2014 was a year where a lot
of happened to me: some of it was astoundingly good, and some of it was
cripplingly bad. But through it all, I had one of the most fruitful reading
journeys I have ever had, where more than ¼ of the 125 books I read I could confidently
deem fantastic. I split my list into two categories: books by authors I had
read before and authors that were new to me.
Old Authors:
15. The Sailor Who Fell
From Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima: I read Mishima’s The Temple of
the Golden Pavilion last year, and found it hysterical for all the wrong
reasons, but here, the late Japanese author’s total lack of humor works in his
favor, telling a story of a gang of young hoodlums and the new boyfriend of one
of their mothers that explores the different natures of a man’s personality,
and how they clash with an indifferent world.
14. Your Fathers, Where
Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever by Dave Eggers: Not the
best title, and book that I predicted would divide critics, I am glad to say I
am on this book’s side. Written entirely in spoken dialogue, it tells the story
of a damaged young man who has kidnapped people of his past to try and fix
himself. It is a jarring read, but an exciting one, asking tough questions
about where the true misfits of the world go when no one wants them.
13. Live By Night by
Dennis Lehane: The Second book in a trilogy set during the era of prohibition,
this novel follows the story of Joe Coughlin, just a boy in the previous book,
The Given Day, now a low-level thug in the Boston Mob, who, through a series of
violent encounters, finds himself in the sweltering heat of Miami working as a
rumrunner. Like all of Lehane’s books, it mixes violence action, and pathos
perfectly, with a shocking ending that comes out of nowhere. I am eagerly
awaiting World Gone By, the next novel, out in March.
12. Summer House with
Swimming Pool by Herman Koch: If you liked The Dinner, published last year,
this is as equally revolting. A story that follows a successful doctor down the
path of depravity, it will turn off some with its brutal cynicism, but I found
it funny and interesting, especially certain parts about what it’s like to sit
through a play that you don’t want to see.
11. Pop. 1280 by Jim
Thompson: A book to rival The Killer Inside Me in both social subtext and body
count, Nick Corey, like Lou Ford, is a monster in a man’s body, and profoundly
confused as to his place in the world, whether dealing with his ball-breaking
wife or killing those who get in his way. All the while, Thompson speaks
volumes about a certain post-war American listlessness better than most books
deemed classics.
10. The Bottoms by
Joe R. Lansdale: A writer who never fails to amaze me does so again with his
most lauded work, a dark, southern gothic tale of swamp monsters, who ugliness
is only eclipsed by the very human monster of racism, but don’t let such heavy
topics get in the way of the yarn spun by the champion mojo storyteller.
9. Nine Inches by Tom
Perrotta: The First collection of stories of Perrotta’s in almost two decades is
just as good as his novels, and in some parts better. From a timely story of a
pizza delivery boy lost after high school, to one about a chaperone at a school
dance who finds a chance at love in an unexpected place, these stories bring
out the poetry in everyday life, which Perrotta is a master of.
8. Fortunate Son by
Walter Mosely: No other writer can talk about race the way Mosely can. He
bypasses all the clichés and gives the reader an honest, if sometime harrowing
look at modern race relations. This story, about two brothers separated by race
and astoundingly different strands of luck, is fascinating book that forces the
reader to look at all sides of a sensitive topic.
7. John Henry Days by
Colson Whitehead: After two novels that did very little for me, this book is
something truly special. What begins as one black man’s trip to Talcott, West
Virginia evolves into a weirdly interesting look at the legend of John Henry,
and even some of those affected by the legend through the years. It reads like
Bolano’s 2666, in that it isn’t much of a page-turner and doesn’t have a clear
theme, but it’s a wild ride that will reward you if you take a chance with it.
6. Life and Death are
Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan: The 2012 Nobel Laureate tops his other massive
work, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, with this equally massive and even more
bizarre tale of reincarnation in mid-century China under the rule of Chairman
Mao. Despite who weird it gets, it all fits together, and even a jaded reader
can applaud Yan’s talent and audacity
5. The Robber Bride
by Margaret Atwood: Another writer I had kind of written off proves me wrong
with this engrossing tale of three women and their interactions with another
who has deliberately made their lives miserable. Some might call it
misogynistic, but I saw it as a portrait of three flawed humans who always seem
drawn to the brightest light, even when it leaves them blind.
4. Sabbath’s Theater
by Philip Roth: I never thought filth could be so good at showing one man’s
inability to connect with his surroundings. Roth’s novel tells of Mickey
Sabbath’s life after his mistress dies and his wife finally dumps him. In
between many graphic flashbacks, we see Sabbath try to kill himself with sex
the way some might try to drink themselves to death with gusto and little
dignity. It’s downbeat, all right, but pretty hilarious too.
3. To Rise Again At a
Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris: Ferris’s third novel might be his best,
telling the story of a wayward dentist who finds his life taken away from him
by a someone who is posing as him on social media. It is written with humor and
grace, having a scene of teeth being flossed coming off as a breathtaking act of
love and charity. Ferris reached a new level with this truly great book.
2. Colorless Tsukuru
Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami: This seemingly quiet
novel is the kind of book one writes after a book like 1Q84. It shows
Murakami’s age and wisdom, the kinds of things he thinks about in the twilight
of his years. It is a book of regrets that cripple you and the hope that shines
through even in the darkest moments. It is a work of silent beauty that was a
highlight for me this year.
1. The Bone Clocks by
David Mitchell: I guarantee that you won’t read another book quite like this,
juggling equal parts human drama and folly with fantastical elements that never
get in the way of each other, making for an epic that spans across time and
space and the human soul in a way that leaves the reader breathless and
irrevocably changed, this is a true book for the ages that is destined to
become a classic.
New Authors:
15. Hope: A Tragedy
by Shalom Auslander: One of the funniest books I read this year is also one of
the saddest as well. A neurotic Jewish man finds a living, breathing,
chain-smoking Anne Frank living in his new suburban home. Hilarity and tragedy
ensue, which, in Auslander’s mind, is an oxymoron.
14. The Elixir of
Immortality by Gabi Gleichmann: This novel surprised me. It is an ancient
epic, way out of my interest range, but it’s centuries long story about a
family cursed and blessed by their connections to history’s most violent
moments and a recipe for a healing potion is fast, intelligent and never
boring.
13. Care of Wooden Floors
by Will Wiles: A cathartic novel for anyone who has a perfectionist friend
who’s highly skilled at making you feel small, this weirdly philosophical novel
takes a the odd concept of a man making a mess while housesitting for his
friends into something that is suspenseful and quite scary. You’ll never look
at a wine stain the same way again.
12. The Halfway House
by Guillermo Rosales: This swift, bleak novel, which is like One Flew Over the
Cuckoo’s Nest without a ray of hope, is still very moving by the end. The
narrator, stuck in a hellish environment of unchecked insanity, bullying
attendants and bodily fluids, tries, against all odds to find a sense of
humanity, which always seems out of reach.
11. Love Me Back by
Merritt Tierce: Tierce’s fierce debut novel feels like quite the revelation. We
see our sad narrator, a newly single mother hop from waitress job to waitress
job and from horrid love affair to horrid love affair, all written with an
acute honesty and s strong new voice from a talent I anticipate great things
from.
10. Hard Rain Falling
by Don Carpenter: This prison novel from the 1960’s is one of the unsung
classics of American literature. We follow the lives of two youths in the Upper
Northwest: one a naïve black kid and another a ruthless conman, whose lives
intersect through four decades, ending up in prison, where what happens might
be misinterpreted as something else, but really is an act of friendship. This
is a harrowing story of survival that deserves a wider audience.
9. A Single Shot by
Matthew F. Jones: A writer who joins the ranks of Daniel Woodrell and Frank
Bill as backwoods poets, this haunting novel of one man’s mistake while hunting
will leave a deep mark. The violence is quick and grime, and the shock ending
is truly mesmerizing.
8. Dirty Work by
Larry Brown: I read this soon after seeing the movie Joe this year, based on
one of Brown’s books, and it didn’t disappoint, with this being the best
anti-war novel I have read. Through his simple prose and simple story of two
wounded vets sitting across from each other in a VA hospital, Brown speaks
volumes about suffering, the will to live, and what people do to show love.
7. Save Yourself by
Kelly Braffett: When I talk about adults who read Teen Fiction, what saddens me
is that they never find their way to books like these, a book about real teens
with the key element missing from a lot of popular teen novels: moral
ambiguity. Through the shattered lives of a few adults and teens in Pittsburgh,
motivated by revenge and salvation, Braffett has crafted a violent thriller
that makes you feel and think.
6. A Fraction of the
Whole by Steve Toltz: The book that almost ruined my New England vacation,
Toltz has written a book that feels like John Irving on a drunken rampage
inspired by Iain Banks. A story of family betrayal and quest for independence
for one man whose family overshadows everything, this book seems tailor-made to
breeze through on lonely summer days.
5. Young God by
Katherine Faw Morris: A fast-paced tale of backwoods greed and depravity,
Morris has written a truly singular work in one of my most-loved genre, and in
Nikki, the sociopathic narrator, a truly unique character who never asks for
forgiveness and is unpredictable as she is interesting.
4. The Man From Primrose
Lane by James Renner: The one book that might rival The Bone Clocks in
originality is the most surprising book I read all year. What starts out as a
simple murder investigations starts to take a one of the weirdest turns I’ve
ever read in a book, and if you follow it down it’s demented rabbit hole,
you’ll be rewarded with a stunning work of imaginative energy.
3. Cataract City by
Craig Davidson: There is no other established writer this year that caught my
attention more this year than Craig Davidson, and his hyper-violent novel of
wilderness survival, dog racing and bare-knuckle boxing. This book juggles so
many different styles and settings, from the snowy woods of upstate New York,
the dingy halls of a local wrestling show or the sweat and blood soaked floors
of a makeshift boxing ring in someone’s basement, Davidson never missteps, and
produces a singular work of transgressive fiction.
2. Voodoo Heart by
Scott Snyder: The Best collection of short stories I have read since Joe Hill’s
20th Century Ghosts. It has everything I want from a short story
collection. The stories are written with care and are self-contained. And they
deal with a variety of subjects, such as desperation, loneliness and
resignation, in some very unique settings, like hot air balloons and traveling
freak shows. If you like short stories, this is a must-read.
1. Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson: The best debut
novel I have read since Philipp Meyer’s American Rust, I am glad I saw this
book on many year end lists, because it surely does deserve recognition. There
is a hunger in Henderson’s story of a social worker in the early eighties,
trying to fix his own life and the life of a troubled young boy. He swings for
the fences with many memorable scenes that can be scary, sad, violent, and
revelatory. Reading this, I knew I was in the presence of a future giant, and
no other book this year made me feel as fulfilled when I finished it than this
one.
