Mike Leigh’s 10 favourite books of all time
Among the most respected auteurs working today, Mike Leigh is a true pioneer. Known for his incredible masterpieces such as Naked and Secrets & Lies, Leigh’s fascinatingly stylised artistic framework enables him to deliver powerful sociopolitical critiques while also appealing to the emotional experiences of audiences around the globe.
Throughout his illustrious career, the English filmmaker has spoken at length about the various cinematic influences that have informed his work. Ranging from Jean Renoir to Satyajit Ray, Leigh has drawn from rich cinematic traditions while constructing his own vision. However, the acclaimed director also considers books to be a source of inspiration and listed his favourite selections in a conversation with One Grand.
Citing Paul Aster’s 4 3 2 1, Leigh said: “For me, Auster’s masterpiece, and worth our waiting for. The dazzling scope of his inventiveness is breathtaking. Healthily nostalgic for us who are contemporary with his multiple central characters. A compulsive read; I found it hard to put down, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I found the negative response to the book in some quarters quite astonishing, but as the frequent recipient of diametrically opposite reviews myself, I ought to know better!”
The filmmaker also highlighted Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, claiming it inspired him to select many of the subjects in his own work. While discussing the work, Leigh commented: “This had a profound effect on me in my early twenties. A grim but sympathetic portrait of the tough lives of poor immigrant workers in the Chicago meat-packing industry, it was one of the key works that inspired me to make films about ordinary people’s lives.”
Gabriel García Márquez’s seminal opus One Hundred Years of Solitude also finds a place in Leigh’s all-time favourites, even though he does not like the popular discourse around the work’s thematic currents. He noted: “They call this masterpiece ‘magical realism’, but I hate the label. Real it is, human and passionate and endlessly moving and compelling. It’s about family, relationships, fate, time. And ghosts. And solitude. Marvellous.”
Check out the full list below.
Mike Leigh’s 10 favourite books:
- The Jungle – Upton Sinclair
- One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Márquez
- White Teeth – Zadie Smith
- Three Novels: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable – Samuel Beckett
- 4 3 2 1 – Paul Aster
- Journey to the End of the Night – Louis-Ferdinand Céline
- The Third Policeman – Flann O’Brien
- To the Kwai and Back: War Drawings (1939 – 1945) – Ronald Searle
- Martin Chuzzlewit – Charles Dickens
- The Bab Ballads – W.S. Gilbert
Ranging from Charles Dickens to Samuel Beckett, Leigh’s list is essential reading for fans who want to learn more about the artistic influences behind the legendary filmmaker’s approach to cinema. One author who stands out is the remarkably talented Louis-Ferdinand Céline, whose dark humour can be likened to Leigh’s own.
While talking about Céline’s famous Journey to the End of the Night, the director added: “Hard to choose between this and his Death on The Installment Plan. But Céline’s quasi-autobiography wins. Despite the nihilistic cynicism of which he is often justifiably accused, underneath it all, his characters bristle with life and hope.”
