This 2022 end-of-year list includes an equal number of fiction and nonfiction. The books earned their place for the unusual qualities that set them apart: storytellers that amazed me, atmospheres that erased time, facts that broadened my thinking. Four of the books have been mentioned here before; two are new.
Category: Literature
A family Christmas and the wisdom in a soaring flock of birds
Lynn Steger Strong’s new novel “Flight” dissects the discord among family members gathered for Christmas at a sibling’s house in upstate New York. It’s told with riveting force. Here’s a review.
Rudolf Vrba’s escape from Auschwitz and an unputdownable whodunnit
Two very different books, both written with expert style and intrigue guaranteed to fascinate: "The Escape Artist" by Jonathan Freedland and "The Enigma of Room 622" by Joël Dicker. Here's what they're about and why they're so immersive.
“The world does not know that you are here.”
The world certainly knows Cormac McCarthy's new novel "The Passenger" is here. A 16-year wait for his fans, of which I have not been one until now, hooked irrevocably. His characters herein are geniuses, and so is this author. Here's what “The Passenger” is all about.
“Treacle Walker” and “Oh William!”
The National Book Foundation announced their longlist for the 2022 National Book Awards this week. (This post isn't about that. I just wanted to tell you.) They have several categories beyond fiction and nonfiction, all of which you'll find on their website. Meanwhile, I'm still closing in on the Booker Prize nominees. They're down to the six finalists, including these two.
“The Half Life of Valery K” by Natasha Pulley
A nuclear specialist is mysteriously transferred from a Siberian labor camp to an unnamed Soviet city. His assignment exposes him to an irradiated environment that resident scientists and the KGB deny. So begins a complex drama in Natasha Pulley’s newest fiction set in 1963. Here's a review.
2022 Dublin Literary Award winner and finalists
Last month, Ireland's Dublin City Council announced the winner of its annual literary award. Nominations for this award come from public libraries around the world, which means the longlist of contenders offers readers an exciting wealth of books to browse in search of next reads. Here's what I chose for myself, and why so few. Plus, the winner, which I loved.
Controlled perception: a 20th century tycoon’s life
Hernan Diaz's new novel "Trust" is getting a lot of attention, and it's not surprising. The book creatively embraces the distortions power and wealth enable, bending reality. It's a story that leaves its mark, long remembered after the last page. Here's a review.
Lost man at sea, lost novel recovered
"Gentleman Overboard" by Herbert Clyde Lewis published in 1937 slipped into forgotten books land as so many good books do (and shouldn't) until it was rescued. It's the story of Henry Preston Standish, who finds himself floating in the Pacific Ocean, sure the ship he fell off of will turn around and pick him up. It's ingenious tragicomedy with an objective. You've got to read it.
These good books: from gripping to inspiring
Here you'll find stories to savor and characters you'll love so much you'll have to put the book down and walk away, to get ready, when things get tense. Also, a memoir about growing up on the largest block of unfenced wilderness in the lower 48 states, and a new novel I'm thinking may just be a spring break beach read.
Paris’s 19th century institutionalized female hysterics
The Salpêtrière hospital in Paris functioned as a city within a city, an enclosed asylum for women whose nerves were shot. That's my modern speak for what then neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot termed hysteria. In "City of Incurable Women," author Maud Casey lets their stories be known. Read more about her new book here.
Now reading: poetry, nature, true crime, and J.S. Bach
For too long, Ilya Kaminsky’s “Deaf Republic” sat on my reading table, a story told in poems that’s not only profound but now so very timely. Also in this blog post you’ll find a compelling mix of fiction and nonfiction, with authors writing about love for the natural world, truth in a murder investigation, and the St. Matthew Passion.
What I’m reading, plus promising new books
I’m deep into the fictional lives of Guy and Harriet Pringle in Olivia Manning’s classic trilogy, but I'm also looking forward to some interesting new books out this month and next. They include a novel narrated by a book (the narrator being Joseph Roth’s “Rebellion”), a small gem exploring 19th century women hysterics, a psychological thriller, a reissued story collection from the 1970s, and more. Read about the books here.
Mahmood Mattan’s tragic story
"The Fortune Men" is a fictionalized account of a gross miscarriage of justice that sent a Somali sailor to the gallows in 1952 Cardiff, Wales. Shortlisted for Britain’s 2021 Booker and Costa literary awards, it’s received much attention and praise. Here’s a review.
My 10 favorite books of 2021
A surprising mix of novels became my year-end favorites for their morally conflicted and inspiring characters: from scientists to petty thieves, French Algerians to Chilean dictators, an Indiana farm woman to a Black female executive. And then one book, simply put, I didn't want to end.
The Longest Chapter 