Ask a Librarian: What three books from your high school days left the biggest impression on you?

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In this monthly Postmedia column, we ask a Canadian librarian a burning question about the books on their shelves. With the first days of school on the horizon, Allison Hall-Murphy, Coordinator of Collection Development at the Ottawa Public Library, answers our question: What three books from your high school days left the biggest impression on you?

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In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje (1987)

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Who built your city? The history of a city is made up of millions of individual stories; Michael Ondaatje imagines what some of them may have been. This book is made up of the memories of one man, Patrick Watson, told to a child on a night drive. Through Patrick’s fragmented story the reader is introduced to the workers who built Toronto’s Bloor Viaduct in the early 20th century, a piece of infrastructure that made the city what it is today. As he encounters workers, actors, revolutionaries, fugitives and thieves, Patrick also finds love and connection. In the Skin of a Lion is a captivating read with enough mystery, intrigue and romance to delight anyone, full of striking images that will stay with you long after you put it down.

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847)

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Often cited as an inspiration for Gothic Romance, this book is so much more. Yes, Jane Eyre does contain certain gothic elements (an old gloomy estate full of secrets, a broody handsome love interest, also full of secrets) but the strength of the novel is in singular, unforgettable character of Jane herself. Jane’s narration of her own growth from poor, unloved orphan to independent woman feels surprisingly modern. As a child she lashes out in anger at her mistreatment, as a youth she is determined to stand on her own two feet and as an adult she refuses to accept anything but full and equal love. Jane’s passion, integrity and insistence on being treated with dignity make her a very relatable and recognizable character almost two hundred years after Jane Eyre’s first publication in 1847.

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Ways of Seeing by John Berger (1972)

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Not exactly an art history text or a work of criticism, this slim book explores the way that we bring our own thoughts, knowledge, experiences to the act of seeing art. Berger writes poetically and intimately, inviting the reader to think deeply about how perceptions of art and the history of art are connected to class and gender. Berger’s essay on the male gaze is essential reading, but you will also be amazed to learn about the difference between nakedness and nudity and the connection between the oil paintings of the old masters and modern advertising. Reading Ways of Seeing won’t make you an art historian but it will help you feel more at home in an art museum.

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