Three family stories that explore generational hardship and healing

Plus the Booker shortlist and fall reads according to your Zodiac

I haven’t been able to settle into an audiobook all week, and I don’t know what to do. Since having Louise, audiobooks have become an essential part of my reading life. While I’d long been an audiobook fan, I most listened to nonfiction and fluffy fiction, reserving my serious literary reading for physical books. But after becoming a mom I had less time to sit down with a book and slowly began to find my footing listening to more complicated and introspective fiction on audio. While there are some books that definitely still work better for me on the page, I’m usually able to listen to pretty much anything and get a lot out of it.

But this week, my ears broke. I started listening to three different books—all things I’m pretty sure I will love—and I just couldn’t focus. When I picked up one of them in print and restarted, I didn’t remember anything at all. This has never happened to me before!

I think I need to just accept the situation and take a little audiobook break. I’m worried that I won’t be able to read as much as I want to, but I’m using my listening time to catch up on podcasts while trying to find more pockets throughout the day to sit down and read.

This week in books.

This week I read…

• Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips [major trigger warnings for sexual assault]. I’m going to start this by saying I went into this book with both high expectations and a somewhat grumpy attitude. After Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend was left off the National Book Awards longlist, I approached my first new read from the list with a mindset geared towards comparison. If these books fail to live up to what I think should be on the list, I’m going to be a little mad, and, readers, this one did not. The story begins in 1874 when Eliza and her 13-year-old daughter ConaLee are dropped off at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum by the man they call “papa.” We quickly learn (like in the first few pages) that this man is not ConaLee’s father—he is, in fact, the family’s tormenter who has taken control of Eliza’s farm in her husband’s absence where he has repeatedly sexually assaulted her, impregnated her multiple times, given away those children, and driven her into insanity. I say this all very bluntly because Phillips’ writing is brutal, but the vague cover copy doesn’t convey how dark this book gets. From this setup, we alternate between timelines to find out what happened to Eliza, her husband, and ConaLee and how the surprisingly (but historically accurate) humane Asylum fosters their healing. While I appreciated the layered reveals Phillips works into the story and the photos and historical notes included throughout, the novel just never came together for me. The dark moments felt overwrought, the redemption felt unearned, and the choices in point-of-view felt baffling. Additionally, the entire plot relies on a series of coincidences that I found frustrating. I have seen many glowing reviews for this book so I’m very willing to acknowledge that my attitude going in might have affected my overall opinion, but nonetheless this book was a big disappointment for me. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. Another big book in my read pile and this one was fantastic. This is the story of the Barnes family told through multiple perspectives during a period of intense change and unraveling. 16-year-old Cassandra can’t wait to get out of their tiny town but struggles to fully capitalize on the opportunities in front of her. Her younger brother PJ is lonely and seeking connection in online gaming forums. Their mother Imelda is a great beauty who wonders if her life has passed her by as their father Dickie grows increasingly less interested in his business in the wake of a major recession. Through a brilliant structure and evocative prose, Murray uses the story of this family to explore how our mistakes, choices, and traumas become repeating refrains and to consider what it takes to break a cycle. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the way characters considered their expectations of events compared to how they unfolded—specifically how when we look backward or forwards we picture a big event and then “cut to scene” the next big event. But that’s not how we experience our lives, and I think that’s a perfect metaphor for why I’ve loved The Bee Sting and so many other long books this year. If you’re a fan of family dramas, I highly recommend this one! Amazon | Bookshop

• The Yield by Tara June Winch. I get very excited about novels with themes of language and translation. Novelists know the conjuring power words can have and when they work this element into a story, I eat it up. In The Yield, a young Aboriginal woman named August returns home from abroad after the death of her grandfather. As we learn her backstory along with those of her family members, we also get to read her grandfather’s linguistic project—a Wiradjuri dictionary—and witness how accessing these suppressed words may help August access more of her very self. It’s a beautiful story and I’m eager to discuss it this week with the FictionMatters Literary Society. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

Now I’m reading…

• I’m in search of my next read! It’s the time of year when I start getting stressed about not finishing all the books I want to get to and it’s got me in a little bit of a slump.

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.

Which celebrity book club is right for you?

Here is all of the literary TV and movies coming this fall: The Fall of the House of Usher, All the Light We Cannot See, and—finally!—The Killers of the Flower Moon among many more.

Book banning in Florida continues to get worse but young people are reading as a form of resistance.

The Booker Prize shortlist has been announced and it’s 50% Pauls.

7 novels that defined the Obama era.

11 must-read books for Celebrate Bisexuality Day.

What to read this fall according to your Zodiac.

I am so excited to read this new and different book about motherhood.

The 90s are coming for our kids—and this article is luxuriating in its subject’s aesthetic!

End notes.

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

• Two things I love in one podcast: book drama and a Zadie Smith interview.

• Speaking of podcasts, I haven’t been able to concentrate on audiobooks lately so I’ve been on the hunt for something new. Right now, I’m listening to The Gilmore Guys after each episode of the series I watch. It’s been super fun!

• I received my first Quince order and I’m impressed! This sweater is very similar to a discontinued Everelane sweater I love—but it’s a better price point and comes in a lot more colors. I also bought these little toddler cardigans for Louise and they are precious.

FictionMatters Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. If you’d prefer to support my work with a one-time “tip,” consider visiting my Buy Me a Coffee page.

---

---

For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. I love hearing from you!

This email contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please forward it to a book-loving friend. That’s a great way to spread bookish cheer and support the newsletter!

Happy reading!

Sara