Month: January 2012

#9 – The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson

Kevin Wilson was a new discovery for me in 2011, but his latest novel, The Family Fang, is a revelation. Annie and Buster are the children of Camille and Caleb Fang, two performance artists who value their art perhaps more than their children. When Annie and Buster finally escape their immediate family after growing up as Child A & Child B in their performance art troupe of a family, they think they’re done with all of that. But when hard times force them back to the family home, they find themselves embroiled in one of the most complicated pieces their family has ever launched. Insightful, touching and bizarre.

 

 

#8 – Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon van Booy

Three wanderers find each other in Athens.  Rebecca is young and beautiful, but lost.  She meets and befriends George, a translator who is lost in past worlds of language and Jack Daniels.  Both their lives are irrevocably changed when they meet Henry, a carefree archeologist who charms them both.  Spun with care using language that is rich with texture and emotion, Simon van Booy creates a nearly mystical exploration on love, grief, and heartbreak.  Truly a testament to a full year of fine novels, this book deserves to be much high on this Top 10 list.

#11 – Insignificant Others by Stephen McCauley

Known for his acerbic wit and well-drawn characters, Stephen McCauley sixth novel is a funny, insightful and ultimately poignant look at the long-term, slightly off-the-rails relationship between two men in Boston. The endearing yet slightly ridiculous characters in Insignificant Others struggle with love, adultery, work relationships, health and growing older, with Richard, human resources manager, compulsive gym-goer, and slightly past his prime in the center of it all.  I knew I would be amused; i was surprised at the emotional heft.

 

 

#10 – For the Win by Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow’s epic novel is really, really good. It features complex characters in their teens and explores such diverse and important issues as class, labor unions, economics, globalization, the Caste system in India, commerce, gaming culture, underground journalism and more, all without sacrificing a taut, exciting thrill ride of a novel. If there can be one slight complaint at all, it’s after building up to a really tense and powerful conclusion, the book’s conclusion is slightly (and only slightly) unsatisfying. Still – an epic for the ages.

#13 – We the Animals by Justin Torres

A vibrant new voice in literature exploded on the scene in 2011.  Justin Torres creates a highly personal and fierce fictional account of three brothers growing up with a slightly lost white mother, and a macho Puerto Rican father. Justin Torres creates some powerful imagery as the boys range, play, fight, and grow up trying to figure out their place in the world.  The language is eloquent and uncompromising.  This slim volume packs a powerful punch.  I am looking forward to this young author’s next novel.

 

 

#12 – The Babysitter Murders by Janet Young

Janet Ruth Young does it again, taking a difficult mental and emotional condition and turning into an entertaining, educational, and powerful young adult novel. In her first novel, The Opposite of Music, Janet tackles depression. In The Babysitter Murders, main character Dani struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. The problem is, because she doesn’t understand her disorder, people think she’s a potential murderer, and that doesn’t play well in this sleepy, coastal New England town. Janet effectively shows how information (and misinformation) travels with such immediacy via the web, and kudos to her for slipping in Shelley’s storyline. Shelley is Dani’s best friend who is just coming to terms with her sexuality. The Babysitter Murders has more of a young adult feel to it than The Opposite of Music, but its accessible and disturbing at the same time, and well worth the read.

This time of years sees a whole lot of year-end lists, with regard to film, music, comics, books, and more. I’ve got film taken care of over at Chlotrudis, and I’m working on something for this blog about comics. I always have a hard time with music because I don’t do a very good job recording what music I have purchased from year to year. I’m going to see if I can pull something together but that leaves books. Fortunately, the Boston Public Library, where I work, launched a new catalog this year, and I was able to use one of its features to keep a list of the books I’ve read in 2011. I only read about 25 books this year, but I’m please to report that 15 of those were worth noting in a year-end list. I’m going to try to double that amount this year… not exactly a resolution, but hopefully a return to a practice that I used to enjoy. But for now, here are my #15 and #14 books of 2011.

#15 – Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
I saw Cline do a talk about his book at BookExpo last May, and Random House was clearly behind this first novel. Cline was personable, but I wrote the book off as not really my thing. Then it came out and got a lot of press and great reviews, so I thought I’d give it a chance. This is basically an adventure story for geeks, especially geeks of a certain age. Fortunately, I do fit into the aimed at categories. In a future where the earth is spiraling deeper and deeper into economic depression and environmental collapse, and the majority of the population spend most of their waking hours online in a life-enhancing virtual reality called OASIS, high-school aged Wade finds himself leading the world in the grandest contest/video adventure game ever conceived. Mining the depths of rich video game/dungeons & dragons/80’s pop culture (and so much more), Cline is sure to capture the nostalgia as well as imagination of many thirtysomethings and beyond. Fortunately, it’s a fun adventure tale for all ages and interests.

#14 – The Leftovers by Tom Perotta
Tom Perotta’s intriguing novel examines how an event very similar to ‘The Rapture’ would effect those who were left behind; especially if the ones ‘taken’ weren’t necessarily the ones expected. Perotta takes his usual middle-class suburban characters and puts them through the ringer. Families break apart, cults form, parades are held, and then there are the murders… The Leftovers is a quick, fascinating read, and it’s now in development to be a television series!