lou's library

Most of the books I have come across so far have been special in many ways, but standard in terms of their perspective. For example, as great a book series as Harry Potter is, it is told from Harry’s perspective. There is nothing extraordinary about that. It has been done a million times, and will be done many more. And while that is fine, there is something refreshing about a book that switches things up a little and surprises you with a point of view that is unusual. In case you are on the hunt for such books, today is your lucky day, because I have rounded up four recommendations for you. So, without further ado, here are some great books told from unusual perspectives.

Nutshell by Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan’s books draw me in time and time again, to the point where I now just buy them without knowing what they are about. The man has stealthily become one of my favourite authors over the last few years, without me properly clocking onto the fact until very recently, when I read Nutshell. It’s a very short novel of two hundred pages and tells the story of a woman who has an affair with her husband’s brother, whom they would very much like to get rid of, so decide to kill him. So far, so standard. However, the protagonist of the story is neither of the two, and also not the husband they’re trying to kill. Instead, the story is told from the unborn baby in the woman’s womb, the father of whom is said husband. The baby hears their mother scheme against their father from inside her, and is witness to the absolute mayhem that unfolds over the course of the novel. I found this such an intriguing premise, but also one that could potentially fall flat in the wrong hands. However, Ian McEwan is such a brilliant storyteller that he effortlessly pulls off this feat and makes the entire story not only believable, but turns it into a chilling tale of humanity and morality. Fun!

Educated by Tara Westover

Memoirs are a great way of walking in someone else’s shoes for a little while. In doing so, you learn about situations you have never been in, but which can nevertheless teach you a lot. The memoir that has done this most brilliantly in my opinion is Educated by Tara Westover. I read this years ago, but this book has stuck with me ever since, because the author’s life is so unfathomably different from mine and anyone I know. She grew up in rural Idaho, as one of seven children of a Mormon and survivalist family. She was not allowed to attend school, go to the doctor, or even have a birth certificate. Her parents were scared of government interference, so kept to themselves, and inshrined in their children strict religious beliefs.

At the point of writing the book, Tara is older, and a PhD student at a prestigious university. She does not shy away from writing about the sacrifices she has had to make to achieve this, and the difficult relationship with her family. I cannot even fathom what it is like to not have access to healthcare, or basic documents that allow you to do basic but essential tasks. It is a life so different from mine and those around me that I found the author’s frank but passionate account completely fascinating, but also sad and at times hard to believe (I do believe every word she writes, it just seems hard to fathom all of this could really have happened). It’s a highly educating and sobering read, and one I could not recommend highly enough.

I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons

A book about the Mona Lisa’s creation and history sounds intriguing to me. But the moment I knew I absolutely had to read I, Mona Lisa by Natasha Solomons was when I learned that it is told from the painting’s perspective. How cool is that? The Mona Lisa in the book has thoughts and feelings like any human, and is able to talk, although only to artistic geniuses, which admittedly limits the options a bit. She tells us all about how Leonardo da Vinci painted her, the special connection she had with him, and the things she had to endure in the centuries since (a robbery and two World Wars, among other things). Of course, there are slight limitations to one’s activity when one is a painting hanging on a wall, but the author, for the most part, finds thrifty solutions to those obstacles. And I simply have to admire her for thinking of such an unusual way of telling the story of the world’s most famous painting, and for pulling it off so elegantly. The amount of research that has gone into writing this book is immediately apparent to any reader, and I found it to be a very special book indeed.

The Silence Of The Girls by Pat Barker

Now, the story of the Iliad is one most people in the Western world are very familiar with. Even if you have never read the epos, you most likely have seen the movie Troy starring Brad Pitt, or you have learned about the tale in school. Paris and Helen fall in love, but Helen is married, which Paris does not care about, so he takes her home to Troy with him. Helen’s husband does not approve, the Trojan War follows. While we are all familiar with said story, it is always told from the perspective of the men: Paris, Hector, Achilles, Menelaus. It’s usually a brutal, tragic tale, and the women are relegated to the sidelines, despite Helen having been the trigger for all the shit that then went down. Well, Pat Barker has set out to right that wrong, and in The Silence Of The Girls makes Briseis the main character. A Trojan queen, she is captured at the start of the war and becomes one of Achilles’ slaves. She is often described as his favourite, and that is about as much as we learn about her in the original story. But in The Silence Of The Girls, the focus is on Briseis, on the effects the war has on her, and on her fellow women of Troy. I found it fascinating to see how this shift in perspective rendered a well known story brand new, and I felt a little ashamed to never have considered the fate of women like Briseis before. Pat Barker does not simply tell Briseis’ story, but she does so beautifully, without ever leaving out the horrible details, the brutal treatment, the pain these women had to suffer through. This book is essential reading, especially for those who think they know the story of the Iliad.

There you go, four very special books with perspectives that are unique and that will leave you thinking about these stories long after you have finished reading them. If you would like some more recommendations, I have a blog post about my all time favourite books, and one all about unusual love stories. Happy reading!