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A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

★★★★☆

Read: February 2026

I originally was interested in this novel because I learnt Russian for four years in my childhood, and I’d heard the slang used by our protagonist (dubbed by himself Your Humble Narrator, and by Burgess as Alex), notoriously requires a Russian dictionary to read. This choice, however confusing it might be for the reader, is just one of the very clever things Burgess does to build up his world. A Clockwork Orange is not a comfortable book to read – in fact, it actively makes you uncomfortable, disgusted, angry and nauseous and rarely anything positive. The society is established in the background, as Alex is far more interested in his own activities than anything going on around him, but the clues given to the readers about the nature of his country provide more than enough foreshadowing as to the inevitable events of the book. Alex’s detestable but strangely charismatic narration has a sense of naivety that allows readers to really consider the questions posed by the book – is he a product of his own cruel nature, or his society’s? And, if someone’s choice to be good is taken away from them, are they a good person or do they cease to be a person at all? This book is not without its faults – the ending surprised and disappointed me, in a way, because I felt it took away from Burgess’ messages, but these messages are established very clearly throughout the novel and make you consider them down to their utmost complexities. The choice of Alex as a narrator was excellent, and his role as a pawn for different regimes whilst believing himself to be the master of his own fate created a bitter irony, though simultaneously cathartic for the reader made to hear the vilest of his thoughts earlier on.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

★★★★★

Read: June 2025

Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go is a fantastic novel about growing older, growing more resigned, and loss – of childhood, friends, and identity. This book is even more impactful if you're in the stages of your life where you're becoming an adult, and experiencing many of the feelings that the protagonist, Kathy, struggles to come to terms with. Never Let Me Go is a Bildungsroman told in retrospect, and Ishiguro perfectly articulates the emotions of those childhood days you will never get back, the lost things that will never return to you, and the stupid boldness of youth. This is one of the novels I will look back on and remember exactly where I was finishing it, enraptured by every page, tears streaming.

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

★☆☆☆☆

Read: August 2025

I picked this up in an effort to read the classics of literature from other countries, expecting in all my naivety that classical famous literature would be good. This book rapidly and mercilessly corrected my assumptions. No Longer Human is a misogynistic bore of a novel. In all its flaws, I suppose I can say that the protagonist being a dislikeable and generally enervating person works towards the vague message that some people cannot fit into society no matter how hard they try, but if I could go back and tell my past self not to waste my time reading this, I would. I am honestly disappointed because I was hoping to like this - it's even a short novel, an easy read - but my only joy in turning each page was knowing I was one closer to the end. I will say that No Longer Human encapsulates the mindset of a very depressed individual, and the author committing suicide implies certain things about its writing. If you are looking for a book that captures the worst feelings one can feel, then this is it. But if you're looking for a book that actually means something, leaves you with new ideas, or even just tells an interesting story, you will want to skip this one.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

★★★★☆

Read: January 2026

Project Hail Mary is a really good time. I found myself actively unable to put it down for two days straight until I finished it. Weir hooks you in with his charming, nerdy protagonist and keeps you there with a compelling plot and surprising twists. At no point was I able to guess what would happen next. The only science that I'm confident in is biology, and from that viewpoint the sci-fi tangents seemed convincing, and despite the potential for boredom I found myself fascinated by every bit of information given. The characters are instantly unique, likeable, and well written. This was recommended to me by a friend (hey, if you see this, what are you doing here I am scared), and I'd definitely recommend it to another in turn! Unfortunately, the only part of this book that was entirely unconvincing was the cooperation of earth's governing bodies. If only we could get it together that well in the face of catastrophe. PHM isn't a literary masterpiece, nor was it meant to be, but it is a masterpiece of entertainment. It's simply so fun to read, and you'll catch yourself laughing aloud if you're not careful.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

★★★★☆

Read: February 2026

Achingly relatable and then suddenly terrifyingly so. One can’t help but be caught up in wondering how much of this book comes straight from Plath’s soul and how much is fiction, but either way it is an incredible telling of a human life under the strains and pressures of bad mental health. Esther’s commentary is witty until it’s bitter, and her life is admirable from the outside but from the first page the reader gets insight into how it truly works and is given a fascinating view into how things have changed or stayed the same from the 50s until now. Another novel that I feel is incredible (and probably a little dangerous) to read as a young person because it just has so much to connect to. The iconic fig tree metaphor was a highlight for me – I’d seen it before but hadn’t realised it came from this book, or really understood the context – and Plath just expertly captures the indecisive feeling of adolescence into adulthood. Equally, the descriptions of feeling inadequate in the face of everything were just so intensely well written I had to pause.