Highlights
Matrix by Lauren Groff
This novel richly imagines the life of Marie, a 12th-century nun. Gorgeous writing explores creativity, desire, and power.
A Manual for How to Love Us by Erin Slaughter
Lyrical and multilayered, these short stories explore grief, rage, and hunger, focusing on women in the American south.
Piranesi by Susanna Clark
A study in empathy and identity. Delicate, luminous, and strikingly unique.
Striking, slick, and subversive
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor
Sexy and surprisingly empathetic. An exploration of fuck-you queerness and gender as performance, through the lens of a complicated main character.
The First Bad Man by Miranda July
July’s main character functions with an idiosyncratic system, making for a fascinating read about the nature of romantic and maternal love. Clear, distinct, and emotional without being sentimental.
The Blindfold by Siri Hustvedt
Mysterious and beguiling, the four sections of this novel focus on identity and intention. They spin a beautiful spell.
Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier
A journey into uncertainty, wrapping the reader into the colorful inner world of a restless narrator.
Sickness and society
Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
Steppenwolf examines a fragmented self, which slowly and earnestly becomes closer to whole. Includes glamorous settings, psychologically-stepped symbolism, and gender-bending.
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai
Dazai crafts a disconcerting character study of a man who feels as if he has been disqualified from being human. Dealing with apathy, self-destruction, and perceived monstrosity, this novel strikingly examines the nature of society and an individual’s role in it.
Prize Stock (novella) by Kenzaburō Ōe
A Japanese village captures an African-American fighter pilot during WWII, and a young boy chronicles the pilot’s relationship with the village. Ōe’s imaginative imagery, interwoven with themes of race, sexuality, and violence, makes this novella tangibly disturbing. (You might have an easier time finding it as Teach Us To Outgrow Our Madness: 4 Short Novels).
At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
In this slim and hard-hitting novel, a soldier striken by grief becomes a monstrous legend. The author’s use of repetition and asynchronous storytelling creates a vibrant, compelling, and interwoven work.
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
A stark, evocative examination of how evil becomes legitimatized by societal structures and personal convenience.
Poignant, brutal, empathetic
High Tide by Inga Ābele
A psychological mystery told in reverse chronological order. A philosophy of life told through clear and cutting moments.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Tender, emotional, and nostalgic, this science-fiction book is far more devastating than it initially may appear. Through thoughtful characterization, Ishiguro illustrates the importance of small and large moments alike.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Painstakingly crafted, this novel follows a pair of identical twins as they grow up in India in the 1970s. The imagery-heavy and rhythmic writing conveys life in all its richness.
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
Through stunning, hypnotic descriptions, Juan Rulfo crafts a mind-bending story about humanity’s relationship with death. As the memories of those who died echo across life, their pasts become living, breathing experiences.
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Following a middle-aged man reflecting on his youth, this story is more than meets the eye. As the layered mystery unfolds, centering on the unreliability of memory and the question ‘What does it mean to live a fulfilling life?’, this novel is both an enjoyable and effective read.
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
The emotions in this novel are perfectly pitched, as the powerful language conveys vulnerability, love, and repulsion. Read it for a poignant portrait of the LGBT scene in Paris in the 1950s, as well as a heart-wrenching commentary on the nature of love and tragedy.
Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee
Told from the point of view of a magistrate in Africa, this novel dissects theme of colonialism and entitlement. Coetzee’s writing is powerful, disturbing, and deeply psychological. He uses his mastery of craft to realize unusual character dynamics and poignant cultural commentary.
Jazz by Toni Morrison
Richly and empathetically written, this novel focuses on the murder of an 18-year-old girl by her spurred, middle-aged lover. It’s also a story of Harlem in the 1920s, the soul of jazz music, and an enigmatic narrator.
Awaiting Trespass by Linda Ty-Casper
A brutal and beautiful story about the complexities of morality, relationships, and responsibility.
SciFi, Horror, and Fantasy
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
A brutal and poignant sci-fi novel about the necessity of dreams, the danger of good intentions, and quiet inner strength.
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
Oppresive second-person illustrates the complexity of grief, love, and cosmic horror.
Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut
Vonnegut’s unique brand of dark humor makes this work a compact and striking piece. The cutting satire of this book manages to be funny while revealing the absurdity of war.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
This novel’s young characters are treated with respect and nuance, making them fully realized. Perfectly blending genre and literary themes, this novel examines the nature of love, war, and empathy.
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
Lush, horrific, and incisive. This dark fairytail has a pensive magic centered on trauma and relationships.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Have you ever wanted to read about a society of hyper-intelligent giant space spiders? This novel is wildly imaginative, well-researched, and deeply entertaining.
Short Stories
Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Sharp, intelligent, and eviscerating short stories that examine class and race.
Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica
Savage and darkly funny short stories dripping with horror.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
Lush, intimate fairy-tale retellings with a biting twist.
The Wind’s Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le Guin
Empathetic and philosophical short stories. Reading this collection feels like hanging out with a friend who’s the coolest and smartest person you know.
False Bingo and A Different Bed Every Time by Jac Jemc
These short, uncanny stories exist fully in the moment. Reading them felt like experiencing morsels of life. Specifically experiencing sharp, jarring moments as a spectator, without regarding to the spectator’s unanswered questions.
Dialogues in Paradise by Can Xue
Glittering, evocative, and uncanny, these avant-guard short stories eschew traditional narrative constructs to strike a deep, emotional chord.
Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata
Luminous, visceral, and incisive, these stories sparkle like odd gemstones. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to see the world a little differently (and who doesn’t mind a sprinkling of body horror).
The Book of Masks by Hwang Sun-won
At times subtle, distilled, complex, poignant, and direct, this short story collection covers a range of styles, themes, and characters–but always with a sense of deep humanity, a face below the mask.
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
In this novel, each chapter describes a different city, as Marco Polo recounts his travels to the emperor Kublai Khan. Each vignette has its own unique theme and aesthetic. All together, this novel is an atmospheric and wondrous collection.
Poetry
What the Living Do by Marie Howe
Gorgeous, resonant poems with an emphasis on life, love, and death. The imagery is so tangible you feel like you can hold it in your hands.
Morning Poems by Robert Bly
Conversational and poignant poems about the everyday.
Thanks for reading!
I’m always looking for new recommendations, so if there’s a book you think I might like, feel free to contact me.
If you think we have similar tastes, you can also find me on The Storygraph
Last updated 09/16/2024