Top Ten Tuesday: The Favorite Novels I read in 2024
I've also created several other "favorites" lists for books read in 2024. Check out these lists as well:
The Favorite Novels of 2024
a. James by Percival Everett
Knopf Doubleday, 2024.
James is the retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn story from the point of view of Twain's Jim, the enslaved man who escapes with Huck. It both surprises and delights while much of the book is about the language or dialect we use.
b. North Woods by Daniel Mason
Random House, 2023.
In a small way North Woods, whose stories revolve around a small cabin in Western Massachusetts over the centuries, reminds me of The Overstory, whose stories all relate to trees. North Woods has a series of linked stories told chronologically centering the action on or near the cabin. Three centuries of stories, families, characters, and schemes.
c. Brotherless Night by V.V. Ganeshananthan
Random House, 2023.
Brotherless Night was a brilliantly written and researched book. It draws on sixteen years of research by the author. One reviewer said it was brimming with "outrage and compassion." A 2024 Women's Prize judge, said Brotherless Night is "a powerful book that has the intimacy of a memoir, the range and ambition of an epic, and tells a truly unforgettable story of the Sri Lankan civil war."
d. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Grove Press, 2023.
The Covenant of Water has everything I like in a book: a detailed plot -- in this case one which covers three generations of a family and many/many side characters; characters who are fully fleshed out, not one-dimensional beings; a theme which is very evident throughout the whole text; literary quotes and thoughts interspersed throughout; an author who treats his readers as intelligent and knowledgeable -- in this case about medical and genetic issues; AND, this may not surprise you, one which clearly has a very spiritual, often scriptural, message.
e. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Ecco, 2012.
A retelling of the Iliad story from the point-of-view of Patroclus a friend and companion of Achilles, the best of the Gods. Greek mythology for those of us who love the stories but not the language of the original.
f. The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea
Little, Brown, and Company, 2018.
I found this book really enjoyable and helpful in my thinking about what it is like to be a member of a Mexican American family living in California but whose hearts are very much still across the border. There was something quite authentic about The House of Broken Angels. It was obvious that Alberto Urrea knew what he was writing about.
g. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
DoubleDay/Anchor Books, 2022.
Women who were tired of all the indignities they had to put up with rose up and turned into dragons. I adored this book with a look at feminism from a different angle. If you are thinking you don't like to read "fantasy" books, don't worry, this book is really a human story about all the indignities women have had to put up with over the ages. And it shows what happens when women rise up (literally) and the value is felt by everyone is society. I laughed, I cringed, I cried. This book really, really spoke to my heart and hey, the hero of the book is a librarian. What's not to love?
h. The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
William Morrow, 2024.
Cassie Andrews inherits a special item -- a book which opens into all door anywhere and anytime. At first it is fun to travel the world without any repercussions but there are other special books and in the hands of ruthless people, the books spell trouble. The book is dark but also thrilling. Time travel, love, friendship, and danger. I was never quite sure what would happen next. (Review pending.)
i. I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
Grove Press, 2024.
A post-apocalyptic tale whose description makes the book sound so bleak, I don't want to tell it here. It is bleak but somehow the story never loses its heart and a sense of hope. "The novel’s voice remains engaging, and its spirit resilient, against some staggeringly tough times" (Kirkus Reviews). I like everything Enger has written and this book touched me deeply.
j. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty
Knopf, 2022.
The Rabbit Hutch weaves together the daily dramas of tenants in a run-down apartment complex in a run-down fictitious town named Vacca Vale, Indiana. Stuffed full of trigger topics, this is not a book for everyone, But the writing is brilliant. BRILLIANT! Gunty has a beautiful command of the English language and inserts phrases and quips throughout the story which would catch me up so I'd have to stop and think about what was said and the deeper meaning.
As I review this list of ten books my book choices for quirky characters and slightly dark themes are reinforced. I also love to be swept up in the language used by authors and there are some fine choices this year for lofty language or quotable prose. I hope you find a book or two that interests you among the ten I've listed.
See you in 2025!
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