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All tagged Literary Fiction
Karen Russell writes exactly my flavor of weird literary magical realism, so it’s no surprise that I loved The Antidote. But it’s not the presence of those elements that does it here — it’s the way she weaves them together.
This book’s standout is a style that’s masterfully pared back; it feels simple in a way that’s obviously anything but. Truly expert stuff here, and more than worth your time. Read it!
A bold statement: I think Playground is my favorite Richard Powers so far. I know he won the Pulitzer for The Overstory (which I definitely enjoyed!), but I said what I said.
I’m a sucker for literary fiction with speculative elements, so when I heard about Black Woods Blue Sky, which blends the dreaminess and darkness of fairy tales with the beauty and danger of the Alaskan wilderness, I knew it was going to be exactly my kind of book. And I was not wrong!
This Strange Eventful History was longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. Parts of it were more engaging for me than others, but overall, I enjoyed it. Audio is definitely the way to go here, IMO!
This book was a bit of a miss for me. It has emotional impact and fantastic characters, but the execution felt old-fashioned and strangely out of touch. It’s short, though, so you still might enjoy this heartwarming little story.
This book is surreal and disorienting (in a good way), deeply affecting, and the kind of book that’s so good and readable you have to stop yourself from inhaling it
Our Evenings has a lot of things going for it, in terms of being a winner for me: It follows a character across their entire life, it depicts that life with tenderness and care, it has a strong first-person voice. And while it didn’t land with me 100%, I netted out on liking it.
Held was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and if I’m being honest, I’m a little surprised that it didn’t win. I read it twice in three months. And WOW am I glad I did.
I’m happy to report that Pat Barker continues to be excellent. Many authors have written Greek retellings about the women in recent years, but in my opinion, hers stand apart.
I’m glad that Stone Yard Devotional made its way onto the Booker Prize longlist (and shortlist!), or else I may not have ended up reading it. I don’t know if it will stick with me long-term, but I definitely enjoyed my time with it.
I’d owned a copy of The Safekeep since before it was published (thanks, Avid Reader Press!), but for whatever reason it just never bubbled up to the top of my TBR — until it was nominated (and then shortlisted) for the Booker Prize. And WOW, am I glad for it. I loved this one.
Louise Erdrich’s novels have an approachability that can feel elusive among novels with such a high caliber of writing. It’s just good storytelling, and the characters step off the page and into your heart. The Mighty Red was no different.
This hadn’t been on my radar before the National Book Award longlist, but I’m so glad to have been introduced. It took me by surprise and became one of my favorites on the list.
Everyone was talking about this book even before it was nominated for the National Book Award, and it’s easy to see why. I liked it even more than I expected to.
Creation Lake was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and longlisted for the National Book Award, so of course I had to read it. But this is a tricky review to write — it didn’t really grab me, but I’m having a hard time articulating why.
My Friends had been on my TBR for months, so I was especially excited when it was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the National Book Award. I had a ton of friends who had loved it, so it was no surprise that I loved it too.
Overall I liked this book but didn’t love it, although it’s mostly just bad matchmaking between me and this book.
Another gorgeous, moving book that probably wouldn’t have made it to the top of my TBR without the help of the National Book Award! (Nor onto my shelves — and that would have been such a shame, because I can’t even begin to tell you how stunning the hardcover is.)
I asked the National Book Award judges to give us weird and original short stories on the longlist, and let me tell you — they really said YOU GOT IT, GIRL with this collection.
