The new year is coming, and I’ve decided to record my five favorite fiction and nonfiction books read in 2022. Below is my fiction list in no particular order.*
The setting is the star here. Hooks takes the reader deep into Florida to a community where gators, swamps, and poverty are everywhere. You can almost feel the droplets of sweat and summer heat as you read. Hints of Eudora Welty, Charles Bukowski, Ken Kesey, and Lauren Groff here.
The book centers around a magician/preacher and a devastating accident that occurs in the opening pages.. I read several swamp-set books over this past year, and I think I was searching for some kind of mystical storytelling far removed from my own background and experience. This was the one southern swamp book that satiated me. The characters here felt woven together in an inevitable tapestry, like they didn’t so much as choose to be together but were destined to move together anyhow.
There’s a whole lot of alcohol and bad decisions in here that are hard to witness. However, everything unfolded in such a way that I felt like my outsider judgment was some elitist northerner bullshit that didn’t matter anyhow.
Luster
Raven Leilani – Twitter Instagram
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020
This book started like a trashy romance novel and then slowly rolled into an examination of the harsh realities of capitalism, racism, and gender politics.
Edie, a twenty-something black woman, starts a casual fling with Eric, an older white man in an open marriage. She ends up wrapped in several complex relationships with him and his family, the most interesting of which is her relationship with Eric’s wife, Rebecca. Rebecca is tough, smart, and manipulative both toward her husband and Edie.
The whole way this book presented a juxtaposition of simplicity and complexity I found mesmerizing. Everyday office scenes contrasted with the revealing, personal, and unflattering backstory about the main character and her inability to form normal social relationships.
Throughout the book, devastating details laid out Edie’s humanity and frailty. One image that stuck with me is Edie in the park feeding a pigeon with a withered leg. It struck me as mundane and horrifically sad at the same time. It’s that kind of specific, visceral reality that Leilani hit over and over again.
Out There
Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2022
I love books that fail neat genre distinctions, especially when they fall into the nexus between literary fiction/science fiction/slipstream. Yes, I know this is all about marketing, and I could rant about all this, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll say that this book reminds me of Kazuo Ishiguro and Karen Russell, two of my favorite living writers.
Folk’s stories are often sad and relatable tales about loneliness in fast-paced, callous communities yet with some fantastical element that accentuates the pressure her characters face. The most memorable story is about a future where seemingly wonderful men lure women into relationships through dating apps. In reality, these men are robots mining for personal data.
Little
Edward Carey – Twitter Instagram
Riverhead Books, 2019
Little is a magical account of the life of Madame Marie Tussaud of wax museum fame. Marie, nicknamed Little, is an apprentice for a famed waxworker. Slowly, they build a reputation and an audience by portraying the great thinkers of the day. However, it is in the depiction of the terrible murderers and thieves that really draws a crowd. Later, Marie is summoned by the royal family as an art teacher for the princess. As Marie forms relationships at Versaille, the French Revolution is beginning and she must figure out the best way to survive.
I also read Carey’s The Swallowed Man this past year which is about Geppetto from the Pinnochio tale living inside a whale. Both books include Carey’s terrific illustrations. More adult books should have pictures. Like Little, Swallowed Man is charming and peculiar. I’m willing to read anything he puts out.
Piranesi
Susanna Clarke – Instagram
Bloomsbury Publishing, 2001
This book is lyrical, vibrant, and rich with imagery. While I think this is the best book I’ve read in years, I haven’t recommended it to anyone else because it’s abstract and odd. It’s the kind of book I imagine Clarke could not have published without having had tremendous success with Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell first, and this makes me love it even more.
For most of the book, the main character moves through a barren landscape trying to make sense of where he is and what is happening around him. Small clues appear along the way and the story unravels in a stunning and beautiful way. It’s a short book, and I can’t tell you more without including spoilers. If you like weird slipstream, give it a shot and tell me what you think. If you’re looking for a normal, linear novel, maybe try something else on this list.
That’s it! Happy reading in 2023. Here’s a link to my nonfiction list. Oh, you haven’t read my books? You can find those here.
* I did exclude John Steinbeck and Richard Wright from consideration here. They’re just too good.
