10. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon - My first Michael Chabon novel and it was a riot. Fun and easy to read, but with lots of heady, satirical undertones. Set in the fictional Jewish community of Sitka, Alaska, this book is a straight up whodunit in the most bizarre fashion. Look for the feature film directed by the Coen Brothers in 2010.
9. Tomcat in Love by Tim O'Brien - Tim is one of my favorite current American authors. 3 of his works grace my personal top 10 books ever, and while this isn't one of them, this is still a great read. Completely different than his other works, this is a very light and easy novel, displaying only the smallest hint of dark, intense prose I most often associate him with.
8. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri - This was the first book from one of the most gifted current Indian authors. While her follow up works aren't as good, this is a fantastic collection of short stories that is appealing to everyone. All the stories have the similar vibe of being a person misplaced, lost and lonely. Fantastic stuff.
7. Giovanni's Gift by Bradford Morrow - Bradford's prose is really unbelievable. His powers of description of heavy, hidden emotions is top notch. This is a mystery novel, but very deep and dark. It is more a mystery of man's soul than a whodunit. Sometimes you just have to put the book down and marvel and what a great job he's done of completely blowing your mind with his sheer talent. My only complaint is the ending, but that doesn't keep me from recommending it. Some of the best deep, intense writing I've read in a while.
6. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - 2008 was the year of McCarthy for me. This is by far his darkest novel yet, and his simple, sparse, savage prose is second to none. His writing is powerful yet gentle, modern yet timeless, and all together his work is some of the best in the whole of American history. This book is about a father and son desperately trying to survive in post-apocalyptic America. Look for the movie this year.
5. What Is the What by Dave Eggars - This is the the almost-true story of one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. This is one of the most touching and heart-wrenching novels I've ever encountered. Eggars takes this young man's experience and puts it on a level we can all understand. I can't say enough about the honesty in the writing, and the incredible, undying sense of hope. A must read.
4. The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy - I really hesitated putting two books from the same author on here, but I just couldn't help it. The is the ultimate wild west novel, easily my favorite McCarthy novel yet. I feel safe to say that no one in the whole collection of American writing has ever contained the descriptive powers that McCarthy has. You have never encountered a force like McCarthy.
A note about the top 3. It was really difficult for me to choose the order for these. They are practically interchangeable with each other, and are all must reads.
3. Suite Francoise by Irene Nemirovsky - Nemirovsky was a popular French author in the 30's and 40's. She was also a Jew. She was taken by the Nazis and passed away in Auschwitz. 64 years after her death they found this novel - the first two parts of a five part series. She died without being able to complete the last 3. This is a novel about the German invasion in France. It deals not only with the horror, but also the mundane. It deals with the years when the men where gone, and the women lived with the Germans. The story is one of the most important ever told about World War 2. The translation is amazing, and the writing is top notch. This book is just so powerful, and so necessary to read, and so very crucial to anyone interested in the long term effects of war on the individual level.
2. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - This is a simple, short, powerful novel about one Indian family's struggle with despair, displacement, and poverty. Perfectly executed and thought out, this is the best novel I've read in a long time that deals with being a foreigner, even in your own home. Desai displays such affection and warmth, such heart and soul, such incredible love for her characters and her land, that you will not be able to put this book down. Astonishing.
1. The Known World by Edward P. Jones - At the risk of fouling the name of many great classics, this is hands down the single greatest piece of fiction written on the subject of slavery. This is an immense, breath taking novel that is so broad, so deep, and so moving that it never really leaves you. The characters in the novel are perfectly thought out and complex while still being lovable people we feel related to. The people in and about the plantation, by the end, are your family and friends. The writing is phenomenal, the story grand and the overall effect is nothing less than astonishing. I will never forget this book.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
On a semi-permanent mildly serious marginally lengthy hiatus.
1 comment:
I recently saw your post about reading Irène Némirovsky's Suite Française. I wanted to pass along some information on an exciting new exhibition about Némirovsky's life, work, and legacy at the Museum of Jewish Heritage —A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York City. Woman of Letters: Irène Némirovsky and Suite Française, which will run through the middle of March, will include powerful rare artifacts — the actual handwritten manuscript for Suite Française, the valise in which it was found, and many personal papers and family photos. The majority of these documents and artifacts have never been outside of France. For fans of her work, this exhibition is an opportunity to really “get to know” Irene. And for those who can’t visit, there will be a special website that will live on the Museum’s site www.mjhnyc.org/irene
The Museum will host several public programs over the course of the exhibition’s run that will put Némirovsky’s work and life into historical and literary context. Book clubs and groups are invited to the Museum for tours and discussions in the exhibition’s adjacent Salon (by appointment). It is the Museum’s hope that the exhibit will engage visitors and promote dialogue about this extraordinary writer and the complex time in which she lived and died. To book a group tour, please contact Chris Lopez at 646.437.4304 or clopez@mjhnyc.org. Please visit our website at www.mjhnyc.org for up-to-date information about upcoming public programs or to join our e-bulletin list.
Thanks for sharing this info with your readers. If you need any more, please do not hesitate to contact me at hfurst@mjhnyc.org
Post a Comment