in the spirit of generous sharing that you are all bringing to the table i'm going to add that two of my most trusted reading friends texted me recommending The Makioka Sisters and i'm ordering it right now
Wilful Disregard by Lena Andersson. It’s a translated novel, originally in Swedish. And was reviewed by the NYRB by Sheila Heti, who really likes it too. The book is about unreciprocated love/the nature of love in general. Hope you get out of your reading slump! ♥️
As I am reading this, the only thing going through my mind is “God, I would read ANYTHING Jia writes” and “yeah I am really obsessed with Trick Mirror”. Thank you and hope your next read finds you soon!
I’ve gotten completely lost in N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy before. I’m not a big sci-fi reader but it totally sucked me in anyway and each book was even better than the previous one, shockingly consistent in quality. I still think of the characters from time to time. I’ll be chopping vegetables for dinner and just feel overcome by the grief, or the courage, and sometimes just the resolve.
Re: languid books about rich white people, I was totally engrossed by The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis- I’d stay up late reading it like I was a kid again, the very best feeling. So horny and gay and so scary and unnerving, it is like Less Than Zero meets Dostoyevsky meets the Scream franchise. It is meandering and too long yet I could have also read 600 more pages- and it leaves you feeling so raw and vulnerable by the end, a feeling which continues to linger with me weeks later.
Ditto on the book rec, as well as how I felt myself reading it—so so long but also somehow not long enough. I devoured the about 600-ish pages in a week. It’s been a long time since a novel both engrossed and spooked me like that
Another vote for Transit of Venus however it does start slow and you might not have time for that. 2 all time favs from at least 20 years ago: the Saskiad by Brian Hall and Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks (RIP)
The two novels I’ve read by Claire Keegan are beautiful and moving and can be read in two hours (maybe three if you’re reading both back to back). Almost like novellas. I did, though, need to let each story sit in my brain for a day or two before moving on. The first is Foster and the second Small Things Like These.
Sorrow and Bliss was beautiful. Didn’t expect to be so taken by that novel! I need to reread The Candy House. I think I was expecting another Goon Squad, and perhaps you just have to go into it with a love for the Goon Squad history but also total openness to something different.
Have you read The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif? Gorgeous multigenerational family saga across two timelines and set partially in Egypt. I found it totally immersive. Published in I think 1999 and shortlisted for the Booker that year so I think fairly characterized as a classic from a few decades ago.
I’d also suggest Inheritors by Asako Serizawa. Spectacular interconnected short stories blending historical fiction and a bit of speculative fiction.
A few other ideas: The Hearing Trumpet (surrealist romp); Salt Slow by Julia Armfield (wonderfully weird and horror-tinged short stories); A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa (genre defying, super smart); The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan (slightly more commercial but compulsively readable commentary about the pressures on new mothers); The Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan (gorgeous family saga, I think a good fit for Pachinko fans); A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (immersive, innovative, playful, heartbreaking); Sisters by Daisy Johnson (mesmerizing, slightly Gothic); Piranesi (lovely little puzzle of a book); A Children’s Bible (propulsive and brilliant climate allegory).
I think you might have already gone down this path, but the Tennessee Williams bio by John Lahr is a sprawling tragic novel, high brow, gossipy, unreciprocated love, transportive, etc. I read it when I was extremely preg w J, over the course of a week, and I knew I would never have an experience like that again. And I haven’t! Lol.
The magus by John Fowles. A young Englishman who takes a teaching job on a Greek island is pulled into a complicated game of deception by the resident eccentric millionaire.
in the spirit of generous sharing that you are all bringing to the table i'm going to add that two of my most trusted reading friends texted me recommending The Makioka Sisters and i'm ordering it right now
going to do the same based on this comment. the recommendation circle is complete.
Wilful Disregard by Lena Andersson. It’s a translated novel, originally in Swedish. And was reviewed by the NYRB by Sheila Heti, who really likes it too. The book is about unreciprocated love/the nature of love in general. Hope you get out of your reading slump! ♥️
oooh was meaning to pick this up
As I am reading this, the only thing going through my mind is “God, I would read ANYTHING Jia writes” and “yeah I am really obsessed with Trick Mirror”. Thank you and hope your next read finds you soon!
I’ve gotten completely lost in N. K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy before. I’m not a big sci-fi reader but it totally sucked me in anyway and each book was even better than the previous one, shockingly consistent in quality. I still think of the characters from time to time. I’ll be chopping vegetables for dinner and just feel overcome by the grief, or the courage, and sometimes just the resolve.
i am also a real fan of that trilogy even though i have a hard time with fantasy -- it's so good
Oh, then you also have to read the inheritance trilogy. I got the trilogy as one book and read the thousand pages in one sitting.
Re: languid books about rich white people, I was totally engrossed by The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis- I’d stay up late reading it like I was a kid again, the very best feeling. So horny and gay and so scary and unnerving, it is like Less Than Zero meets Dostoyevsky meets the Scream franchise. It is meandering and too long yet I could have also read 600 more pages- and it leaves you feeling so raw and vulnerable by the end, a feeling which continues to linger with me weeks later.
Ditto on the book rec, as well as how I felt myself reading it—so so long but also somehow not long enough. I devoured the about 600-ish pages in a week. It’s been a long time since a novel both engrossed and spooked me like that
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au
The Impossible City: A Hong Kong Memoir by Karen Cheung
In Sensorium: Notes for My People by Tanaïs
How to Read Now: Essays by Elaine Castillo
My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi
I was also going to say Cold Enough for Snow! I run a bookstore and it was my favourite read of last year.
Aw, happy my rec is bookseller approved!
Was going to say Cold Enough for Snow
I'm glad you enjoyed it; such a lovely, introspective novella!
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez! Part of my soul belongs to this book now and I’m ok w it
Agreed! Our Share of Nignt is so wild and so so good. Recently read on a vacation and I can’t stop thinking about it.
Another that rocked me was Rachel Ingalls’ Binstead’s Safari
I really believe The Secret History is the one if you have not read it. It checks the following boxes:
* beautiful, languid books about rich white people
* classic from a couple decades ago
* exists in the genre of psychological thriller that I think Highsmith also resides in (she's at least on the same street)
* even if you hate it, you get to enjoy all the Donna Tartt memes that much more (https://www.instagram.com/p/CjblZFEPLy5/)
Another vote for Transit of Venus however it does start slow and you might not have time for that. 2 all time favs from at least 20 years ago: the Saskiad by Brian Hall and Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks (RIP)
kathryn i've never read transit of venus!!! i think this might be the answer!
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin!
The two novels I’ve read by Claire Keegan are beautiful and moving and can be read in two hours (maybe three if you’re reading both back to back). Almost like novellas. I did, though, need to let each story sit in my brain for a day or two before moving on. The first is Foster and the second Small Things Like These.
Enjoy your trip!!
Small things like these has stayed with me since I gulped it down in one afternoon. Incredible.
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason!
Chemistry by Weike Wang!
Tampa by Alissa Nutting (read TW for this one)
The Candy House (new)
Sorrow and Bliss was beautiful. Didn’t expect to be so taken by that novel! I need to reread The Candy House. I think I was expecting another Goon Squad, and perhaps you just have to go into it with a love for the Goon Squad history but also total openness to something different.
Have you read The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif? Gorgeous multigenerational family saga across two timelines and set partially in Egypt. I found it totally immersive. Published in I think 1999 and shortlisted for the Booker that year so I think fairly characterized as a classic from a few decades ago.
I’d also suggest Inheritors by Asako Serizawa. Spectacular interconnected short stories blending historical fiction and a bit of speculative fiction.
A few other ideas: The Hearing Trumpet (surrealist romp); Salt Slow by Julia Armfield (wonderfully weird and horror-tinged short stories); A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa (genre defying, super smart); The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan (slightly more commercial but compulsively readable commentary about the pressures on new mothers); The Arsonists’ City by Hala Alyan (gorgeous family saga, I think a good fit for Pachinko fans); A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (immersive, innovative, playful, heartbreaking); Sisters by Daisy Johnson (mesmerizing, slightly Gothic); Piranesi (lovely little puzzle of a book); A Children’s Bible (propulsive and brilliant climate allegory).
Loved half of these books, excited to read the other half!
I think you might have already gone down this path, but the Tennessee Williams bio by John Lahr is a sprawling tragic novel, high brow, gossipy, unreciprocated love, transportive, etc. I read it when I was extremely preg w J, over the course of a week, and I knew I would never have an experience like that again. And I haven’t! Lol.
Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns
The Royal Physician's Visit by Per Olov Enquist translated by Tiina Nunnally
The Divorce by Cesar Aira
Troubles by J.G. Farrell
The magus by John Fowles. A young Englishman who takes a teaching job on a Greek island is pulled into a complicated game of deception by the resident eccentric millionaire.
The Magus was so fun!
This sounds fantastic- just added to my list!