy Casper, a victimized working-class boy who trains a kestrel hawk to lure, and in nurturing the bird he momentarily transcends…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Giovanni's Room

  Baldwin, James, 1924-1987,

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  Enough has been said about this book by better writers than I. This is Baldwin’s heart-breaking tale of love, and the failure of that love, set in 1950’s Paris. It is such a timeless classic that it demands to be re-read again and again. Lingering…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Swimming-pool Library

  Hollinghurst, Alan

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  This book is set during the same period as Shuggie Bain. It focuses - like much of Hollinghurst’s work - on the ‘Oxbridge’ set, of upper-class highly educated Londoners and as such offers a really interesting counterpoint to my own work. Despite the…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Story of the Night

  Tóibín, Colm, 1955-

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  I think this is one of Tóibín’s most beautiful books – and set outside Ireland – one of his most unusual. Written in what feels like three parts, it is a poignant, evocative love story set in Argentina during the nineteen eighties. It is a time of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Lost Language of Cranes

  Leavitt, David, 1961-

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  This is an unassuming book about self-acceptance and the secrets we keep from the ones who should be closest to us. Set in 1980’s New York, Philip is navigating the frustrations of his love life and trying to find the courage to come out to his…Read moreRead more of this annotation