Fiction That Leaves A Mark

There are no happy endings here: WSIR #18

A note to new subscribers: yes, hello! I’m so glad you’re all here. There’s no real need for an orientation because this is a newsletter about book recommendations which is … pretty self-explanatory? But I put a note especially for you at the end - keep reading.

So, I come from a family of readers, and we have this joke about my stepmother when talking about books: “It’s a depressing situation and then everyone dies. You’ll love it.” Which is to say, she doesn’t do light reading that wraps up in a tidy bow, and you won’t find that here this week. Instead, these are powerful, emotionally provocative, enthralling novels, including the recent pinnacle of this variety, A Little Life.

Whether due to the subject, the tone, or simply the haunting endings, they all pack a literary and emotional punch. I’m not sure I can even say that I “enjoyed” reading some of these, but I can say they are all terrific and have left a real imprint on me and just about everyone I know who read them. And sometimes that’s just what you’re looking for. So gird your loins and let’s get to it!

(If you’re already thinking that this sounds too heavy for These Times, I get it - Dr. Kerrykb prescribes you some escapist reading without guilt. This list will be here for you when the time is right.)

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I mean does this cover not explain it all?

Probably the number one book question I’m asked is “what can you recommend that’s like A Little Life?” Which isn’t surprising because this is an absolute 832-page-turner of an experience, where an almost absurd amount of terrible things happen and yet it’s somehow incredible. This novel follows the unfolding lives of four men who meet in college and move to New York, and the love, pain, and trauma that unfolds. Beautiful and captivating.

(FYI, the book I always recommend after A Little Life is The Great Believers.)

I read We Need to Talk About Kevin over a decade ago and I probably still think about it weekly with a barely suppressed shudder - it’s that unforgettable for me. This about a mother trying to understand what drove her teenage son to mass violence at his high school, told in a series of letters to her husband. She’s a fascinatingly unreliable narrator about taboo topics: not just gun violence, but ambivalent motherhood, families, and whether evil is born or made. I loved the writing and the intimate, dark mood. Please tell me if you read/have read it. I still want to talk about it.

There There centers around the journey of twelve different Native narrators traveling to The Big Powwow in Oakland, CA. I haven’t read anything like this book, which is like a car crash between Native identity and painful colonial history on one side and thoroughly contemporary scenarios and consequences on the other. It crackles with energy as everyone is hurtling to the powwow at the conclusion of the book. Sad and funny, ultra-modern, unsentimental, powerful.

Did I *like* The Power, about a society in which teen girls discover they have an innate electrical force that can paralyze, torture or even kill others - thus granting women all the societal, political, and physical power? I DON’T EVEN KNOW. What I do know is that I found it uncomfortable, harrowing, thrilling, clever, and it stayed with me for days like a bruise. If you love Margaret Atwood, this is for you.

To round out this list - Room. It’s told from the perspective of five year old Jack, who is held captive in one room with his young mother, and what happens when they try to escape. Jack’s naivete makes the unspeakable circumstances both more palatable and more searing, but the bond between Jack and his mother give this a lot of heart as well. Gripping and sad and joyful.

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A Year of Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Frankly it’s appropriate for this week’s newsletter, because after the tragedies of Hamlet and King Lear, sometimes you just want a palate cleanser of a love potion, mistaken identities, some madcap jokes in a forest and happily ever after! Delightful.

After 19% of the year, I’ve completed 15% of Shakespeare’s plays. Will this goal be achieved before Dec 31st or before the binding of my 1935 edition actually falls apart? Stay tuned.

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And Finally, New Readers …

… did you actually make it this far? THANK YOU KINDLY! Here are a few other things you might want to know:

• Here’s a quick summary of what you’ll get in coming weeks and in the archive. The short story (pun intended): some new books, lots of older books, author spotlights, fiction, non-fiction, and just about everything but business books and most dystopian fiction.

• These recommendations link directly to Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores across the country. All past book recommendations can also be found at my Bookshop.org affiliate page.

• If you have a request for a book recommendation, let me know by leaving a comment!