Less by Andrew Sean Greer is the story of Arthur Less, a failing writer about to turn fifty, whose boyfriend of nine years is getting married someone else. To avoid the humiliation of the wedding, Arthur pieces together a round the world book tour in order to be out of the country when it takes place. Written with sharp wit, I found this book hilarious, wise and surprisingly moving. Even through all his mistakes and missteps, it was impossible not…
Clever Girl by Tessa Hadley tells the story of Stella, an ordinary Englishwoman whose life unfolds in snapshots in the novel, moving from the 60’s to present day. Nothing extraordinary happens here, however it is Hadley’s writing that elevates the ordinary to the extraordinary, deftly describing the ways in which Stella relates to the world and everyone around her. A subtle, yet beautiful book.
Severance by Ling Ma is a post-apocalyptic novel set in NYC in the very near future. Candice Chen is so committed to the routine of her workday, she barely notices when Shen Fever sweeps the city and she is eventually left to survive alone.Ma writes in a wonderfully satirical voice about the end of the world and her place in what is left of it. A funny, insightful and slightly eerie look at a path that is all too easily…
26a is a semi-autobiographical novel by British author Diana Evans. In an attic room in London, two identical twins grow up together, sharing everything, and avoiding the unhappiness of their parents below. On a trip to Nigeria to visit their Mother’s family, unexpected events lead to the first secrets between them, and their lives begin to slowly drift apart. Beautifully written, Evans is a master of using language in new and creative ways. Poetic, full of humor, tragedy, and also…
The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar revisits characters from her earlier novel A Space Between Us. Umrigar is one of my favorite Indian authors. Here she writes about the least visible of all people, a low caste illiterate woman who lives in a slum in Mumbai, and another who is homeless, both struggling to scrape by and hold on to their dignity. The sights and sounds of Mumbai come alive, and the characters are so real I could not…
Lost Children Archive by Mexican author Valeria Luiselli is one of the most extraordinary books I’ve read in years. The characters remain unnamed, simply Ma, Pa, the boy, the girl. Told in alternating voices and filled with quotations, documents, polaroids, poems, musical references, the story becomes an incantation, a migration, a conversation with the past. The family takes a road trip, searching for lost immigrant children, searching for their place in the world. They record sounds, language, birdsong, whispers of…
The Dragonfly Sea by Kenyan author Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is historical fiction based on the little known fact of Chinese sailors being shipwrecked on the small island of Pate on Kenya’s eastern seaboard some 600 years ago. It is a coming of age story of Ayaana, a small girl growing up outcast and fatherless on Pate until she claims a sailor Muhidin, as her father. When dignitaries from China come to Pate and do DNA testing, Ayaana, now 21 is…
The Island of Sea Women is the latest historical fiction by Lisa See. This time she focuses on the little known Korean Island of Jeju where the women are the providers and the men stay home with the children. As soon as they are old enough, girls learn to dive from their mothers and grandmothers, harvesting riches from the sea. The book follows two best friends through decades of colonialism, war, marriage, children and into modern times. See highlights the…
The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay is the book I’ve been most disappointed by this year, probably because of all the hype around it and how much I was looking forward to reading it. Although parts are beautifully written, I never understood or liked the main character, Shalini. She is a wealthy, naive young woman from Bangalore who goes to live for a time with a family in Kashmir, this part is semi-autobiographical. However, the choices she makes are hard…
Mama’s Last Hug, Animal Emotions and What They Tell Us About Ourselves by Frans De Waal is a book about the study of chimpanzees and other animals over the course of many decades. De Waal, one of the worlds leading primatologists, concludes that we should be treating animals better since they too have emotions. That this is still unknown to so many people is baffling to me. I’m glad this book is out if this is what is needed to…