Adding two books to my lifetime favorites shelf

Plus the real Argylle author and books that capture city living

Happy Sunday, readers!

I feel like I’ve written every preamble I’ve got in me this week so today we’re going to straight to the books. It’s not every weekend that I have two new lifetime favorites to share with you, but today is that day! Let’s get to it!

This week in books.

This week I read…

• The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. I need to save my full thoughts for our Novel Pairings episode, but this book is amazing. I’ve enjoyed Edith Wharton in the past, but her powers are on full display here in a book that is juicy, dramatic, devastating, and so so smart. The book follows Undine Spragg, a young, beautiful, and wealthy girl from a new-money Midwest family who is dead set on making it in the elite society of New York City and beyond—no matter who she has to step on as part of her ascent. Undine might just be THE female anti-hero of classic literature and I could not look away from this story. I can’t wait to share more on the podcast because Chelsey and I both have so many thoughts on this one. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• James by Percival Everett (out 3/19). As soon as I learned that Everett was writing a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, my expectation skyrocketed, and—let me tell you, he does not disappoint. If you’re not familiar with the classic American tale, here’s the basic premise. Jim is an enslaved Black man in Missouri who runs away when he learns that his owner Miss Watson intends to sell him away from his family. While hiding out on an island in the middle of the Mississippi River, Jim encounters young Huckleberry Finn who himself as run away after staging his own death to escape his abusive father. Jim realizes that given Huck’s disappearance, it is likely he’ll now be pursued as a murderer in addition to a runaway, and he and Huck take off down the river to escape their pursuers. This is a fairly confined retelling of Huck Finn so Everett doesn’t spend much time filling in of Jim’s backstory before diving right into the events of the novel. In Jim’s narrative, we can see the absolute terror of the situation that, in Twain’s telling, is merely a white boy’s Romantic adventure. The way Everett brings in explorations of language and power is brilliant, and felt connected both to his previous works and the source material itself. This book is a masterpiece. I think it’s rare for retellings of classic literature to become classics themselves, but in the same way every reading of Jane Eyre is now influenced by Wide Sargasso Sea, I think it in the future it will become impossible to read Huck Finn without considering James. Amazon | Bookshop

• Good Material by Dolly Alderton. This is a really good book that probably suffered a bit from following two brilliant reads. Still, I highly recommend Alderton’s newest, which is almost a reverse rom-com detailing the breakup of Andy and Jen. The book is told in Andy’s perspective. While it begins with a list of “reasons it’s good [he’s] no longer with Jen,” it becomes instantly clear that Andy is the more injured party. He’s been dumped and although Jen laid out her reasons, he can’t fully understand or accept why his relationship has ended. There’s nothing remarkable about the premise itself, but Alderton is a keen observer of human behavior, especially human relationships. The postmortem of the Andy and Jen’s romantic relationship is brilliantly done, as are Alderton’s astute depictions of marriage, couple friendships, friend group dynamics, and familial connections. The choice to focus on Andy has been much discussed in reviews and I agree that there’s something intriguing about making the male partner of a heterosexual relationship the more attached, emotional, and dramatic. Yet what was more interesting to me is the way Alderton coaches you to question why that’s intriguing as the novel goes on. I think anyone who enjoys reading highly interior stories about the intricacies of relationships and the pervasiveness of gender expectation would find something to like here. My reading of this was greatly enhanced by the audio version and I definitely recommend checking that out if you’re a fan of listening to books (thanks, PRH Audio for the copy!). Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

Now I’m reading…

• I’m still reading Real Americans by Rachel Khong (out 4/30), which has been slow to start, but I’m still excited about. I’m also reading this cozy delight and listening to another much anticipated follow-up on audio.

If you are an international reader or just prefer UK covers, you can also order books through my Blackwell’s affiliate page!

Links I love.

10 nonfiction books coming in February.

This conversation about Erasure enhanced my reading experience so much.

I’m not a big Hallmark movie girl but the four new Austen adaptations coming this month have piqued my interest.

I loved reading S.A. Cosby’s reflection on Chester Himes.

8 novels that capture city life.

The author of Argylle has been revealed and the discovery is…pretty boring.

End notes.

This week in views, listens, eats, and moments of joy.

• We went on a family hike this week and it was such a delight to see Louise delighted by nature.

• The Runthrough’s breakdown of Nationals was just the followup I needed to a figure skating filled weekend.

• I bought the Downton Abbey movie and have been enjoying it as a comfort watch while I complete mindless work tasks.

• I was recently reminded of Stabilo fineliners and have been loving using them for annotating and journaling.

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Happy reading!

Sara