Catherine Gray's Desert Island Books
Featuring the book that cast a spell over her as a teen, and the memoir that helped her get sober...
I’ve loved Catherine Gray ever since I first read The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober - her brilliant book on being booze-free. I later went on to read The Unexpected Joy of Being Single, The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary and and Sunshine Warm Sober in quick succession. And so I joined the legion of loyal readers who love both her candid yet conversational writing style and also her relatable and uplifting approach to everything from sobriety to being single. From a personal standpoint, Catherine also happens to bear a more-than-passing resemblance to one of my best friends - which makes me love her all the more - and I know just how important her first book has been for many of my non-drinking friends.
When Catherine announced last year that she was foraying into fiction, I couldn’t wait to read her debut novel, knowing that she would handle the new territory with her signature aplomb. And so it’s not surprising that when Versions of a Girl landed in my inbox a couple of weeks ago, I read it all in the space of 24-hours. Beautifully written, deeply moving and perfectly plotted, it has everything I love in a book: a clear-voiced yet complex protagonist, a compelling, coming-of-age narrative and razor-sharp prose. Catherine writes poignantly about deceptively heavy subjects - from the nuances of being human to the longstanding nature versus nurture debate - and it’s the type of book that will hold you in its grip long after you’ve turned the last page.
I couldn’t wait for Catherine to take part in my Desert Island Books series, and loved finding out more about the books that have shaped her. From the classic that cast a spell over her as a teen, to the book whose fictional world she wants to introduce her toddler to, read on to find out which books made Catherine’s final cut.
You can buy Versions of a Girl from Bookshop.org, and from all good retailers in Australia. But if you fancy getting your hands on a signed copy of Catherine’s debut novel, why not consider becoming a paid subscriber of my Substack? Each week, paid subscribers are automatically entered into a draw to win a signed book by the guest from my Desert Island Books series.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Her poetic, spare prose means I often audibly sigh with pleasure while reading Ng’s work. She is undoubtedly one of my favourite writers of all time. Her characters are always multi-faceted – a complex hotchpotch of good and bad – just as all real humans are. This book blazed through my brain as Ng weaves together strands of social class, motherhood and the quiet fury behind the perfect lawns of suburbia. I don’t often re-read books - I’m usually one and done - but with Celeste Ng I do get that urge to go straight back to the start and do it all over again.
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
This is a thrilling read, but far from a formulaic thriller. In fact, it’s a finely engineered beauty of a novel, with unexpected twists, gradual character reveals and a rich backstory. Erin Kelly occupies a space in a Venn overlap that few do; she lives where folklore and crime overlap. Imagine if The Killing’s Sarah Linden lived on a fairytale narrowboat and dabbled in tarot cards, and you’re close to the vibe. This is a tale of treasure hunt obsessives, long-buried family secrets and decadent puzzles. It’s one of those books that I wish I’d written myself.
Unwasted by Sacha Z Scoblic
I’ll take this to the island for sentimental value. It’s one of a handful of books that has recalibrated my brain, given I read it while in a liminal mental space, and it pushed me into a new one. While hitting rock bottom with my alcohol addiction eleven years ago, I picked up this book and felt instantly connected to the writer. Wry, deftly written and socially observant, it’s the story of how this editor at The Atlantic got sober, and it helped me do the same thing.
Mindfulness: Finding Peace In A Frantic World by Danny Penman and Mark Williams
This book also marks a pivotal moment in my life. It’s common knowledge now, but at the time its revelation that we are not our thoughts - that we can detach from them, observe them - was radical. I read it twelve years ago, before Headspace the app existed, and before everyone was referring to their mind as the sky and their emotions as weather. Well before Rumi’s ‘The Guest House’ was quoted by the Instagram feeds of hundreds of yoga studios, this common-sense mental health guide was helping people observe their thoughts and feelings as if they were guests, rather than feeling intruded upon; even kidnapped by them, in my case.Â
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
I assume my toddler is coming to the island with me, and if there’s one fictional world I want to introduce her to as she grows, it’s Hobbiton and The Shire. This was one of the first books I was enchanted by, even transported by, and the overlaying of an entirely new universe upon moral metaphors makes it a masterpiece. I’ve often equated the sway alcohol once held over me with the effect the Ring has on Bilbo Baggins. And I’ve compared my relationship with debt to the hobbits hiding in the tree roots while the Black Riders whinny and scrape above (‘hold your breath and hope it goes away’). There is so much to mine there, metaphor wise, that I couldn’t live without The Hobbit.
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
One of the only books I’ve read over and over, this cast a spell over me as a teen. The heady combination of impetuous twentysomething, brooding widower, sprawling Gothic mansion and a mysterious death? Yes please. It’s the stuff adolescent dreams are made of. The ending, while admittedly problematic through a modern lens, is something no reader could predict. It’s sumptuous, tortured, gorgeous, many layered and probably helped lay the foundations for my later rampant love addiction (yes, I have had all the addictions).
How to Overcome Your Childhood by The School of Life
I alit upon this perfect little book when I was in the very middle-class rite of passage of doing a lot of therapy around my childhood, while also debating whether to become a mother myself. Falling upon it, I read this in one shot, highlighted around half, felt like I’d held my breath throughout given I was so rapt, and upon finishing the final page, ordered four copies to gift to my best friends.
How to Stay Alive by Bear Grylls
I’ve never read this, nor am I particularly a fan of Bear, but I’m going to be a smartass and close on it, because if I’m going to a desert island, I’m going to need some practical help. I have literally never been camping, my idea of foraging is going to Tesco, I’m so clumsy that I fall over on smooth sidewalks, and I can’t even successfully light a fire when given a lighter, shop-bought dried firewood and firelighters. So. I’ll need some help in order to not die within the first week.
About Catherine Gray
Catherine Gray is the Sunday Times Bestselling author of five non-fiction books, including The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober. Her debut novel, Versions of a Girl, is out on July 4th. Up until the age of 14, our protagonist Fern is parented equally by her (very different) mother and father. Her story then splits; one Fern stays with her father, while the other returns to her mother. We follow both versions of Fern as they grow over the next 20 years. You can read the first three chapters of it for free here, and you can follow Catherine on Instagram here.
If you’d like to buy any of Catherine Gray’s Desert Island Books please consider doing so from Bookshop.org (US) here, and Bookshop.org (UK) here. If you’re in Australia, please consider buying them from my favourite independent bookshop, Gertrude & Alice.