By Helena Prusak ’23

Ms. Miller

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

“Tom Jones is a humorous novel written in the 1700s. It’s about an illegitimate son of a servant who is adopted by a squire. Everyone is convinced he is the legitimate son of the squire. Jones falls in love with his virtuous neighbor, Sarah. He goes on a variety of adventures that show the contrast between his naive nature, the virtue of Sarah, and the evil of his half brother. It’s my favorite book because everytime I read it, I get something new out of it.”

Mrs. Shafer

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

“I read it sophomore year in high school and it really opened my eyes to a whole new world. My teacher let me keep it, even though it was the school’s copy, and I still have it to this day! I’m actually going to reread it again after I finish Mad Honey.”

Ms. McLaughlin 

Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction by J.D. Salinger

“Why is it my favorite? I guess because it’s interesting. Like most high school kids, I was assigned The Catcher in the Rye, and from there I became interested in the guy who invented Holden Caulfield. Salinger was a brilliant and eccentric man; he lived almost all his life as a recluse, and refused to let his works be commercialized or reinvented in any way—to the point where every single book cover was exactly the same. No art—nothing. He was intensely private, and he didn’t churn out a ton of work…but the work he did put out is so captivating. Much of it is about a family he imagined, the Glass family. If you’ve read “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” then you already know the fate of Seymour Glass. But the books are quirky and playful and also smart and illuminating. It’s not the kind of book I’d ever want to teach, but one that I’d highly recommend.”

Mr. Chace

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
“As I tell my Love Gone Wrong class every year (we read the book in this class), The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro is my favorite book of all time. The writing is beautiful, subtle, haunting, and heartbreaking, and the story revolves around memory and missed opportunities, either due to personality clashes, conflicts between personal and professional lives, or societal constraints. The idea that two people who clearly love each other can never make it work, can never even fully express their love, and can’t ever change their past is devastating, and I guess I would much rather be devastated by art and literature. As a result, Ishiguro has also become my favorite author.”