If you’re a regular around here, then you know that I’m physically incapable of narrowing down a list of favourite books. Any time Jette asks me to pick my three favourite books of the year, I’ll have a couple bonus titles to add on top of that. Look, It’s not my fault that so much quality reading exists.
This is all to say that deciding which books I’d want with me if stranded on a deserted island is, to put it mildly, challenging. I’ve exercised extreme self-control by not choosing 10 books and instead limiting it to a very reasonable five. I even kept the cheating to a minimum.
5 Books to Help You Survive Being Stranded on a Deserted Island
You’ll notice that I’ve taken a somewhat practical approach for this list by giving myself two possible criteria: each book must be long, or I must be happy reading it multiple times. Most of the books in this list check both boxes. If I’m stranded by myself on a deserted island, I want to make sure the reading lasts as long as possible, right? So here it is. A list of long deserted island books to keep you occupied in between searching for fresh water and fashioning a fishing spear so you don’t starve.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt fans tend to fall into one of two camps: those who think The Secret History is her best work, and those who think The Goldfinch is her best work. And, yeah, I’m in the latter camp. I don’t know what this says about me, but I stand by my conviction that it’s an exquisitely rendered narrative examining life, art, trauma, addiction, and obsession.
Why is it the perfect deserted island read? At almost 800 pages, it’s going to keep you occupied for some time. Plus, it’s the kind of book that can be savoured. You can take your time with it. Obviously, I’m also down to read it multiple times. I’ve already read it twice, why not three or four more times? (Let’s hope I’m not stranded that long.)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina sits between 800 and 1000 pages depending on which edition and translation you have. Either way, that’s a good chunk of reading. The first time I read it, I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it was. The plot moves at a good clip, with all the drama you’d expect from a story about a torrid affair among Russia’s upper class.
Of course, it’s so much more than that. Tolstoy covers a lot of ground with this one, offering some philosophical observations about love and life alongside Anna and Vronsky’s tumultuous relationship. I’ve been meaning to reread it for ages, but always end up putting it off because it’s so long. Now that I’m stuck on this island it’s the perfect opportunity!
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Yep. That’s right. Just this one. I bet you thought this was where I’d cheat, didn’t you? It would have been so easy to say His Dark Materials and take the entire trilogy, but I’d happily reread The Golden Compass a thousand times and be perfectly content without the two follow ups. As much as I love Will and everything that happens once Lyra leaves her world, the first one is where my heart lies. I love Lyra’s journey to the north, the mystery of Dust, and all the friends that Lyra makes along the way. And it’s hot on this island. It’ll be nice to dive into a world that’s cold and covered in snow.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
I love the writing style and the magic system in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It’s the perfect story about rival gentlemen magicians in Victorian England practicing increasingly chaotic and ill-advised magic in their bid to be the best. And it has an element of portal fantasy, so I can live vicariously through the characters who get to portal themselves out of where they are and hope I can portal off this godforsaken island. Landing in the world of the fairies can’t be worse than being stranded, right?
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
I told you I was going to cheat. I’m taking all four books in this series. If we can accept Dickens’ serialized works, like Martin Chuzzlewit and David Copperfield, as single entities, then I will do so for this quartet. Combined, they’ll provide me with a whopping 1500 pages of reading.
I’m a sucker for strong friend groups and magic that weaves itself into the real world, so I was always going to love these books. Like The Golden Compass I could read them a hundred times. I’ll never grow bored of the search for the lost Welsh king Glendower and the strange magic that spills from the pages. If you must absolutely force me to choose one, under pain of death, I’ll have to go with Ronan’s book, The Dream Thieves.
Bonus: East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Yeah, I’m cheating twice. My hypothetical scenario, my rules. It turns out that someone else on the plane (RIP) had also prepared for this very scenario and was carrying a copy of East of Eden. Their misfortune is now my luck. I promise I gave them a proper memorial before diving into the reading.
I don’t know if East of Eden is my favourite Steinbeck, but it’s right up there. This deserted island book follows the intertwined stories of the Trask and Hamilton families in the Salinas Valley of California. It’s a sprawling narrative that, as the title suggests, is a modern retelling of the Book of Genesis. In classic Steinbeck style, the characters philosophize about life, family, love, and everything in between. There’s a reason Steinbeck is one of my favourite authors, and East of Eden is as good a choice as any for some deserted island reading.
S.O.S. (or Send More Deserted Island Books)
I really do find these lists impossible. I left out so many good books! Let’s just hope I never get stranded on a deserted island, okay? Not only would it be under circumstances that wouldn’t allow me to choose my books, but I’d be stuck on a freaking island! Reading material would be the least of my worries. Although, now I’m thinking about our Books We Hated episode and wondering what the worst possible books would be to get stranded with. Imagine if your only reading material was a history of tax law.
What do you think? What books would you want to take with you? Which ones would you chuck into the sea or burn for fuel?
