Taha Kehar's 3 favorite reads in 2025

• 2024
• 2025

Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Meek One (also published as A Gentle Spirit) is a slim yet deeply introspective work that explores the troubled marriage between a pawnbroker and his young wife. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century Russia, the narrative retains a haunting resonance for modern readers as it conveys the quiet turbulence that assails marital relationships. Filtered through the voice of a self-absorbed narrator, The Meek One is far from an optimistic tale. Through its bleak conclusion, Dostoevsky reveals how love can become the site for spiritual, emotional and psychological violence.

The crowning glory of Voices in the Evening lies in how deftly Natalia Ginzburg employs the first-person voice as a vessel for collective experience, rather than individual confession. When she recounts the intimate details of others' lives, Elsa—Ginzburg's seemingly all-knowing narrator—initially comes across as a prurient busybody. Yet, as the story drifts towards her own misfortunes, discerning readers might feel a flicker of sympathy for her, since she is little more than a cipher—an absence within the story of her own heartbreak.

Annie Ernaux's The Young Man defies the cultural taboos surrounding age and intimacy. It stands as a breathtaking reminder that love is, above all, a personal journey of self-discovery—one that possesses the ability to transform us in unexpected ways.