By Carole Reedy—
“By writing a novel one performs a revolutionary act. A novel is an act of hope. It allows us to imagine that things may be other than they are.”
Those are the words of Hilary Mantel, who more than accomplished the above in her many books over the years. Mantel’s brilliant mind discerned more than what could be readily seen.
From the dozens of novels I read this year, several revealed a new perspective or a deeper emotion. The feelings evoked by these books spontaneously pop into my mind at various times, offering perspective and contemplation.
My Friends by Frederick Backman
I always considered Backman to be a writer of “easy reads,” an author who enchanted his readers with compelling characters and entertaining plots. My Friends, however, breaks this mold to awaken in the reader a deeper sense of the meaning and significance of friendship and beauty, the twin pillars that make life worth living.
A painting, a lifetime of friendship, and a series of problem years filled with conflicting emotions drive the plot and shape the structure of the novel. Backman is a master storyteller and character developer.
The Washington Post said it well: “Backman captures the messy essence of being human.”
What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
This is renowned writer Ian McEwan’s 18th novel. The New York Times called the book “the best thing McEwan has written in ages” and “entertainment of a high order.” I agree wholeheartedly.
The setting is 100 years from now, with continuing and not necessarily favorable references to the times in which we are living. McEwan refers to his book as “science fiction without the science.”
The storyline is compelling and entertaining despite McEwan’s discomfiting view of our future. Tucked between descriptions of the devastation of 100 years of climate change, wars, and general chaos and disruption of the planet is a delightful narrative of a young literary type who in 2119 is pursuing the location of a poem that was deliberately hidden more than 100 years previously.
The poem was written by a fictional esteemed literary figure of our current era. In addition, McEwan offers keen insights into this poet, his wife, their friends, and their lifestyles.
A formidable plot, complex characters, and sense of place drive the action. This novel has all the essentials required in a narrative about the future to create a novel I read almost nonstop!
You may also want to read these other gems by McEwan: Atonement, Saturday, Nutshell, and On Chesil Beach. All will satisfy your craving for fine writing and precision craftsmanship.
The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabin Alameddine
Each page of this simultaneously comic and tragic novel flows like ice beneath a skater’s blade. This despite the fact that Lebanon, where the action takes place, usually would not be described this way.
These characters experience rough times in Lebanon, a country that has undergone many tragic phases. But Alameddine entertains us as the main characters take us through the dark side of the country’s history as well as through his and his mother’s personal struggles, met with determination and even a dash of joy.
This book offers so much easy enjoyment, much like his novel An Unnecessary Woman.
The House on Via Gemita by Domenico Starnone
Do you recognize this Italian author’s name as someone who was thought to be the ghost writer of the successful Elena Ferrante novels, specifically the Neapolitan series? Starnone has denied it, being an illustrious author in his own rite. His equally famous wife, Anita Raja, a translator and library director, has also been “accused” of the deception.
In the end, Ferrante has been accepted as a pseudonym for another Italian author who believes that books, “once they are written, have no need of their author.”
Many avid readers have enjoyed Starnone’s witty novels, Ties and Trick. The House on Via Gemita presents a new, darker side of Starnone. Not light and humorous as Ties and Trick, this novel places a cantankerous artist front and center.
1960s Naples, Italy, is the place where a frustrated railway worker is convinced he is a great artist, his family suffering the consequences of the obsession. The trials of the family are detailed and vivid, Starnone’s best talent clearly at work. The novel deservedly was long-listed for the International Booker prize.
Many avid readers have enjoyed Starnone’s witty novels, Ties and Trick. The House on Via Gemita presents a new, darker side of Starnone. Not light and humorous as Ties and Trick, this novel places a cantankerous artist front and center.
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is, simply put, a gem. I am listing his short novel as a favorite because it truly illuminates the joy of reading.
British-born, raised and educated at Oxford, Bennet is exceedingly accomplished, with a rich stock of stories, plays, and films in his repertoire. When I want to feel good and laugh, I pick up one of his works.
The Uncommon Reader is a novel for the book-addicted. The uncommon reader of the title is the Queen of England, and Bennet takes us merrily through her introductory, and eventually continuing, passion for the written word.
Novelist/writer Jennifer Kloester’s review calls it “brilliant on many levels, but also a delicious, edible morsel of a novel. And wait until you read the ending.”
My Final Read of the Year: The Volcano Lover by Susan Sontag
At year’s end, I find myself thoroughly engaged in Susan Sontag’s radical novel of ideas, The Volcano Lover (1992), set largely in Naples Italy in the late 18th century. The gentle pace of her style in this unconventional historical narrative perfectly complements my year-end reflections. I will read it slowly through December in order to savor her luscious writing style.
Here’s to many provocative reading experiences in 2026!
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