Kathleen's Favorite books of 2023
2023 was a really fantastic reading year for me personally! I have to admit to having a difficult time choosing a handful of favorites, so I narrowed it down to a baker's dozen. So without further ado, here they are, in no particular order!
- Whalefall by Daniel Kraus - A young man dives in a dangerous area off the coast of California in an attempt to recover the body of his late father. He has a dangerous experience with a whale. This story may be hard to swallow for some...pun intended. This is similar to The Martian but in a much more interior space and a little less sciency, more immediate survival mode! An adventurous and suspenseful novel. For those who love human vs nature stories with heart.
- Juno Loves Legs by Karl Geary - I read this with my book group here at the store, and while we all agreed this was not exactly an easy read since it deals with some difficult subject matter, I think most were glad to have read it. Set in 1980s Dublin, Ireland, we first meet Juno and Legs in elementary school, living challenging lives due to the adults in their lives. They're quickly separated, but fate reunites them in later years, where they become fast friends. Beautifully written and sad, this will appeal to fans of books like A Little Life, Normal People, and Shuggie Bain.
- The Fraud by Zadie Smith - Historical fiction at its finest. Smith takes a real life story and turns it into a morality tale for all times. This story is inspired and based on real people and events in Victorian era England and Jamaica. The plot revolves around a trial of a man claiming to be a lost noble person who has returned from an unintentional exile, although he clearly is not who he claims to be: however, is ANYONE who they claim to be? This is a rich and complex novel.
- The Glutton by AK Blakemore - I loved Blakemore's first novel, The Manningtree Witches, and this novel, her second, blew me away! The Glutton is based loosely on the life of a man called Tarrare, who was born in rural France around 1772. His short life (26 years) was punctuated with trauma and pain. Tarrare was a man with an unnaturally insatiable appetite who eats all manner of things, definitely not all edible, I don't like to give anything away, but I ended up being both aghast and terribly saddened by Tarrare's terrible struggle. Historical fiction not for the weak of heart.I'd also like to add that this novel has some of the most impressive and naturally used vocabulary I have ever read! It was a joy to read--and to learn!
- The Bee Sting by Paul Murray - This is the book I thought should win the Booker Prize. The Bee Sting is a complex story of a family experiencing a turn of fortunes in contemporary Ireland. Starting with the man of the family, we begin to hear their versions of what is happening, and these accounts and what each sees, hears, and does is very different, even though they are all in the same boat. Each family member's section is written in a way that reflects their personal state of mind, which is very effective. This is a big book, but I flew through it in a weekend!
- Strange Flowers/Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan - The first book I read this year was Strange Flowers by Irish author Donal Ryan, who I had not heard of before I chose this book. I began it on the first and finished on the third! I was entranced by this lovely and moving story of a family in a rural Irish village in the 1970s. This is not an action packed novel; it's about a slower way of life, and how people in small places interact. The word I would use to describe this beautiful book is tender! I felt like it was the perfect way to kick off a new reading year! The Queen of Dirt Island, his follow up to Strange Flowers is more of the same--the same small village but with a different set of characters, although you will know one or two if you read Strange Flowers first (this is stand alone, but I do love authors who give nods to previous characters in ensuing books!). I chose Queen for my book group at Little P on the strength of Strange Flowers alone and I loved it almost as much as that one! It's unusual for me to read a book by the same author in the same year or so, but I will probably add one of his earlier novels to my list for 2024.
- The Comfort of Crows by Margaret Renkl - Time for some non-fiction! Margaret's devotional style reflections on nature all around her is definitely one of my most anticipated books of the year! We were so fortunate to have her here at our brand new Homewood store in October; she is such a light! She reflects beautifully on her surroundings and sees the many parallels between nature outside her window and that of her own life. You can devour these essays or mete them out one a week! This book is gorgeous and like Late Migrations, is lovingly illustrated by her brother Billy. I'd suggest both or either as a gift for yourself or someone you love.
- First Comes Summer by Maria Hesselager - This is a weird one! But it was so good...Translated from Danish, this is the story of a sister and brother in a remote Viking settlement. They live relatively happy and contented lives, until their parents die, and the young siblings are forced to begin to live more adult roles: she is a midwife, and Folkvi's brother soon leaves on an excursion. Things are changing, and when he returns with wedding plans, Folkvi is hurt, even though she has her own relationship. This is a book full of devotion, obsession, and magic. It really defies any kind of real pigeon hole--it's horror, mythology, and ancient historical fiction.
- Prophet Song by Paul Lynch - Yet another Irish novelist, and the 2023 Booker Prize winner! I know I said above I wanted The Bee Sting to win the prize, but I just read Prophet Song (after the win was announced), and I can see why it was chosen. We usually refer to these kinds of novels as dystopian, but honestly, what happens to Eilish and her family is awfully familiar these days (think Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, North Korea). Eilish is a scientist; her husband is trade unionist. The story begins with his disappearance and we go down the rabbit hole with Eilish as she tries to save her family of four children and her own father as their normal lives deteriorate completely around them, and Northern Ireland slips into totalitarianism. This is a scary novel, but it might be what we all need to read! The writing is outstanding: both poetic and propulsive.
Ok, I know I said this list was in no particular order, but these last three are definitely my top picks for the year.
- *The Vaster WIlds* by Lauren Groff - I was highly anticipating this novel, and it was worth the wait! Those who follow me on Instagram or are friends on Facebook know how much I adored this beautifully written novel. Lauren Groff's latest offering is a stunning reimagination of the area we now think of as the mid-Atlantic colonies and one lost girl's experience in it. It follows a teenage female servant who has escaped the starving time at the Jamestown colony (1609-1610) and is now on her own in the wilderness. As an orphan back in London, she is "adopted" out of the poorhouse for her good nature, natural intelligence, charm, and pretty face. Zed/Lamentations (who has a number of names that she feels instinctively do not suit her; the reader will more than likely agree.) is able to survive through a combination of luck and quick-witted thinking, as she travels through snow, mud, hail, and very dangerous situations involving both man and nature. She struggles to travel north where she believes initially she will find some kind of refuge. This is a beautiful, evocative word painting by Groff. She shows us a resilient, brilliant, but realistic character shaped by a life of hardship and persistence. Our heroine is a fine example of self agency. Her existential journey through both the wilds of the primeval forests of the unsullied American continent, and of Colonial settlers, missionaries, and Native Americans leads her to profound realizations about herself, her faith, and her place in this world. The refuge she seeks is within herself. An amazing historical novel that kept me riveted until the very last line.
- *Tom Lake* by Ann Patchett - Ann is like your best buddy, coming around to share some stories, and what stories they are! In this stunner of a novel, Lara happily gathers her three daughters to her on the family cherry orchard during the pandemic (although this is NOT a pandemic story) to weave a story of her own past, beginning well before them, and mostly before their father. Lara is a teenager living in New Hampshire when she is recruited to Hollywood after being discovered for her singular high school performance in the classic play, Our Town by Thornton Wilder. This leads to some totally unexpected travels and relationships in her life, that form and shape her, and also lead her to her current home and family. Part of this story is about how we all have a life "before," and part of it is a calm recognition of how all those things that have happened to us in the past--both good and bad--shape us and lead us to where we currently stand in our lives. Lara adores her girls and her husband and her life--there is not a word of complaint or even regret. although not all those past memories are easy for Lara to talk about, and some she does prefer to keep private. But the omniscient reader gets to see what Lara does not tell her daughters...kind of like a certain play! This writing is stunning and is part of the reason why I love Ann so much--it's lovely but accessible and comforting and friendly, like Ann herself.
- *The North Woods* by Daniel Mason - Another Little P book club choice, and it was enjoyed and beloved by everyone in the group, as far as I could gather. It's hard to find a comparison for this book, because I have never read anything quite like it! The focus of the story is actually on a plot of land in western Massachusetts, and it begins when two young lovers arrive after absconding from a colony near the coast. From there, each chapter expands to tell a story of the next occupants of this spot, and the stories range from complex to short and simple, but the cumulative effects over time are what is special about all of them. The way the book is structured is both completely original and absolutely magical! Mason, who is also a physician, is genius at creating lively, unique characters and this is truly a book for EVERYONE. It's an American story, a human story, an animal story, and a brilliant tale of this abiding earth we all share. It also shares some similar characteristics to The Vaster Wilds, and in my mind, they will always be connected. As a child, I adored Laura Ingalls Wilder,'s Little Housebooks which were inspired by her own life as a pioneer child (and into adulthood) and both of these beautiful novels share a lot of the characteristics I really enjoyed when reading those stories as a little one--universal stories of bravery, love, loss, and perseverance. I'd encourage everyone to read this stirring book.