Literature

Writes of Passage: Best coming-of-age novels for students

0 88

Featured image: Joanne Xu


The first year of university can mark the start of an exciting journey towards self-discovery. However, this path is different for everyone. As we dive into a new academic year, aAh! rounds up our favourite coming-of-age novels.


HANGSAMAN (1951)
By Shirley Jackson

This 1950s classic remains an immensely relevant novel. Modern readers will find it both psychologically terrifying and cathartic. Natalie Waite, our 17-year-old protagonist, embarks on her first year of university. While navigating its strange and confusing social dynamics, she experiences homesickness, the suppression of trauma, and other mental health issues. In her battle against loneliness, she escapes into her imagination. This coping mechanism causes her to question her reality and the existence of her ‘self’. Natalie’s ability to overcome her fear and insecurity makes Hangsaman a harrowing tale of self-realisation, sure to leave readers with a sense of hope for the journey ahead. [Kayla Monteiro]


THE IDIOT (2017)
By Elif Bautman

The Idiot, by Elif Bautman, is a quick-witted novel that offers an accessible, thought provoking analysis of the modern university experience. This 2008 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize examines a year in the life of Selin Karadağ, a Turkish linguistics student raised in America. It begins in the mid-90s, just as email is first being popularised. For Selin, the ability to hide behind a screen creates a confusing landscape of hyper-reality most readers will recognize today. Through its humorous style, The Idiot explores the cognitive dissonance between written language and physical communication, and how this affects our relationships with each other, and ourselves. [Kayla Monteiro]


THE INSEPARABLES (2021)
By Simone de Beauvoir

Sylvie watches best friend Adrenné blaze and disintegrate under the restrictive gaze of her orthodox family. When Adrenné joins Sylvie’s class they become inseparable, uniting against the oppressive notions of adults. Sylvie admits her adoration for Adrenné. The next morning it is forgotten. Adrenné opts for stimulants over food, suffocating under her parents’ refusal to allow her autonomy. Adrenné is the fictionalised Zaza, De Beauvoir’s childhood friend whose death by viral encephalitis haunted the author throughout her life. Deciding not to publish this story in her lifetime, perhaps De Beauvoir wondered if the true messiness of real lives can be tidied into a story. [Sarah Lane]

About the author / 

aAh!

aAh! Magazine is Manchester Metropolitan University's arts and culture magazine.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • Bakar @ Albert Hall live review – Bakar dares to dream big 

    Featured image and gallery: Georgina Hurdsfield The gloomy refrain “I hate the facts, I hate the situation” echoes affirmatively among the gothic furnishings of the Albert Hall. The fact is that 5000 fans have converged under the ornate roof; the situation being the first of Bakar’s two sold-out shows in Manchester. The aforementioned lyrics couldn’t…

  • Of Mice & Men @ Rebellion review – metalcore masters tear it up

    Featured image and gallery: Ameena Ceesay So-Cal band Of Mice & Men have spent the better part of a decade rising through the metalcore ranks. A couple months from the release of their 8th studio album, Tether, and as part of their UK and Europ…well, Germany tour, they grace the Rebellion stage and proceed to…

  • Anne Marie @ AO Arena Manchester review – A perfect and unexpected theatrical experience

    Featured Image and gallery: Ben Redshaw From West End childhood star and karate world champion to BRIT Award-winning popstar, Anne-Marie arrives at the AO Arena on the back of her third studio album, Unhealthy.  Leah Kate, an American singer best known for her post-heartbreak songs, is the opener. Kate tells the story of sliding into…

  • Manchester creatives celebrate identity, community and queerness at the 2023 Bound Art Book Fair at Whitworth Art Gallery

    Featured image and photography: Anna Klekot The Bound Art Book Fair returned to The Whitworth art gallery this month, featuring over 65 exhibitors showcasing a range of creative work including zines, books and posters. The gallery was filled with independent publishers and artists showcasing creative projects, and featured free artist talks open to the public,…