Desert Island Books
We are hard task-masters and will restrict our aspiring
Robinson Crusoes to just five books from all they could have chosen in the
world. This is a harsh test, as anyone in the literary profession will tell
you. For the sake of fairness, we have provided each of our ‘castaways’ with a virtual copy of the SAS Survival Handbook, in
addition to their own selection, so they won’t need to worry about food, warmth
or shelter. All they’ll lack is something to while away the hours while they
wait for rescue…
Our first castaways are members of the Dunedin Public Libraries’ Senior Management Team - the people who keep our library ship afloat and heading in the right direction*.
Here are the 5 books they have each chosen to keep them company…once they have built their hammocks out of palm leaves, of course.
*let’s just pretend for the sake of this exercise that they have somehow got uncharacteristically lost and ended up on our fictitious desert island!
Bernie Hawke – Group Manager Arts and Culture
A Common Prayer. Michael Leunig
A warm, wise and inspiring collection of poems by one of Australia’s best contemporary poets, cartoonists and social commentators.
A spiritual classic that can be read, reread and understood on many levels. Might have time on the desert island to explore these more fully!
Death of a Naturalist. Poems by Seamus Heaney
The first, and in my view, one of the best collections of poetry by Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney. His words flow like silken honey and have a rare earthy quality.
Collected Poems of James K Baxter
A wonderful discovery when I first came to live in Dunedin and constant companion ever since.
Autobiography of a Yogi. Paramahansa Yogananda
I have read this remarkable biography at least three times and each time discover something new.
Mike Collett – Manager Customer Experience
I chose these books because each one of them is a masterpiece.
French Lieutenant’s Woman. John Fowles
English novelist, one of the greats. Probably his most well-known book. A historical novel written from a contemporary perspective. The film, while very different to the book, does do it justice.
The Great Gatsby. F Scott Fitzgerald
Great American novel. Possibly the greatest. Set in the 1920’s but the characters are timeless. 180 pages of sheer brilliance.
Dear Life. Alice Munroe
Nobel prize-winning Canadian author. The best short-story writer ever - well up there with Chekhov anyway.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream. Hunter S Thompson
Another great American novel, ranks with the Great Gatsby in capturing the spirit of its age and possessing one of the finest opening sentences of any novel.
Confederacy of Dunces. John Kennedy Toole
Picaresque Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, first published 10 years after Toole’s suicide. A mixture of comedy and tragicomedy. The best novel you have never heard of.
Linda Geddes – Manager Collections and Access
The Corfu Trilogy. Gerald Durrell
The Durrells became like my family, I was completely transfixed by their carefree and somewhat alternative lifestyle, and the animals, and I yearned to live on Corfu. The film was equally enchanting.
The Beach. Alex Garland.
Mankind’s search for Nirvana, it never measures up because human failings get in the way. A cautionary tale.
Wuthering Heights. Emily Bronte
Wild and tempestuous, the dark handsome hero we all fall for!
Sons and Lovers. D H Lawrence
Mothers and sons, sexual emotions not usually explored. This was fairly edgy stuff when I read it fifty years ago and I’m sure it would be worth another perusal in a desert setting reflecting on the array of human relationships it exposes.
Animal Farm. George Orwell
An intriguing book which sees the innocence of the animal kingdom corrupted by the same sins that man struggles with. Can be read on many levels and very thought-provoking.
Editor's Note: we bid a final farewell to Mike Collett this issue, and wish him every happiness on his retirement. Perhaps a desert island lies truly on his horizon now...