The Nutmeg of Consolation. Is that not the best title ever? All by itself it’s enough reason to read Patrick O’Brian‘s magnificent – yes, MAGNIFICENT – Master and Commander books. If his books had no covers at all, they’d still be the very best evocation of male friendship I’ve ever read.
Patrick Ness does a great line in titling, too. The Knife of Never Letting Go is every bit as good as its stay-in-your-head title, and is followed by the brilliant (both title and substance) The Ask and the Answer. War, gender politics, power, friendship, language, colonisation, giant cows: what more could you want in young adult fiction?
My husband nominates Douglas Adams’ So Long and Thanks for All the Fish for this list of brilliant books with titles to match. What about you? Superb titles slapped on superb books? Recommendations?
