Autumn has traditionally been heralded as a season of change. The following books all deal with change in many forms, offering intense realisations with a backdrop of sunny nostalgia.
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
Cat’s Eye follows the life of Elaine Risley. Raised and homeschooled in the Canadian wilderness, young Elaine struggles to adapt to her new middle and high schools, where she meets a group of girls that both torment and inspire her. When as an adult working as a painter, Elaine visits Toronto, and is unable to escape reflections and speculations about the girls she knew in childhood, including herself. A deeply emotional read that is both unsettling and nostalgic, Cat’s Eye is a story about the change from freedom to conformity, from young to old, from summer to fall.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
A genius young girl lives in heavy disdain of her family, whose elite, judgmental, pseudo-intellectual lifestyles she cannot stand. An elderly concierge is a secret bibliophile, biting her tongue at the airy apartment residents that could never see beyond her title. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a story about hidden intelligence: both the intelligence we hide from others, and the beautiful perspectives of the world that others often unexpectedly bring to us. A brilliant story for those philosophising about school, routine, expectation, and the life that brims in opening a book for yourself.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Never Let Me Go is a story of endings – of childhood, of love, of hopes, and of fears. Never Let Me Go follows the adolescence of Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy as they grow up in an isolated countryside boarding school. Their evolving realisations are gently painted in familiar school settings, almost imperceptibly speeding up to culminate in forceful conclusions on life, love, and the soul. A book about art and the hearts that make it, Never Let Me Go is the perfect read for the pain that comes with a growing awareness of the world, and the love that comes with a growing awareness of yourself.
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