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Sep 2, 2024

4 min read

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September’s Prize-Winning Books for Discerning Parents as well as their A-Level / IB Literature Students


September.


The month that signals the end of beach blockbusters and sun-drenched summer days.  You have had a lovely time with the family, but the fun's over, folks.  And for the advanced literature students this is underscored by the inevitably bleak literary themes of their core texts:  dystopian horrors, breakdown of society and the unavoidable reflection on the fragility of the family unit.  The last one particularly poignant for many as the teenagers begin to stretch their independent wings, as literature has always reminded us, family breakdown is practically a genre unto itself.  Who knew that dysfunctional families could be so reliable?



Themes of family breakdown
Family Breakdown - ‘I told you so’ - https://flic.kr/p/2nCgLPS


So, deep breath, grab your highlighter and bookmark these literary gems, because not only will they make you sound insufferably well-read at parties, but they’ll equip you with the tools to laugh in the face of familial dysfunction like a seasoned protagonist.


1. Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting: Perfect for Dissecting Dysfunctional Families and the Collapse of Society


Starting with my current read, the Booker Prize contender The Bee Sting.  Paul Murray serves up a family drama that’s exquisitely chaotic—think Succession, but in book form.  The Irish Barnes family stumbles from one catastrophe to the next, making every holiday dinner you've ever dreaded seem like a walk in the park.  This novel dissects privilege, existential dread, and generational decline with the precision of a surgeon and the black humour of a mortician.  Let's face it—literary families have been falling apart since the days of Oedipus Rex. Why should the Barnes family be any different?


A Level NEA (non-exam assessment - or coursework in old-fashioned money) 

For you A Level students battling King Lear or Death of a Salesman, this is your modern companion piece.  Similarities with the family’s dwindling fortunes leading to tensions boiling over with Willy Loman’s tragic decline will be all too easy to draw.  Get ready to weave in some sharp commentary on the illusion of success and the breakdown of traditional family roles - King Lear - and the use of satire and the examiners think you’ve mastered the delicate art of laughing while crying, which, let’s be honest, you probably have by now.


2. Zadie Smith’s The Fraud: History, Identity, and Family Failures, Again


The ever-brilliant Zadie Smith returns with The Fraud, a novel that sweeps you into Victorian London and the 19th-century Tichborne Trial.  But if you think this is just another dusty historical drama, think again.  Smith tackles big questions about identity, race, and justice - and yes, even the implosion of family structures.  You know the drill by now: historical upheavals?  Check.  Family drama?  Double check.


IB English Literature HL 

Much like Beloved or The God of Small Things, both mainstays on the IB syllabus, The Fraud invites you to grapple with themes of oppression and moral ambiguity.  The layers of narrative complexity here will satisfy the IB’s insatiable hunger for deep textual analysis, and Smith’s clever interweaving of history with fiction will get you in the mood for those Higher Level essays that demand every ounce of your critical thinking skills.  If you can compare the way Smith deconstructs British imperialism to Toni Morrison's take on slavery, well, you’re halfway to a 7.  After all, if Victorian families couldn’t hold it together, what hope do we have?


3. Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood: Eco-Politics, Treachery, and Dysfunctional Families (Because Of Course)


Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood is a fever dream of ecological warfare, political skulduggery, and, well, Shakespearean overtones.  The novel borrows its name from Macbeth’s famously mobile forest, and much like the Bard’s tragedy, it’s full of ambition, treachery, and ethically murky decisions.  Perfect for both A-Level and IB students still reeling from the number of times they’ve had to use the word ‘hubris’ in an essay.

 Spoiler alert: it’s always about the downfall of families.


A Level and IB students

For those of you who didn’t stumble through Macbeth at GCSE/iGCSE/MYP and are weighing up the political paranoia in Orwell’s 1984, Birnam Wood gives you a shiny new case study in moral compromise.  The novel’s contemporary setting - think climate change activists going toe-to-toe with capitalist overlords - brings classic themes of ambition and downfall into the present day.  What’s not to love?


4. Han Kang’s Greek Lessons: The Silence of Trauma, Language, and Families Falling Apart (Again)


Han Kang, author of the Booker Prize-winning The Vegetarian, returns with Greek Lessons, a haunting meditation on language, trauma, and—what else—family breakdown.  For the A-Level or IB student who’s spent hours grappling with the weight of silence in The Handmaid's Tale or the fragmentation of language in Waiting for Godot, this novel is their spiritual home.  And, like clockwork, it all circles back to the inescapable implosion of familial ties.  You know the drill.


A-Level and IB Students

Kang’s sparse yet poetic prose explores how language can both heal and harm—often at the expense of family cohesion.  Her portrayal of loss, trauma, and the struggle for expression makes this novel a perfect companion to the themes of repression and autonomy that are so often at the heart of your syllabus.  If you manage to bring the philosophical heft of this novel into your essays, you'll not only score extra points, but also feel eerily at home in the dysfunctional world of literary families.  Because, in literature, family breakdown isn't just a plot point - it's practically a rite of passage.


So, What’s Next for the Parents?

As you fend off the last vestiges of summer blues, these prize-winning books will give you something to chew on - for your child’s academic work and your soul.  Take solace in the fact that literature, like a good cup of tea, can soothe almost anything - including the disquieting parallels with your own, near-perfect, family.


Book a Free 20-Minute Consultation

Discover how The Langlit Studio can support your child's specific needs to help them master the skills required to ace their Literature exams.  Schedule a free 20-minute consultation to discuss how Sophie Welsh can help your child excel in their A Level or IB English studies.


Contact:  thelanglitstudio@gmail.com



Sep 2, 2024

4 min read

2

7

0

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