Books

My name‿ is‿ Alice. I read‿ about thirty^thir-dy books‿ a year,│ and‿ I have stopped‿ apologising for the fac(t) that most‿ of them‿ are fiction. Novels do something that non-fiction rarely manages,│ an(d) that‿ is to let you^letcha occupy somebody else's min(d) for‿ a week.

What‿ I look for‿ is‿ a narrative voice rather than‿ a plot. A book can survive‿ a weak plot│ if the voice‿ is convincing,│ an(d) no amount‿ of‿ action can save‿ a book that‿ is badly written. Las(t) year‿ I abandoned four novels‿ in the first fifty^fif-dy pages,│ which would have horrified my mother,│ who feels‿ obliged to finish‿ anything she starts. I have‿ also learned to distrus(t) recommendations that come with the word‿ unputdownable,│ because‿ it usually means the opposite.

I read‿ in translation‿ as much‿ as‿ in‿ English,│ and‿ I have come to think the translator's work‿ is‿ underrated. When‿ a book feels flat,│ it may be the translation rather than the original. My husban(d) reads‿ only non-fiction‿ an(d) says‿ a novel‿ is‿ a pleasan(t) lie. If he is right,│ then‿ a lie that teaches you to feel what somebody else feels‿ is worth‿ acquiring,│ and‿ it‿ is cheaper than therapy.