10 Oddly Specific Book Recommendations
A book that feels like a knife-to-the-throat, and more.
Some time ago, I (unofficially) challenged myself to write short reviews of books — an exercise in precision and language and editing; a meditation of sorts for someone who can be annoyingly verbose and write long and winding sentences, perhaps like the one you are reading right now.
So, here are some oddly specific book reviews — or recommendations, if you like — in no specific order.
The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante, translated by Ann Goldstein
Feels like a knife-to-the-throat, aches like a punch-to-the-gut — Elena Ferrante’s raw and meticulous portrayal of motherhood and daughterhood, The Lost Daughter has to be one of my favourite reads of all time. The Netflix adaptation starring Olivia Colman, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, loses the more explicit class critique but manages to stab in the right places (if you know what I mean).
The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, translated by John Cullen
The Meursault Investigation is a fine example of writing back to power and a fitting, brilliant, and meticulous rebuttal to Albert Camus' The Stranger.
A Passage North by Anuk Arudpragasam
A meditation, a revelation — A Passage North lays bare the human condition and connection. Anuk Arudpragasm has penned a physical and emotional history of a war-ravaged country.
You can read my review of Arudpragasm’s debut novel, The Story of a Brief Marriage HERE.
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Lyrical and earnest, Open Water makes you want to love love, despite everything.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The Underground Railroad burns with a certain immediacy of purpose and settles in its modern classic status. My third Whitehead after The Nickel Boys — a harrowing tale — and Apex Hides the Hurt — a little trickster of a book — and I continue to be impressed.
No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
Uniquely crafted, No One Is Talking About This is the great Twitter novel of our generation, for sure, but it's also so much more! Recommended reading for social media managers or anyone who looks at the internet with amusement, irony, and/or dread.
The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing
I was more interested in the women in the lives of the New York artists that this book explores — Jo Hopper, Valerie Solanas, Emily Roysdon, Nan Goldin, and the woman writer — and their reflections on loneliness. Ultimately, The Lonely City left me dissatisfied.
Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong—and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story by Angela Saini
Curious and curious-er — Inferior left me with more questions than answers, and I love that!
A Mirrored Life: The Rumi Novel by Rabisankar Bal, translated by Arunava Sinha
The kind of book that you want to start reading again as soon as you finish it.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Ocean Vuong’s rare gift to humanity.
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