Irish writer Emma Donoghue, who now calls London, Ont., home, was crafting herself a fine career punctuated by numerous novels of note when along came Room, published in 2010, and everything changed.
The suspenseful and groundbreaking work was shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize and won numerous other awards. But more importantly, it was optioned as a film that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and starred Brie Larsen as the main character, Joy, earning her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Let’s just say, people have been clamouring for a follow-up. And now it’s here. Donoghue’s new novel, Wonder, was just released on Sept. 20, and it’s already made the long list for the 2016 Giller Prize. Donoghue is in Toronto this month for the International Festival of Authors and was kind enough to supply us with a list of five books that inspired her the most.
Infinite Jest, 1996 by American writer David Foster Wallace
The late, great David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. I won’t pretend it’s easy (and it took me a month, skipping the hardest bits), but this is the novel pushed to its furthest extreme, a brilliant, troubled, tangled, annotated fiction about life and art.
White Teeth, 2000 by British author Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith’s London-set debut, White Teeth, is a model of Dickensian omniscient narrator verve applied to a contemporary and brilliantly diverse cast.
Being Mortal, 2014 by American surgeon and writer Atul Gawande
Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal is a study of end-of-life issues that’s burningly relevant to everyone who’s going to age or die any time soon and anyone related to them.
The Stone Diaries, 1993 by Canadian novelist Carol Shields
Carol Shields’ The Stone Diaries somehow pulls off the magic trick of making a novel about one not particularly special woman’s life crucial and heartbreaking.
The Bible, King James Version
The Bible, whether you find it riveting or a yawn; see it as a motley palimpsest or true in every word; is our culture’s DNA and everyone should read it.
