My Book Year 2013
In 2013 I read thirty-four books, not bad considering that
one of them was War and Peace, which
took me almost two months.
A word about the
above. As an English major and lover of nineteenth-century literature, I’ve
always been embarrassed/guilty to say that I had never read Tolstoy’s
masterpiece, widely considered the greatest novel of all time. So I decided
this was the year. I bought a paperback copy of the latest translation,
complete with notes, list of characters, list of historical
personages—everything I thought I’d need as a first-time reader. I immersed
myself in it for about seven weeks.
I have to confess
that I was underwhelmed. I kept waiting for that “kick,” that moment when I
knew this was a GREAT book, something that compelled me back to it, that gave
me an unforgettable experience. And I never found it. Too many very long battle scenes, characters not as luminous as imagined they would be. Interesting history, as I hadn’t known much about the Napoleonic wars, especially
in Russia. But I was not very impressed with the translation. The translators
made a point of stating, in the introduction, that they had been as true as
possible to Tolstoy’s style, including his use of repetition—but I found myself wishing they’d followed other
translators and varied the language more! I kept thinking of the old “Cheers”
episode when Diane and her ex-boyfriend are raving about W&P. Sam, jealous,
forces himself to slog through the book to impress Diane, then at the end finds
out there’s a MOVIE!
But at least now I
can say I read it. On to what I really did enjoy in 2013.
This isn’t a list
of the best books of the year; just the best ones I read in 2013. I only read a
few that were actually published during the past year. Some are from recent
years, others are much older, but all were outstanding and well worth reading.
(They’re given in the order in which I read them, not in ranked order.)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. This
psychological masterpiece examines the mind of a young student who believes
that the “superior man” is above ordinary morality, and to prove that he
murders an old pawnbroker and (unintentionally) her sister. But guilt racks
Raskolnikov in spite of his philosophy. It has the best elements of classic
thrillers, including a wonderful cat-and-mouse game with a canny detective.
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. A love story in the
claustrophobic setting of a snowbound small town and farmhouse. Intense, with a
chilling (no pun) ending.
Three
Novellas: The Leaf Storm, Nobody Writes to the Colonel, Chronicle of a Death
Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Three of his best novellas; the
final was my favorite, a story about how good people almost unwittingly allow
evil to happen within their midst though it could have been stopped at any of a
number of moments.
As
Nature Made Him by John Colapinto. This is the disturbing and
infuriating nonfiction story of a boy who in a botched operation as an infant
loses his genitals; doctors advise his parents to raise him as a girl. But the
child suffers through a wretched childhood and adolescence before learning the
truth. The hardest part to read about is the doctor, a well-known "sexologist" who might well be a character in a horror novel, a man with some very odd ideas about children, gender, and sex who tests his theories with real children.
Middlesex
by
Jeffrey Eugenides. My best book of the year. I had to read this after finishing
the previous book on this list. Eugenides’ protagonist is an “intersex,” a girl
who never really identifies as female and who carries a stunted set of male
genitals that never developed. This material could easily be exploitive in a
lesser writer’s hands, but Eugenides’ compassion and generosity toward all his
characters makes it transforming and beautiful.
An
Experiment in Love by Hilary Mantel. After having loved Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies last year, I was eager to read Mantel’s earlier
work. Radically different from her latest two but
still showing the deft hand of a master, this tells the story of a girl and her
problematic relationship with a schoolmate who pretty much attaches herself to
the reluctant narrator from childhood well into young adulthood. The
schoolmate, Karina, is a fascinating character in the way that psychopaths
are—but is she one? We’re never really sure, even at the end.
The
Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. Another one that’s been on my
list for years. Along with the famous title story, the
book incorporates a collection of stories revolving around Vietnam and featuring
mostly the same characters, and comes across as an amalgamation of fiction and
reality.
Pride
and Prejudice by Jane Austen. My second reading of this, first
since college. I didn’t remember very much of it. Although I wouldn’t call it
one of my all-time favorites, it’s great reading, and Austen’s
characterizations and dialogue are sharp and witty, as of course are her
observations of English class life. I loved the character of Mr. Bennet.
Winner
of the National Book Award (yes, this is the title) and The Writing Class by Jincy Willett. I
just discovered Willett’s writing this year, and I love it. She’s bitingly
funny but also profound and touching. The first is the story of twin sisters,
one a librarian who’s more comfortable with books than people, although she’s
outspoken and dry witted; the other is the outgoing type, continually involving
herself in one dysfunctional relationship after another. There is nothing
cliched in Willett’s writing or in her characters; the book is both comic and
psychologically gripping. The Writing
Class is her version of a murder mystery with liberal doses of humor,
starring a rather cranky ex-writer who’s now teaching extension classes and the
motley group of students who nevertheless coalesce over the course of the novel
and bring out the humanity in their teacher as they bond with each other when
one of their classmates is killed.
Gone
Girl by Gillian Flynn. I had resisted reading this for the first
couple of years, even though for some reason it intrigued me; I’m not a thriller/mystery fan, so
I kept wondering whether it was worth investing my time in. I eventually
borrowed it from a friend and was really pleasantly surprised. It was very well
written (my top criterion) to begin with, and I found myself fascinated by the
interlocking stories of (supposedy) no-account Nick and perfect wife Amy. I’ve
heard a lot of complaints about the ending, but in my mind, though a little
jarring, I think it fit quite well—and I don’t believe the story was really
over when it was over.
Traveling
Mercies by Anne Lamott. Lamott’s essays dealing with the development
of her faith are hilarious, moving, and inspiring. She recounts her trials as a
single mother, her sudden awakening to religious belief in adolescence, and the
deaths of several important people in her life, and reading her is like talking
with a treasured friend. You come away from this book wishing you knew her and
just being glad that she’s in the world.
Finally, the most exciting book I read this year: Left by Tamar Ossowski, who was a classmate of mine
in an online writing course several years ago. During and after the course,
she, I, and one or two others continued “meeting” online to work on our novels;
this was Tamar’s, and I knew it was special. I was thrilled to see it published
this year. It’s a very moving story of two sisters, one of whom is autistic,
and what happens when their mother leaves one of them behind and flees with the
other.
Now, onward to the books that await me in 2014! I’ve already
started The Goldfinch, and I suspect
that will make my best list for next year.
Happy reading!!
