War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
It wouldn't be far off the mark to say that War Peace was both my book of the year and one of my greatest achievements of the year. I adored it and I know there's a re-read somewhere in my future. Bring on the BBC adaptation in January!
The Shore by Sara Taylor
This collection of interlinked short stories had me gripped from start to finish. It's not often I'll turn to short stories, but here it felt more like a cross-generational novel and I loved it.
Wilfred and Eileen by Jonathan Smith
From the top of my head I think this was one of my only Persephone reads this year. I found this based on truth story of a relationship very moving.
The Blue Room by Georges Simenon
This year I discovered a number of wonderful authors, but Simenon has probably been my favourite. I read The Blue Room on the way to Brussels (I still try to match my reading with my travelling) and now I can't wait to get stuck in to his Maigret novels.
Noonday by Pat Barker
Barker is up there with my favourite and go-to authors, so I was really looking forward to the release of this novel in the summer - it didn't disappoint. It's the third in the trilogy that began with Life Class and I found it a really excellent conclusion. It dealt with the blitz, but also explored relationships and the impact of war on relationships. There are some images that will stay with my for a long time.
The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson
The Winter's Tale is possibly my favourite Shakespeare play of all time which meant it was inevitable that I'd buy Winterson's re-write as soon as it was released. I read it in a couple of sittings and almost started from the beginning again as soon as it ended.
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
I read this almost a year ago now way back in January and I can still remember how it made me feel - I think broken is the perfect way to describe it. Powers's history as a poet shines through the lyricism of his prose, but it is the characters that I can't seem to shake.
The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins
For me a best of list would never be complete without a Wilkie. This is one of his shorter novels, but by no means less brilliant. Valeria Woodville is perhaps the best female character I read this year.
Girl at War by Sara Novic
I read this Zagreb/US-set novel whilst in Zagreb which transformed both my reading and travel experience. I'm very interested to see what Novic writes next.
The Enchanted by Rene Delfeld
Powerful, moving, exceptionally written.
Have you read any of these? What made your best of 2015?
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