Well, it’s that time of year again…the extravaganza of lists about everything BEST in the world. I’ll be joining the fray, but my two lists (debuts and overall best) won’t be going up until after Christmas. For today, I wanted to give some love to four very different books I thought were gems, but that didn’t get much attention.
Interestingly enough, none are light reading. I would have said I stuck to and enjoyed only easy books, but in reviewing my stats I realized that some of the reading that meant the most was the kind that required attention. Not enough to deter, but enough to force my mind into another place. Well worth it for a year that felt like a decade.
(Title link goes to my full review)
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
Published by Atria Books
Publication date: August 25, 2020
Bookshop
Against the Loveless World takes place in an Israeli prison where Nahr has been in solitary confinement. Physically, she can go nowhere so she wanders the infinite expanse of her mind remembering the life she had. A stunning novel that was my introduction to the Palestinian experience.
Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar
Published by Little Brown and Company
Publication date: September 15, 2020
Bookshop
A feat of meta literary fiction Homeland Elegies is about the lives of a writer and his Pakistani father in America, largely after 9/11. The author is a Pakistani writer of the same name. I was invigorated and pushed off-balance by this novel, which challenged my beliefs about the American dream. This is also one of Barack Obama’s top 20 picks for the year.
Cleanness by Garth Greenwell
Publication date: January 14, 2020
Bookshop
It’s very likely that at some point in our lives we’ve all experienced feelings of loneliness and alienation, but it is unlikely that we’ve been made to feel unnatural or that we have no right to even exist. Cleanness is the story of a gay man who grew up in the South and is now teaching in Bulgaria; neither place being conducive to self-love for anyone who strays from traditional sexual norms. Sadly beautiful and introspective.
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt: A Memoir by Anonymous
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: July 7, 2020
Bookshop
How to describe Becoming Duchess Goldblatt? It’s a memoir, but Duchess is a fictional Twitter character. Created by a woman during a time in her life when she felt alone and without a voice. She never reveals her name in the book because the character has taken on a life of her own, all while helping the author rediscover herself. Whether or not you use Twitter this is a wonderful book for anyone feeling lost.
Need more underrated gems reading ideas? Here are my runners-up:
- When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald
- What’s Left of Me is Yours by Stephanie Scott
- A Burning by Megha Majumdar
- The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
If you’d like another opinion (and more great ideas) check out Novel Visit’s 2020 underrated gems!
That’s all for this week. Next week I’ll be back to wrap up the year with my favorite books from 2020. Until then, I hope everyone has a safe and healthy holiday.
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Becoming Duchess Goldblatt sounds quite intriguing!
I just finished The Mountains Sing but I would not have thought that one was underrated, I heard so much buzz about. Anyway, it was a wonderful book.
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt is unusual. I only knew about it because I follow her on Twitter.
I’m so glad to hear that about Mountains! When it came out there were crickets.
Catherine, I just heard about Cleanness on the From the Front Porch podcast last week (an episode with Hunter from Shelf by Shelf) and now that I’ve also seen it here I’m going to have to make time for it. I loved When We Were Vikings! I listened to the audio and it was great!
It’s heartbreaking, but the writing is exquisite.
Vikings on audio?! I bet that was interesting!
I’ve actually looked at the first few pages of Homeland Elegies and Against the Loveless World, but with both felt like they just weren’t right for me in the moment. I know they might work better at another time, so am still keeping them on my TBR list. Maybe you’ll see them on my best backlist books for 2021!
If you were going to pick one, I’d say Against the Loveless World. The story is more immersive and complete…if that makes sense.
Yeah I still plan to get to Homeland Elegies … it made a lot of Best Of lists … for 2020. good picks.
You are someone I really think would appreciate it because it doesn’t cut anyone a break. Harsh truths.
Homeland Elegies intrigues me. Happy Holidays!
It’s challenging, but in a way I appreciated. Happy holidays to you, too!