Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Recommended for all ages.

Ok, move over The Yellow Wallpaper. I have a new favourite book. Seriously.

I was getting in a bit of a rut after reading all these novels which didn't live up to what others said about them ('brilliant', 'insightful', 'must-read' kind of books). I've gone through a series of books that deal with stupid issues and unconcerning concerns, that treat the reader like a sort of narcissistic teenager or petulant child instead of an intelligent, free-thinking adult, and that generally are not worthy of publication or anyone's time. Thankfully I got into Uncle Tom's Cabin.

It claims to be the best-selling nineteenth-century American novel, with its sensitive and intelligent portrayal of life as a slave in the South. I see no reason why it shouldn't still have resonance with its readership, because slavery isn't over with around the world (not by a long shot). We just call it something else.

Anyway, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1850's) is a beautiful and inspiring read. It's the sort of book that gives you an almost spiritual elevation, thanks to the honest and earnest discussions of faith. Its characterisation is brilliant, subtle and at the same time overwhelming. You really get to know and love the central characters, and I challenge anyone not to bawl their eyes out by page 270. The plot is fast-paced (definitely the sort of book you read under the table or by torchlight under the sheets) and the suspense is not prefaced by knowledge of the final outcome. But its most redeeming feature is that its moral tone isn't didactic. It is a genuinely good book, which will inspire any reader to greater acts of kindness towards their fellow humans.

Recommended to every reader. Now how can I enforce that??

Particularly recommended to those with an interest in the American history of slavery.