Anna George has worked as a lawyer and in film and TV. She studied professional writing and editing, and has written film scripts. Her debut novel, What Came Before (Viking), is a literary thriller about a couple facing the end of an abusive marriage.
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THE GRASS IS SINGING
Doris Lessing
I discovered The Grass Is Singing at high school when I was about 15 and it changed the way I read. I thought Lessing was so masterful, examining racial politics in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) through the prism of a white woman’s murder by her black manservant. When I saw this extra facet to the story, I thought I was on to something that others might have missed! I felt Lessing had shared a secret with me. Books became even more captivating.
DIRTY WEEKEND
Helen Zahavi
This slender, angry book had a big effect on me when I was in my early 20s. The female rage in it spoke to me. It was unlike anything I’d read: an over-the-top revenge fantasy. Back then, I was a timid people pleaser, working bar jobs and waitressing while studying economics and law. I could relate to the unwelcome attention the fearful main character experienced. And I was fascinated and horrified as she lashed back at her tormentors, one busy weekend.
DISGRACE
J.M. Coetzee
This book struck me as a perfect counterpart to The Grass Is Singing. It, too, is framed around crimes against the person while also reflecting a greater malaise, this time in South Africa. It is so elegantly written and so multi-layered; the book rings with intelligence. The subject matter is so bleak, I almost didn’t read it. But I’m glad I did. I return to Disgrace often to savour Coetzee’s prose and remind myself of sublime writing.
OLIVE KITTERIDGE
Elizabeth Strout
I recommend Olive Kitteridge to anyone who will listen. It’s such a humane and rich collection of stories linked by Olive, a retired school teacher in a fictional town in Maine, USA. The book works as an engaging novel, with sparks of humour and quiet wisdom. Strout’s fresh writing is reminiscent of Alice Munro’s. If I could create a character half as memorable and complex as Olive, I’d be thrilled. I carry her with me as a reference point.
