Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
I decided to read Rumaan Alam’s Entitlement because I thought Leave the World Behind was an interesting enough story, so perhaps this story would be too. But no, Entitlement is just as dumb as its protagonist.
…Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Nnedi Okorafor is a writer of sci-fi and fantasy novels for both adults and children. Death of the Author is the first novel of hers that I have read, and I would say it is more literary fiction than sci-fi even though it has much to say about technology and Artificial Intelligence. I wasn’t sure I was going to like Death of the Author because of the sci-fi elements to the story (sci-fi isn’t really my jam), but I ended up really enjoying this novel.
…Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
I enjoyed Xochitl Gonzalez’s Anita De Monte Laughs Last so much that I decided to read her first novel, Olga Dies Dreaming. At first, I wasn’t sure I was going to like this novel because of the problematic titular protagonist, but Olga, and the novel, grew on me, and I ended enjoying this story almost as much as Anita De Monte Laughs Last.
…The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
The Safekeep is Yael van der Wouden’s debut novel. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize and recently won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and I can understand why. It is an exquisite study in character, women’s desire and love.
…Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon
The premise of Fruit of the Dead – a modern reimagining of the Persephone and Demeter myth – intrigued me, but I was worried that Fruit of the Dead was going to be too abstract for me to parse, or perhaps too pretentious to enjoy. This novel is neither of those things, but honestly, I do not know what to think of Fruit of the Dead. It is not bad, but I do not think it is very good either. It is interesting, but I was not really invested in the characters.
…Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo is a well-received, Man Booker Prize winning novel about the death of Abraham Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, and how Willie ends up in the bardo between life and death. It sounds like an interesting read, but I wish I had taken a moment to flip through the pages before buying this book because I do not like how it was written.
…The Overstory by Richard Powers
The Overstory is the second novel of Richard Powers’ that I have read, the first being Bewilderment. The Overstory is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel that was Powers’ last novel before he published Bewilderment, and both novels have a common theme of human destruction of the natural environment. The Overstory is a dense novel that even I found to be a bit much, I think because it presents a lot of hard truths about how unappreciative humanity is of this amazing, beautiful world that we live in, and how our main character energy has resulted in the mass destruction of other lives that share this planet with us.
…The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
I probably never would have read Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible if I had not read Demon Copperhead first, and I am so glad I did not miss out on this incredible story of family, religion and race. I completely understand now why The Poisonwood Bible is such a well-regarded novel, and I highly recommend it, just do not let its thickness deter you.
…The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft
I wanted to read The Extinction of Irena Rey because of the pretty cover, but also because the plot does sound like it might be interesting: The novel is about eight translators who gather in Poland at the house of the writer Irena Ray to translate her next novel, but then Irena goes missing. The thing is, as soon as I started reading the first chapter, I knew I had made a mistake and that I was not going to like this novel.
…When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O’Neill
I was instantly drawn to the cover of Heather O’Neill’s When We Lost Our Heads. But then I read the synopsis and decided to give it a pass because the main characters sounded insufferable. I ended up buying it because of the glowing reviews, and because I needed one more book to get free shipping for my Book Outlet order. I reluctantly started reading it when nothing else in my TBR pile called out to me. I was right about the main characters being insufferable, but it turns out there is much more to When We Lost Our Heads then the loathsome relationship between the main characters, and I ended up being wholly engrossed in this novel as I read it.
…