Favourite Books of the Last Five Years

Before I created this blog, almost three years ago, I started rating the books that I read on a spreadsheet in 2014. I’m not sure why I decided to do it, but it was also around that time that I started watching videos about books on YouTube. Today I want to share with you my favourite books since then, which means of the last five years.

I haven’t selected a book per year. The books below are, instead, my favourites from the whole period in no particular order.

 

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

King Robert Baratheon sits on the Iron Throne and invites Lord Eddard Stark to be his Hand. But the fragile peace is in peril. Not only are the Lords of Westeros playing dangerous power games, but the exiled Targaryens also want to retake their father’s throne. The first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series is written from various points of view and is full of political machinations. The plot is enthralling and the characters are complex and multifaceted.

 

The Dumb House by John Burnside

The main character in The Dumb House, Luke, is obsessed with the subject of life and death, the existence of a soul, and questions whether language is learnt or innate. This leads him to perform a twisted experiment on his own children, which the reader knows about from the outset. This is a dark story told through a beautifully crafted prose.

 

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Set in 1686, The Miniaturist is both captivating and touching. It has as main character Petronella Oortman. Her recent husband, Johannes Brandt, offers her a cabinet-sized replica of their home as a wedding present. Although she is displeased with the gift at first, she ends up commissioning a miniaturist to furnish it. At the same time, she tries to uncover the secrets of the family she has just joined.

 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca was the first book that I read by Daphne du Maurier and remains my favourite. In fact, it is one of the most enthralling books I’ve ever read. The characters are complex, and the prose is atmospheric. The narrator is an unnamed woman who married Maxim de Winter after meeting him in Monte Carlo. When they moved to his family home, Manderley, the shadow of his deceased first wife, Rebecca, became even more present. She appeared to have been perfect at everything. Thus, the narrator was overwhelmed by her insecurities.

 

The Muse by Jessie Burton

A mysterious painting connects two time periods in The Muse. In 1967, Odelle Bastien is offered a job as a typist at the Skelton Gallery. In 1936, Olive Schloss arrives at a house in rural Spain and gathers courage to tell her parents that she has been accepted to do a Fine Arts degree. But this isn’t only a book about art. It also focuses on the unequal treatment of women and racism.

 

Have you read any of these books? Which are your favourites of the last five years? Tell me in the comments!