I don’t even know where to start! I have never had to do sum up an entire year’s worth of reading before. I thought I could just list my five favorite books of the year or something like that, but looking through the 50 books I read this year and no joke 40 of them have legitimate claims at the top five. Then I thought that I could maybe divide them into categories and then I realized I was overthinking this and just decided to log on and wing it.
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I love good endings of books. A perfect ending is I think one of the more difficult feats to pull off in writing. The best ending of a novel that I can remember from recent years is from Neon in Daylight, by Hermione Hoby, which I read in like 2019. I remember very little about the book but the last paragraph and the last sentence have stuck with me for years now. I think about them all the time. And two books that I read this year had similarly strong endings: Foster and Afterlives. I have picked both those books back up multiple times since finishing them in order to re-read the final pages.
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Regarding beginnings, I think the era of the “killer opening sentence” is over. I don’t even think you need to grab the reader in the first few pages. Those days for whatever reason are done at least for now (Tolstoy and Dickens are rolling over in their graves). That said, one novel which had a fantastic opening scene was A Time for Everything. The 15th century scholar stumbling across two fallen angels on a creekside was both horrifying and exhilarating. The book then takes an odd turn and the reader has to slog through a tiresome 100 pages or so before it starts to really cook again. But, oh man, that opening salvo. Brilliant.
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Best main character? Probably Elena from Elena Knows. A true hero in the most literal translation of the word: courageous, noble. I loved Elena and cheered for her the entire book. Best supporting character? Probably the dad from The Eight Mountains. As I mentioned in the review at the time, it was the first time I had identified with the father rather than the son. And for that reason the character of Giovanni I think might stick with me forever.
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Best backdrop? Maybe Athens in Scorpionfish. Or western Norway in Septology. Or eastern Norway in Men in My Situation. Or perhaps the Himalayas in The Snow Leopard. Or maybe the seaside house in the The Sea, The Sea. Or Lagos in Tremor. Too many too count. And so maybe this is what I look for in a novel? A backdrop that steals the show. I want to be picked up and placed somewhere else, somewhere alien that also feels like home. Even the most esoteric novels I read this year — Passages, for instance, or Pond — were still able to nail a sense of place.
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Scrolling through my reading list and I think that the best book I read this year was A Month in the Country. If I had to pick one — and I am loathe to do so, but if I had to — I would pick that one.
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What’s the worst book?
I made a conscious decision early in this newsletter’s life to stay positive, to find good things to say about even the most terrible of books. Writing scathing rants is easy, too easy, and I wanted to have a different voice. I wanted to read good books and love them and tell you why. And if I happened to read something that I felt was sub par I would find a silver lining somewhere. Cynicism is old and tired and not worth the effort.
But, I am still disappointed and almost oddly angry at The Passage North. I had soooo wanted to like that book. I kept trying and trying. But goodness me the pot smoking. I know that makes me a prude but it’s not real life!! The night the main character meets the love of his life they must smoke no joke like 25 joints over the course of a night and a day and that’s supposed to be reality? Come on! And for what it’s worth I would roll my eyes just as hard if they had drank 50 beers and called it reality.
And the way the writer centered all the grief and pain around him, made it all about him, was just, I don’t know. Kind of gross.
I can’t wait to read his next book though.
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A few months a good friend and loyal EARB reader told me that the best part of these newsletters was that they were short, haha. So I will call it quits now.
I do appreciate y’all reading throughout the year. Every time I see someone out in the world who happens to subscribe they tell me how much they enjoy the newsletter. And whether they are blowing smoke or not, it’s made it easier to keep this up. So, thank you for reading, and thank you for telling me you like the newsletter! For those that I don’t know in real life, please always feel free to reply and share feedback. I would love these reviews to kick off more conversations about books.
I have a lot of plans for the newsletter in 2024. And I am looking forward to what’s next.
Happy New Year!
-Matt