2022 was a particularly varied year in reading for me. It ranged from sci-fi to crime to Victorian Gothic, taking in romance, poetry, historical fiction, short stories, and fantasy along the way. I read 80 books in total, surpassing my goal of 75, including 29 authors I’d never read before. There were many books I wanted to include on my top 10 that didn’t make the cut, so here are my honourable mentions: City of Saints and Madmen, The Neverending Story, Children of Dune, The Silence of the Lambs, Sisyphean, Under the Pendulum Sun, Echopraxia, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, The Emperor’s Babe, and Treacle Walker. All of these are as deserving of the top slots as the ones I chose, and only lost out by fine delineation. Without further ado, here – in reverse order – are my top 10 books of 2022 (with my previous reviews linked):
10. The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Tremblay
It’s rare to read a horror that could be described as ‘beautiful’, but that’s the case with Paul Tremblay’s magnificent The Cabin at the End of the World. The claustrophobic setting and the apocalyptic overtones create a palpable tension that carries the story forward. Tremblay does a great job of not only getting you to like and root for the protagonists, but humanising the invaders, making it all the more chilling when they commit their inhuman acts. It shows the quality of the books I read this year that this is only at number 10.
9. Always Coming Home, by Ursula le Guin
The most unique book I read this year. Ursula le Guin’s account of the Kesh people, who ‘might be going to have lived’ in a future California, is rich with detail, making you feel as though you had lived with them all your life. It’s a utopian vision of a post-capitalist society, showing how a community can live without the forces of hierarchy and competition. I particularly loved this book because it gave me hope.
8. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee
The Nobel Prize winner’s exposé of post-apartheid South Africa is a bleak but truthful look at a life falling apart. While it explores politics, race, gender, and social change, at its heart is a relationship, that between David Lurie, an academic fired from his position after a sex scandal, and his daughter Lucy, who chooses a rural life to the incomprehension of her father. The complex dynamic between them shifts as their lives are rocked by an act of violence. Brilliant and devastating.
7. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers
A quiet book documenting the lives of a number of people in a small American town, but one that hits you like a tidal wave. I won’t say too much about it, because it’s better to go in knowing as little as possible, but I thought it was extraordinary.
6. The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
So far my favourite book of Ishiguro’s. It has so much to say about English attitudes and beliefs, evolving from a comedy of manners into a grand yet understated portrayal of regret. It's impeccably written, the voice of an English butler expertly invoked. The slow, sad decline of a man and a nation in parallel.
5. Normal People, by Sally Rooney
I wasn’t sure what I’d make of Rooney’s mega-hit, but it’s safe to say it lived up to the hype. The relationship between Connell and Marianne is totally convincing, existing somewhere between friendship and romance, and never quite resolving into either. Watching how it affects both of their lives is moving and believable. A real surprise for me – my favourite kind of read.
4. Wizard of the Crow, by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
This epic satire of authoritarianism was the first book I read in 2022, and for most of the year it held the #1 spot. Set in the fictional African nation of Aburĩria, it follows a young couple, Kamiti and Nyawira, as they masquerade as the titular Wizard and lead an underground resistance movement against the tyrannical Ruler. It’s a mix between the comic, the tragic, and the magical as the two of them quickly get out of their depth. Goes to show how all great comedy has a seriousness at its core.
3. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
My goal for 2023 is to (finally) read The Lord of the Rings, so I read the prequel in preparation. I knew the story very well, having seen both the films and the stage play, but it was still one of the most enjoyable reads of the year. Tolkien is the best for pure escapist fantasy, and the level of detail with which he constructs Middle Earth is awe-inspiring. It’s not a Christmas book, but December is the perfect time to get in touch with your inner child, and this fit the bill to a tee.
2. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
The first time I read this it went way over my head, so I was determined at some point to try again. Fortunately, since then I’ve improved as a reader, and this time I loved it. The book that revolutionised sci-fi and launched a whole subgenre (cyberpunk) is a whirlwind, noir-infused treat, launching you into a seedy underworld of rogue hackers and sentient AIs. Stylish, classy, and original, it still feels futuristic nearly 40 years later, though the world is slowly catching up.
1. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
What a wonderful book. A retelling of the Iliad from the point of view of Patroclus, it fed my love of Greek mythology while being thrilling, absorbing, and moving at the same time. Madeline Miller’s beautiful, lyrical prose made the ancient world feel vividly present, and I was desperate for the romance between Patroclus and Achilles to work out, even as the events of the Trojan war unfolded with a doom-laden inevitability. An absolute masterpiece, and my favourite book of 2022.
By Charlie Alcock
It’s rare to read a horror that could be described as ‘beautiful’, but that’s the case with Paul Tremblay’s magnificent The Cabin at the End of the World. The claustrophobic setting and the apocalyptic overtones create a palpable tension that carries the story forward. Tremblay does a great job of not only getting you to like and root for the protagonists, but humanising the invaders, making it all the more chilling when they commit their inhuman acts. It shows the quality of the books I read this year that this is only at number 10.
9. Always Coming Home, by Ursula le Guin
The most unique book I read this year. Ursula le Guin’s account of the Kesh people, who ‘might be going to have lived’ in a future California, is rich with detail, making you feel as though you had lived with them all your life. It’s a utopian vision of a post-capitalist society, showing how a community can live without the forces of hierarchy and competition. I particularly loved this book because it gave me hope.
8. Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee
The Nobel Prize winner’s exposé of post-apartheid South Africa is a bleak but truthful look at a life falling apart. While it explores politics, race, gender, and social change, at its heart is a relationship, that between David Lurie, an academic fired from his position after a sex scandal, and his daughter Lucy, who chooses a rural life to the incomprehension of her father. The complex dynamic between them shifts as their lives are rocked by an act of violence. Brilliant and devastating.
7. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers
A quiet book documenting the lives of a number of people in a small American town, but one that hits you like a tidal wave. I won’t say too much about it, because it’s better to go in knowing as little as possible, but I thought it was extraordinary.
6. The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
So far my favourite book of Ishiguro’s. It has so much to say about English attitudes and beliefs, evolving from a comedy of manners into a grand yet understated portrayal of regret. It's impeccably written, the voice of an English butler expertly invoked. The slow, sad decline of a man and a nation in parallel.
5. Normal People, by Sally Rooney
I wasn’t sure what I’d make of Rooney’s mega-hit, but it’s safe to say it lived up to the hype. The relationship between Connell and Marianne is totally convincing, existing somewhere between friendship and romance, and never quite resolving into either. Watching how it affects both of their lives is moving and believable. A real surprise for me – my favourite kind of read.
4. Wizard of the Crow, by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
This epic satire of authoritarianism was the first book I read in 2022, and for most of the year it held the #1 spot. Set in the fictional African nation of Aburĩria, it follows a young couple, Kamiti and Nyawira, as they masquerade as the titular Wizard and lead an underground resistance movement against the tyrannical Ruler. It’s a mix between the comic, the tragic, and the magical as the two of them quickly get out of their depth. Goes to show how all great comedy has a seriousness at its core.
3. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
My goal for 2023 is to (finally) read The Lord of the Rings, so I read the prequel in preparation. I knew the story very well, having seen both the films and the stage play, but it was still one of the most enjoyable reads of the year. Tolkien is the best for pure escapist fantasy, and the level of detail with which he constructs Middle Earth is awe-inspiring. It’s not a Christmas book, but December is the perfect time to get in touch with your inner child, and this fit the bill to a tee.
2. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
The first time I read this it went way over my head, so I was determined at some point to try again. Fortunately, since then I’ve improved as a reader, and this time I loved it. The book that revolutionised sci-fi and launched a whole subgenre (cyberpunk) is a whirlwind, noir-infused treat, launching you into a seedy underworld of rogue hackers and sentient AIs. Stylish, classy, and original, it still feels futuristic nearly 40 years later, though the world is slowly catching up.
1. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller
What a wonderful book. A retelling of the Iliad from the point of view of Patroclus, it fed my love of Greek mythology while being thrilling, absorbing, and moving at the same time. Madeline Miller’s beautiful, lyrical prose made the ancient world feel vividly present, and I was desperate for the romance between Patroclus and Achilles to work out, even as the events of the Trojan war unfolded with a doom-laden inevitability. An absolute masterpiece, and my favourite book of 2022.
By Charlie Alcock
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