When I look back on my reading in 2022, it strikes me – a little to my surprise – that there aren’t that many books that I absolutely loved. There was plenty of stuff that was engaging, readable, admirable even; but not a huge amount of material that I would thrust into a friend’s hand and say (nicely), “Read it!” Anyhow, here are my hits, misses, and in-betweens of the year. (And, as ever, the year of publication has limited impact on the year that I actually read it – I’m happy to admit that I’m a couple of years behind the times.)
Hits
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
There’s probably not much left to be said about this history of the Sackler family – including Valium, Librium, OxyContin etc. – that hasn’t already been said. But it’s worth opening the book, choosing a single page at random, and then assessing that page in terms of just how much research (and legal input) was required just to get that one page written and published. (And then multiply that by 450 pages.)
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Quirky and original, a novel that entwines the story of the first Oxford English Dictionary with that of the Suffragettes and the First World War (and that’s also the order in which I enjoyed these topics the most, too). Slightly slower-paced than some would like, perhaps, but a love of words shines through and it’s entirely unlike anything else I read last year.
In-betweens
The Dead Line by Holly Watt
There’s nothing essentially wrong with this, but it was a bit of a letdown after Holly Watt’s first book, To The Lions. The setup is excellent – a plea for help from Bangladesh, found hidden in clothes made for the British high street – but the pace doesn’t quite match that of the author’s debut. And there’s an interminable chase through a derelict ship that seems like it goes on for chapter after chapter (although checking back it’s only 30 pages or so).
Girl A by Abigail Dean
Again, this is a perfectly decent; in fact it’s mostly very well done, offering an insightful glimpse into the lives of a group of siblings who escape their abusive home. But the twist, dear me…I obviously won’t give anything away here, but if you didn’t see it coming (and you will have), then you will have seen it a dozen times before.
Misses
The Power of Geography by Tim Marshall
Tim Marshall’s previous book, Prisoners Of Geography, was a deserved bestseller, looking at how the quirks of physical geography – Russia’s lack of access to a warm-water port, for example – had played their part in shaping the political landscape. This follows a similar format (ten maps, ten chapters) but, crucially, it forgets to add a hook. There are no ‘prisoners’ of geography here; just potted histories of ten countries or areas. Nothing wrong with that in itself, but it’s not a patch on the previous book, and has ‘rushed follow-up’ written all over it.
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
Sometimes a thriller comes out of nowhere, and fully justifies the hype surrounding it – Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train, say. This one had all the hype, but is just a bit … meh. The set-up is unconvincing, the characters unengaging, and I’d pretty much forgotten it a day or two after finishing it. (It has ratings of 3.4 on Goodreads and 3.8 on Amazon, which are definitely on the low side for such a successful book.)
