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All tagged Literary Fiction
This hadn’t been on my radar before the National Book Award longlist, but I’m so glad to have been introduced. It took me by surprise and became one of my favorites on the list.
Everyone was talking about this book even before it was nominated for the National Book Award, and it’s easy to see why. I liked it even more than I expected to.
Overall I liked this book but didn’t love it, although it’s mostly just bad matchmaking between me and this book.
Happy fall, babes — Sally has come to crack our chests wide open once again. I could have kept reading this book forever, and it reminded me how badly I need to go back and finish Sally’s backlist.
Elif Shafak is one of my favorite authors writing today — she combines lush, gorgeous storytelling with incredible research and a drop of the fantastic to give us a reading experience like no one else. And There Are Rivers in the Sky is no exception. In fact, it’s my favorite of her novels to date.
I read/listened to Small Rain in just a handful of sessions, engrossed as I was fully transported into the time, place, and mind of its narrator.
The Saint of Bright Doors was the last book I needed to read from the 2024 Hugo Award nominees for Best Novel, and I’m a bit bummed to say it was one I respected and appreciated more than I enjoyed.
The Palace of Eros was one of my most anticipated books this year. When I heard that De Robertis had written a queer, gender-fluid Eros and Psyche retelling, I was ON BOARD. And I enjoyed it very much!
Pearl is a short but impactful look at grief, motherhood (and mothering in the absence of a mother), mental illness, and the lasting effects of all three.
The God of the Woods is the latest literary mystery from Liz Moore, and it delivers! People have been calling this the book of the summer for a reason, and I liked it a lot.
I absolutely LOVED Night Boat to Tangier, so imagine my excitement to hear that Irish powerhouse Kevin Barry had written not only an American western, but a LOVE STORY. Did it live up to the hype? You bet your bookloving butt it did.
There’s no denying that Chigozie Obioma is one of the best to ever do it. With The Road to the Country, he proves it once again — enough this time to finally win him the Booker Prize, IMO. He deserves it.
The Most Fun We Ever Had was more of my KIND of story, but there’s no denying that Lombardo is an absolute master of character and relationship work on the page.
I loved Julia Phillips’ Disappearing Earth, so I was psyched to read her latest book, Bear. It’s hard to compare them, given their very different subject matter, but rest assured that Phillips’ mastery is once again on full display.
This ended up being one of my favorites from the 2023 Booker Prize longlist. I’m also glad I read this with a book club, because holy moly is there a LOT to process after that ending.
I loved this tender and propulsive look at the warfare in Palestine through the lens of relationships between Palestinians.
I’m glad that Soldier Sailor was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, because that’s why I read it. What a novel, and what a look at motherhood — raw, emotional, sharp, and a million other adjectives besides.
Kimberly King Parsons has done it again. We Were the Universe is just as aching and poignant as Black Light, with a messy main character so fully formed she could walk off the page.
All the Little Bird-Hearts is a refreshingly authentic portrayal of autism by an autistic author (amidst the “finest fiction” Booker-esque literary canon, anyway). I enjoyed it, I found it hard to put down, and I think it’s very much worth your time.
The Wren, The Wren is a beautifully written novel that's all characters, little plot. Enright is a master of the craft. I personally found that it didn't hold my attention well, but I think that was me and not the book.
