We all read books that resonate with us in one way or another. Some of us have a favourite genre, others more eclectic tastes jumping from one genre to another (me included). As many of my followers will attest, I love a novel called Ferny by James Long. It is essentially a love story, but across time and has a reincarnation theme, much like my own homage to this book, The Twesome Loop. Similar to the novels, The Time Travelers Wife or My Names is Memory or Mariana.
In all stories there are plots that propel the characters on a journey. Some are easy to follow, others trick us into one way of thinking only to shock us with an unexpected outcome. There are novels whose plots cause sensations in their creativity, this list includes many, although you (and I) may have our own favourites.
Gone Girl by Gilliam Flynn
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Lost Ground by Ulla Jordan
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
1984 by George Orwell
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Of course, many of these novels we have heard of, and indeed read, they are great literature from our youth and others more modern. We became involved with the characters and their plight and their essence remains with us, months, sometimes years after we’ve read the book. That is the true test of a great story.
Which plot resonated the most with you and why?
For me, Ferney, put into a story context a fascination I have in reincarnation. It is a topic I have researched and been interested in for decades, ever since working as a nurse. But not only that, it is the finding of their soulmate after years of searching – one with the certainty of prior knowledge, the other from an unknown soul deep longing.
Mandy Eve-Barnett's Blog for Readers & Writers 