One of the jobs I had written on my long list of things to do during the lockdown was to sort through my bookshelves and try to put my books in some kind of alphabetical order. Nearly a month later I still haven’t ticked that job off my list, mainly because it takes me forever to get down to the task seriously as I can’t stop browsing (I always think that I would be the worst bookshop employee as I would constantly have my head in a book!). I can actually say that all of the books on my bookshelf bring me special memories, I could even tell you where I was when I read them. One of my tentative plans is to re-read quite a few of my novels over the next few weeks (another job to tick off on the lockdown list!).
So, during my book-sorting quest the other day, I came across four books that got me thinking about our current confinement and how they could possibly give some hope to the reader by putting things into some kind of perspective:
The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure
Set in Nazi-occupied Paris during the second world war, Lucien, an architect by profession, is offered a substantial amount of money by a rich businessman to design secret hiding places in apartments owned by Jews. At first Lucien is reluctant and worries about risking his life, but he then sets about designing the most intricate hiding places in the smallest of spaces.
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
In 1922 Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to house arrest by a Bolshevik tribunal. He is confined to the Metropol Hotel near the Kremlin in Moscow where he is banished to live in a small attic room. The Count’s wit, strength, sensitivity and resourcefulness help him pass the rest of his life within the confines of the hotel.
Room by Emma Donoghue
This novel is told from the perspective of a five-year old boy, Jack, who is held captive in a room with his mother for seven years. The room is his whole world and he has never known life outside it. This is a dark and moving story of the mother-child bond and resilience against adversity.
Some Other Rainbow by John McCarthy and Jill Morrell.
This memoir tells the true story of journalist John McCarthy who was kidnapped in Beirut in 1986. He was held hostage in a squalid cell for five years often tortured and hungry. During this time his girlfriend Jill Morrell campaigned tirelessly for his release and never failed to give up hope.
