Intriguing structures and compelling interiority
Plus a first batch of best-of-the-year lists
Hey, readers!
I got hit with a bad stomach bug this weekend so I’m sending out what I already had drafted. My book reviews are not as comprehensive as what you typically get, but everything else is here. Because illness got me behind schedule and we’re traveling over Thanksgiving, I’ve decided to give myself the rest of the week off so you won’t find a Tuesday post or Friday Mood Recs in your inboxes this week. I’ll be back next weekend with my typical Sunday post and return to my regular schedule from there. Thanks for understanding and happy Thanksgiving!!
After finishing seven books in my “ten before the end” stack, I’ve decided to take all undue pressure off myself when it comes to reading 2023 releases. If something calls to me, I’ll pick it up, but trying to squeeze in more new releases just in case they’re a favorite of the year has me not wanting to read at all.
With that freedom, I’m going to start reading some of the 2024 releases I’m already excited about, pick up a few backlist titles that have been languishing on my shelves, and—of course—beginning whittling down my best books of the year lists. I’ll be doing a 2023 releases list as well as a collection of backlist favorites. I haven’t even begun to wrap my head around this project yet but I’m excited to reflect on everything I’ve read and loved this year.
This week in books.
This week I read…
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton. I cannot believe this is a debut novel. Catton is doing so much here and it’s completely brilliant. The novel is basically two stories and as the pages turn, Catton intertwines them in an extremely imaginative way. The first is the story of an all-girls school that has been touched by scandal and abuse, told through the perspectives of girls and women on the periphery of that abuse. The second plotline involves a young man audition and then entering a nearby theatre school, and the intensity and sense of purpose he finds there. The entire novel is theatrical, which can be confusing and odd, but is also completely brilliant and highly original. As the two plots converge, it becomes clear that the book is a work of metafiction—but unlike anything I’ve ever read in that genre. If you like experimental forms and provocative stories, I highly recommend this one. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. This was a reread for Novel Pairings and I loved it more than ever. No one writes interiority like Virginia Woolf; she manages to create such singular characters that explore very relatable feelings, insecurities, and motivations. Reading this book reminded me what I love about reading and has me eager to reread more of Woolf in the near future. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
The Long Form by Kate Briggs. Another realistic portrayal of motherhood, I was enraptured by this clover and original novel. The book takes place over one day in which new mother Helen spends time feeding, rocking, and admiring her baby. In the meantime, a package arrives: a copy of Tom Jones that Helen has ordered. As Helen tries to read while moving through all the wonder and tedium of a day involving a newborn, Briggs questions just what a novel is and can be. This won’t be for everyone but I ate it up. Amazon | Bookshop
Witness by Jamal Brinkley. I’ll start by saying I really appreciated the project of this collection. Brinkley explores what it means to witness someone else’s life from near or far, and considers fascinating questions like whether you can every truly know someone else’s story and if your observations of another person can change who you are. Yet while the thesis of the collection felt important and intriguing, I didn’t particularly enjoy the stories. My friend Stacey, one of my trusted recommendation sources, described Brinkley’s writing as very masculine, and I think that’s an apt way to put it. While I appreciated what he was doing, the prose and the stories themselves made me feel a little uneasy. Witness has been on prize lists and gotten rave reviews, so I think this is an objectively good book that simply doesn’t suite my taste. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
Now I’m reading…
Chain-Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyaj. I admit I’m really struggling through this one. It is exceptional, but I’m not enjoying it…and not in the sense that it’s hard to read (though it is at times) but in the sense that while I care deeply about the world building and themes, I’m struggling to stay invested in the plot. I think I’ll finish because I want to weigh in with a fully formed opinion, but I may take a break for a few other books first. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. I kind of love reading my FictionMatters Book Club pick on the later side because then I get to experience the book already knowing who in the book club loved it and who did not. So far, I can see both perspectives on this one, but there’s a particular element that makes me think I’m going to fall into the love side of things. I’m going to save that for my final review and our live discussion. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
Eve by Cat Bohannon. This book about the evolution and the female body is blowing my mind. Bohannon writes in an extremely accessible style and has me actually enjoying reactivating the (very small) science portion of my mind. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
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Links I love.
It’s best of the year list season. Here’s what we got this week:
Washington Post: 10 Best Books of the Year, 10 Best Mysteries, 10 Best Romances, 50 Notable Works of Fiction, 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction
Cross-Stitch is one of my favorite books of the year and I loved learning more about the author and her translator.
The National Book Awards were this week. See the winners and read the authors’ collective statement on Gaza.
The wonderful scholar and author A.S. Byatt passed away this week. I want to read more of her work in the new year—Possession is one of my all time favorite novels.
I really disagree with this review of Day. I like reading contrary opinions, but the idea that readers aren’t appreciating this novel because it’s too beautiful and not political makes my eyes roll (do not waste your WaPo article count on this if you haven’t looked at the best of lists yet!).
End notes.
This week in views, listens, eats, and moments of joy.
I learned about The Runthrough podcast from my friend
’s newsletter and I can’t get enough! I am a former competitive ice dancer but somehow never thought to look for skating podcasts and it is bringing me so much joy.I’m planning to make this French Onion Dressing for our Friendsgiving. I’ll report back on how it turns out.
We’re late to the party but we finally watched Our Flag Means Death and adored it. Now we’re starting Murder at the Edge of the World and are pretty into it after one episode.
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Happy reading!
Sara
In your brief review of Witness you say "My friend Stacey, one of my trusted recommendation sources, described Brinkley’s writing as very masculine, and I think that’s an apt way to put it." This comment has been niggling at me for days. What was so very masculine about it? more than many other books written by men about men? I loved this short story collection. i live in Manhattan and two of my adult children live in Brooklyn. His settings were incredibly drawn ....getting at the nuanced differences between neighborhoods. I loved that he focused on the working poor, people caught in changing neighborhoods( not the projects). What was so male to you...I thought his female characters were real, complex and lovingly drawn.
I felt the same way about Chain Gang All Stars! I'm glad I read it but I struggled. I wish I had time to read Birnam Wood this year- moving it to my 2024 tbr:)