It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This time, we had to fill in the prompt: Books With *** on the Cover. I chose animals, thinking that it would be easier. It ended up being a bit more complicated than I thought, but I was able to gather a nice list.
I tried to include only books in which the animal had some relevance. Here they are:
1. Wild Sheep Chase, by Haruki Murakami
Murakami is a big name in the online literary world. In this book, the main character receives the weird mission of finding a sheep that has a black star on her back and is connected with some very dubious side characters. This was my first book by Murakami and at times I’ve found the surreal elements a bit too much, and ended up giving him a 4 stars. I still want to give his books another try though.
Country: Japan
2. The Tiger’s Wife, by Téa Obreht
You’ll see a lot about Téa Obreht here in this blog. The Tiger’s Wife was one of the three 5-star books I’ve read this year (so far). In this book, the main character remembers all the stories that her late grandfather told her over the years. In one of these stories, a tiger escapes the zoo during a war and ends up settling near a small village, where a girl develops a special relationship with the animal.
Country: Serbia
3. A Grandmother Begins the Story, by Michelle Porter
The buffalos on the cover have such a central role in this book that they have their own chapters and voice. Far from being weird, those are some of the best pages in the novel. Porter was able to really incorporate the animals’ essence and feelings, and I love how they are these gentle creatures still wild at heart.
Country: Canada
4. The Murmur of Bees, by Sofía Segovia
I really enjoyed this book by Sofía Segovia, although I didn’t like her other works. In this novel a baby is discovered covered in bees under a bridge, but without a single scratch. Over the years he grows up to be a quiet but sensitive boy, who can communicate with the bees and see things that are yet to happen. He ends up having a special place in the destiny of the family who adopts him.
Country: Mexico
5. Glory, by NoViolet Bulawayo
This book was inspired by The Animal Farm, by George Orwell. Just like the classic, in this novel the world of animals is in political turmoil. But instead of rebelling against humans, in the fictional country of Jidada, they have to deal with the Old Horse, an animal that has been in power for a very long time. This is a masterpiece and a metaphor for the last years of Robert Mugabe’s reign over Zimbabwe.
Country: Zimbabwe
6. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
Yann Martel is another author you’re going to be seeing more of in this blog. Life of Pi is his most famous work and I loved it. It tells the story of a boy who survived 227 days in a small boat on the Pacific Ocean. His only travel companion was a Bengal tiger, who other than posing a great danger, also served as motivation to keep Pi alive during his journey. The next of Martel’s books on my list also centers around animals, this time a donkey and a monkey.
Country: Canada
7. Other Birds, Sarah Addison Allen
This was the first book I’ve read in 2023 and it was a really nice feel-good novel. It tells the story of Zoey, a 20-year-old who moves to a place called Mallow Island, where she starts a life in the Dellawisp building, in an apartment left by her late mother. She brings with her Pidgeon, a bird that seems to be pushing her in a specific direction and conspiring with the other birds on the island. It was heartwarming getting to know the other residents of the island and see Zoey develop relationships with them as she creates a life for herself.
Country: United States
8. The Last Flight of the Flamingo, by Mia Couto
I’ve read Mia Couto before when I was younger and remember being mesmerized by his prose. Somehow this one didn’t hit me that well. It tells the story of strange occurrences in post-war Mozambique: UN soldiers just start spontaneously exploding all over the region. There are many fantastical elements in this tale – maybe a little too many in my opinion. But if you love that kind of surreal story (The Master and Margarita comes to mind) you’ll like this. The flamingos? They’re not a big part of the plot but certainly have their importance in the story.
Country: Mozambique
9. Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
Needless to introduce the last book of the Hunger Games series. I watched the movies first and then found all 3 books by chance in a church bazaar. The Mockingjays are birds modified to serve as spies for the capital, but when the country of Panem dives into chaos, they become the symbol of resistance that people need.
Country: United States
10. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
This is the only book on this list that I haven’t read yet. I read Clarke’s Piranesi and absolutely loved it, so needless to say you’re going to hear more about her around here. Mr. Norrel is one of her most famous works and tells the story of two magicians in the England’s early 19th century. Not sure of the role the crow (or raven?) plays in the book yet, but it sure is a symbol of some weird magic going on.
Country: United Kingdom
What about you? Can you think of a book you read that had an animal on the cover?
Check more book memes:
– 6 Degrees of Separation – From Ireland to Canada
– How My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Time – with charts (TTT)
– Books from September (Stacking the Shelves)
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