2008 books

73) Paul Auster, Timbuktu, 1999
Mr. Bones is the canine companion of homeless Willy G. Christmas, the rather unhinged son of some Polish immigrants to New York and someone whose dreams exist far beyond the reach of his abilities. Timbuktu is a small marvel of empathetic writing: Auster puts the reader right inside Mr. Bones head and, anthropomorphism notwithstanding, you see the world through his senses, filtered through his panicky and slightly desperate nature as well as his unswerving devotion to the humans who show him love when he needs it. John Berger later did a similar thing with King (viewing homelessness through the eyes of a dog) and although this may not be a typical Auster novel it's still a rewarding distraction.

2008 books

74) Nuruddin Farah, From a Crooked Rib, 1970
Post-colonial Africa saw many political commentators and writers urging a return to traditional African values that were suppressed by European colonialism, but the Somalian emigré Farah was not one of them: instead in his debut novel he set out to expose the mysoginy and hypocrisy of the Somalian cultural attitudes towards women: they are nothing more than property, and do we really want a return to this? Beneath the simplicity of the story this is a spare and angry book, convincingly told from the viewpoint of a young and powerless Somali nomad, married off to an old man and desperate to escape her life of poverty, oppression and servitude in a patriarchal culture. The book says plenty about the everyday frustrations of Somali women but Farah doesn't always put his points across well: too many passages seem unnecessarily lengthened and he exhibits a tendency towards repetition. Still, quietly memorable despite its weaknesses.