1. One hundred years of solitude – Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude was published in 1967 and has since touched millions of people around the world. The reader follows the Buendía family and its members over a hundred years in the fictional Colombian village of Macondo. One Hundred Years of Solitude is a work of exquisite storytelling and proof of how moving literature can be.
2nd married – Tove Ditlevsen
Reading Tove Ditlevsen’s autobiographical work Poison is a bit like watching a traffic accident. First you ask yourself if it is actually happening, then you become so engrossed that the world around you disappears. The raw and razor-sharp depiction of abuse in occupied Denmark makes Ditlevsen’s life stay with you long after you have read the last page of the book.
3. Jerusalem – Selma Lagerlöf
Jerusalem is a novel about people’s motivations and how we react when faced with difficult choices. The story takes place in Dalarna at the end of the 19th century where a wave of revival divides a parish into two camps; those who stay behind, and those who go to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is based on real events and is an excellent choice for those who want to read one of Sweden’s all-time leading authors.
4. A little life – Hanya Yanagihara
A Little Life is as grand as it is terrible, leaving only the hardest of hearts untouched. The story revolves around the four friends Jude, Malcolm, Willem and JB and their lives in New York over several decades. Almost imperceptibly, the perspective shifts from being about all four of them to focusing on Jude, whose secrets they all have to deal with. This is a book about friendship, abuse and the eternal question; can love conquer all?
5. On the road – Jack Kerouac
What would your life be like if you really lived it to the full? On the Road chronicles Jack Kerouac’s travels with his friend Neal Cassidy through the United States and Mexico in the 1950s, in search of freedom and utter ecstasy. This is a book for those who believe that life is meant to be lived and the world is meant to be discovered. Today, the novel is a modern classic and an excellent contemporary document of post-war America.
6. The book thief – Markus Zusak
In the historical novel The Book Thief, Death tells the story of a girl named Liesel and her childhood during the Second World War. The Book Thief is a book about books, friendship and courage in a terrible existence. With an accurate and poetic language, Marcus Zusak manages to portray all the light and darkness that mankind holds. The novel is suitable for both younger and older readers.
7. I give you the sun – Jandy Nelson
Jude and Noah are twins and best friends, but they couldn’t be more different. Jude is the wild and free surfer girl, while the gentle Noah prefers to explore the world through his sketchbook. One day, a tragedy occurs that changes everything. I Give You the Sun may be a young adult novel, but it is recommended to anyone who wants to step into a universe so colorful it will take your breath away. This book is a masterpiece.
8. The serious game – Hjalmar Söderberg
Although The Serious Game is set in Stockholm at the beginning of the 20th century, this novel never seems to become outdated. Do you really choose your fate, your lover or your husband? Hjalmar Söderberg’s vivid descriptions and straightforward language make the love story of Lydia and Arvid a classic that is impossible to tire of.
9. Everything I’ve learned – Tara Westover
All I’ve Learned is Tara Westover’s astonishing autobiographical account of her Mormon upbringing in Idaho. Tara and her siblings grew up on a farm, cut off from the outside world and completely dependent on their father’s moodiness. All I Learned is a poignant account of violence, breaking free, and the pursuit of knowledge.
10. Heritage and environment – Vigdis Hjorth
In the novel Arv och miljö, Vigdis Hjort depicts a family conflict with such precision that the sentences seem to vibrate. When the father of a bourgeois family dies, only two of the four siblings inherit the summer cottages in Hvaler. The inheritance dispute brings up old wounds for the main character Bergljot, how will she get the other family members to accept her story?
