Literary Fiction: I Read It So You Don't Have To
YWR #132
It’s spooky literary season! When Ichabod Crane escapes from a man in a ski mask to create lists of impressive literary fiction that no one has heard of - or … what? No, that doesn’t seem right, hang on (consults notes, re-shuffles index cards)
Ah, yes, here we go: it is spooky season AND it is literary fiction list season, and it is the latter that concerns us today. Specifically, where the buzzy, much-ballyhooed make a number of literary prize lists, and everyone seems to revere them including and especially The Paris Review. And while we can admire artists who expand the possibilities of their craft, of course, doesn’t it seem like no one knows an actual human who has, you know, actually read them and can give you the real scoop?
Today, I am that actual human** and I will give you the real scoop on three very buzzed-about books in the capital L F Literary Fiction genre. Are they, in fact, as enthralling as claimed? Should you prioritize them on your Audible account? Must you possess an MFA to parse the text? Will you feel both virtuous but also that you’re slogging through sticky mud? Let’s talk about it!
**This week my office bestie Kobie turned my newsletters into an AI chatbot book recommendation engine. Which sounds fine and good until this bot insisted it was the “real me” while also making up problematic book opinions. Readers, for the sake of humanity and newsletter integrity, we had to kill the bot. I shall stick to writing as a real live human for the time being, though now I can confirm THAT IS ACTUALLY WHAT THE BOT WOULD SAY.
Congratulations to Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: Chain-Gang All-Stars is actually a literary fiction darling (National Book Award Finalist) and a book that a lot of mere mortals have read. Plus it boldly employs not one but two dashes in its title, which must bedevil any number of proofreaders.
Power summary: In a not so alternate universe, a for-profit, for-entertainment prison system lets incarcerated people participate chain-gang gladiatorial death match spectacles for a chance to win their freedom.
The literati say: “Epic…Intoxicating…It is a testament to Adjei-Brenyah’s idiosyncratic talents as a satirist that this premise…feels disquietingly plausible by the novel’s end.”—The Atlantic
(Please use the phrase “disquieting plausible” in your next meeting and report back.)
I say: Yes, this is a really incisive satire of the prison system and how people view incarcerated folks, of our reality tv detachment, of power structures, and of how each person can change it or enable it. It’s strikingly characterized, imaginative, and fierce. Was it often quite on-the-nose, making sure we understood the systemic brutality and immorality? It was. But still a strong read.
Slog factor: Very low! This is propulsive and gripping.
Reminder: Gentle Lambs are not a quality barometer - instead they tell us how devastating this book will be. So - devastating.
This author’s first novel, Real Life, was a book that I didn’t love upon first read because it was so discomfitting. But it has stayed with me for years, so I was excited for The Late Americans.
Power summary: The Late Americans is a series of linked chapters surrounding a group of artists and graduate students in Iowa City as they grapple with love, sex, art, gig jobs, and survival in a late capitalist world.
The literati say: “Taylor’s elegant works of fiction . . . keep a tight focus on their characters, like a magnifying glass. . . . Taylor’s vision is unsparing, but never bleak. . . . He has a Chekhovian generosity that enables him to convey character with something like tenderness.” —Harper's Magazine
(Chekhovian? Feels a little show-offy, Harper’s, but okay, do you.)
I say: I’m not typically a fan of short stories nor the “thinly linked sketches” novelistic style where characters drop in and out; I think it’s hard to find the center of the work. However, this book still resonated for me because the device conveyed how fragmented, alone and desperate all of these characters feel, and because I think this book is more about mood/vibes than one core message.
It’s full of desperate, unsatisfying sex; of precarious financial straits; of the glory and the absurdity of pursuing art as a vocation. I disagree with Harper’s in that I did think it felt quite bleak, but not in an indulgent way. I deeply did not enjoy this book for that reason - everyone felt alienated, despondent, and compelled to make bad choices - but it feels extremely human. Plus, Taylor knocks his dialogue out of the park. Not a must read but a good read.
Slog factor: Low-ish. Primarily due to aforementioned contentious bleakness, because otherwise it’s extremely naturalistic and thus easy to slip into.
If I Survive You is a debut novel that has received a ton of attention, from the Booker Prize to the National Book Award to the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference.
Power summary: A fictionalized story collection about a family born of Jamaican immigrants, living in Miami, and the struggle of race, of family, of struggle and survival.
The Literati say: "Not since Moby Dick has the all-American ethos of 'sink or swim' on your own been dramatized to such devastating effect. If I Survive You is an extraordinary debut collection, an intensively granular, yet panoramic depiction of what it's like to try to make it — or not — in this kaleidoscopic madhouse of a country." —Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air
(MOBY! DICK!)
I say: I coincidentally read this shortly after reading The Late Americans and so drew a lot of similarity in the excellent world-building around people just struggling to survive in a world that thinks nothing of punching down at every turn. There’s a detached sense of humor and arresting forthrightness about the characters trying to be true to themselves while doing what it takes to survive in a harsh reality.
Unlike literally every reviewer, I appreciated but did not love this collection of stories. Escoffery is a supremely talented writer, and the last story was truly excellent. But the format of loosely linked stories failed to keep much momentum for me, and I felt like the writing craft showed in a way that felt a little overworked. (I also don’t like theater that’s very actory so, you know, this is subjective.)
It’s quite impressive, and also I would finish a story and say “that was really good,” and then find an excuse not to read the next one. So. Maybe just not my format!
(Also in all transparency there’s a story that I think is about all the characters’ childhood pets dying and reader? I SKIPPED IT. So maybe that’s the one that transformed the reading experience.)
Slog factor: Medium. For me. Or you can trust Maureen and the gang who all loved it.
Have you read any of these? Leave a comment and let the group know about your personal slog factor!
Author’s Notes:
All links this week go to Vroman’s, apparently Southern California’s oldest and largest independent bookstore. I say “apparently” because it’s in Pasadena which means I am never going to go to that bookstore. But - it looks cool!
If literary fiction is not your thing, don’t forget to check the archive for other types of reading recommendations. And let me know in the comments if you have any requests!
If you are so moved, please share this with a friend so that one day I can become a book professional and I can get paid to read. But also no worries if not!