Maxine Rose Schur's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Whether you’re a writer or just curious to understand what makes a short story great, this is the book for you.

Saunders deftly illuminates what makes powerful writing by deconstructing short stories by four masters of Russian literature: Tolstoy, Turgenev, Gogol, and Chekhov. Each story is read in its entirety by a different, excellent narrator, and then Saunders guides you in exploring why the author chose his choices in tone, setting, dialogue, tempo, and, of course, metaphor and plot.

His careful analysis is astute, and his style is conversational. With his guidance, you gradually understand the genius of each writer and learn by example what thoughtful, artistic storytelling looks like. Swimming in the Pond in the Rain is a book that helps you discover and appreciate writing genius. It’s a book to be savored, studied, shared, and, of course, read again.

The Icelandic author Halldor Laxness, won the Nobel prize for literature in 1955, yet few people have heard of him. A shame! I recently discovered this extraordinary writer by listening to the audiobook of his most famous work, the novel  Independent People.

Written in 1935, it is a dramatic narrative telling of a poor Icelandic family beset by poverty and superstition. The protagonist, Bjartur of Summerhouses, is a stubborn, harsh man whose struggle to remain independent—to own his own land and sustain his livelihood completely by himself—is the backbone of this strange, beautiful saga that poignantly portrays a flawed man whom Laxness ultimately shows as heroic.

The novel is enriched by tales of Icelandic saga, history, and poetry, all woven seamlessly into this absorbing narrative. Laxness touches on themes of unfair landowners, pacifism, superstitious peasantry, and the constant struggle to survive in the bleak landscape of rural Iceland. The genius of Laxness lies in how he unites these harsh themes into a poetic, epic tale with a flawed but sympathetic protagonist.

I highly recommend listening to the marvelous audiobook of this great novel. The narration is gripping.

I majored in dramatic arts in college and later became a professional actress. Though I haven’t acted in years, I wanted to read this book because I’m a huge fan of the book’s author, the late Antony Sher.

Antony Sher was one of the great English actors. As a teenager, Antony left his home in South Africa to try his luck as an actor in England. Though he failed to be accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he gradually learned the art of being an actor, became a leading player with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and was given a knighthood.

Success didn’t come easily or quickly. Sher struggled with being an outsider: a South African, a Jew, and a gay man in England. Most of all, he struggled with self-doubt that plagued him his entire life. The book recounts in great part his detailed crafting of his first great role, the deformed and evil King Richard III in Shakespeare’s play.

A talented artist, Sher drew images of how he envisioned this king to look, taking as his reference, a spider. His idea to use crutches on stage was a brilliant idea that allowed him to appear both pathetic and wildly menacing as he flew across the stage with a spider’s speed. It was an idea that won him great critical reception and launched him on a lifelong path of tremendous success and to become the favorite actor of King Charles.

Sher’s memoir is written with terrific honesty, and he embellishes his narrative with his own marvelous drawings.

The book will be enjoyed by anyone who loves the theatre and wants to gain insight into how an actor prepares for a role. Yet it is much more than that. It’s an absorbing and frank memoir of the psychological struggle of a young man to attain his dream of becoming an actor. Couldn’t put it down!