Like anything else, tastes in books change over the years. I've read any number that I've enjoyed, and in some instances that I've gone back to read again. Some make my list of personal favourites for a time, only to lose their appeal on a later reading. But there are always a key few titles that stay with you. Here, in no particular order, are five that made a lasting impression.
Fiesta/The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway.
I recently re-read this and was pleased to find it just as compelling as when I first came across it. That was when I was taking a degree in English and American Literature, and Hemingway's clean prose seemed like a breath of fresh air after the - for me - more stuffy, 'literary' texts. Some of the attitudes espoused by characters in the book might be frowned upon now, but the story of ex-patriate Americans being disollute and moody in 1920s Paris and Pamplona is as moving as ever.
The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
This should have been Chandler's last novel. It isn't - he followed this with the far weaker (in my opinion) 'Playback. But The Long Goodbye is certainly the culmination of his development of Philip Marlowe, who in this moves from the brash young private eye of the early novels to an older, more world-weary and lonely individual. The usual array of tough guys, crooks and deadly blondes are still present, but this rings with a poignancy and sadness that sets the bar for the entire genre.
A Taste for Death, Peter O'Donnell
I was introduced to the Modesty Blaise series of novels by my father when I was in my teens, and I've since lost count of the number of times I've re-read them. Often dismissed as a comic strip characters, Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin deserve to be recognised as one of the best partnerships in crime fiction. Modesty was the forerunner of all the sexy-but-tough-as-nails heroines who followed, from Emma Peel in The Avengers to The Bride in Kill Bill. The entire series is terrific, edge of your seat entertainment, but with its never-bettered final showdown A Taste for Death remains my favourite.
The Lord of the Rings, J R R Tolkien
In the post-Peter Jackson age the godfather of fantasy novels has become something of a cliche. But when I first read this trilogy I'd not even heard of hobbits. Fantasy isn't for everyone, and neither is LOTR, but this remains a superb piece of storytelling - frightening, tense and totally enthralling. There's one scene in particular (I won't spoil the surprise although I'm sure most people are familiar with it by now) where one of the main characters is apparently killed. It's completely unexpected and utterly shocking, and was my first introduction to how effectively writers can manipulate expectations and emotions. Although I don't write fantasy, that was a valuable lesson.
The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham
Again, another novel that I read when I was young that has stayed with me. The apocalyptic story of a world where an accidentally blinded population is preyed upon by genetically engineered plants is wonderfully atmospheric. Wyndham's controlled narrative style makes what might seem like a lurid B-movie plot seem chillingly plausible, and the opening scene where the central character, Bill Mason, wakes in an eerily silent hospital is a masterclass in sustained tension.
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