By Jay Grummel
In the fall my TBR (to be read) shifts from Fantasy to Literary Fiction. I’ve become a mood reader in my college years. Something about the coldness of the fall and winter influences the sadness of the books I’m reading. Recently, a few novels I deem to best of my 2023 reads. Of course with it only being November this could change. However, I thought I share with you guys anyways.
All’s Well – Mona Awad
All’s Well follows Miranda Fitch, a once actor and now a college theater director. Miranda’s career left her with excruciating back pain that never leaves, causing a failed marriage and a dependence on painkillers. Her students are hellbent on staging Macbeth, but instead Miranda is determined to put on All’s Well That Ends Well, the play from her scared past. Everything is falling apart until she meets three strange benefactors, wanting to help in more ways than one.
I praise Mona Awad for her use of symbolism throughout this novel. Taking you through almost a fairy tale like story she makes connections to the real world and real pain by using the unexplainable. As someone who also suffers from chronic pain, it was nice to have a story that didn’t dismiss it as in real life its dismissed most of the time. Mona Awad writes about women struggles in a fictional aspect, but with feelings and thoughts of the real world. I personally rated this book 5/5.
A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
This story follows four classmates as they move from Massachusetts to New York. We get to follow them as the drift into different lives, but are always grounded by each other. There are decades colored by addiction, success and pride. To them they only have each other, but are challenged when Jude, a talented litigator starts to fall apart. Haunted by his unspeakable childhood, scarred mind and body Jude is left to overcome.
I am still emotionally recovering from this book. The nonlinear timeline and following multiple POVs was a perfect choice for the story. These factors caused me to hold the characters closer to my heart than I should. It’s hard not to fall in love with them and hate them all the same, as they are realistically written. My rating for this book is 5/5 also.
The Virgin Suicides – Jeffrey Eugenides
Twenty years after the suicides of the Lisbon sisters their memories still live on in the boys who worshipped them. Recalling their shared adolescence means also recalling the tragic story that unfolded in front of them. Never being able to help the boys now spend their time trying to understand just exactly what happened to the Lisbon sisters.
Jeffrey Eugenides wrote this novel not only beautifully, but poetically. It’s been a long time since I read a novel and thought the wording was beautiful along with the plot. With that being said, reading this story felt like observing a dream. There are so many layers to this plot and commentary, it’s hard to pick one to focus on. However, my favorite was probably how the public reacts to death. As this story focuses on death from the POV of those that did not experience it first hand. These are ideas we don’t like to focus on as much, but I think they’re incredibly important. I rated this 4.5/5
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