by Thomas Hardy. Next time you hear about Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak being removed from library shelves - again - by angry parents and teachers, or other contested books along those lines, think this novel - one that shocked Victorian values so violently that soon after it's publication the author swore off novel writing for good. When kind-hearted Tess Durbeyfield looks for a job with her supposed relatives the noble D'Urbervilles, she loses her innocence forever to a dishonorable cousin - and must spend the rest of her life living down the consequences. It's hard to get much better than this for angst! A heartbreaking exploration of hypocrisy and morality, even when the Victorian verbosity gets a little out of hand, this one shouldn't be missed.
by Emily Brontë. Even though this book - the eldest Brontë sister's only novel before her death in 1848 - was not well-received in the author's lifetime, it has since become one of the most popular novels in English literature - and rightfully so! One of the inspirations for the fanatically popular Twilight saga, specifically Eclipse (the third book in the series), it's about as doomed as romance gets. Told via an extended flashback narrative by the maid who witnessed the violent and destructive love triangle of arrogant Cathy, brooding Heathcliff and spoiled Edgar, it's a terrifying love-hate story, an exploration of what happens when true love goes bad. The unrelenting darkness of tone in this book can be hard to take, especially in the first few chapters, and the characters can be selfish and short-sighted beyond belief, but in the end those elements only serve to make it more memorable and haunting. Even if you hate this book, you'll find it's beautiful language and frightening setting hard to forget.
by Daphne du Maurier. This is one of those books where hardly anything happens, and yet the mood is so tense and suspenseful that you are hard-pressed to put it down. The foreshadowing is so good that it is virtually beyond reproach, managing to pull off several "gotcha" moments that I never in my wildest dreams saw coming. And the haunting setting of Manderley estate is impossible not to fall in love with. When our nameless heroine is swept up in a whirlwind romance with troubled widower Maxim de Winter, she finds herself stalked at every turn by the memory of de Winter's beautiful, talented and charismatic first wife Rebecca. Every scene is rendered in so much detail that you can almost believe you were there.Check back next Saturday for more New Year's Resolutions!
