Marzie's Ten Best of 2020
It's been a long, hard year. Reading was a refuge. Here are ten eleven books that really stuck with me in 2020.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
This slender novel was in some ways the opposite of Clarke's lauded and bestselling debut. It was far shorter, the fantasy felt more cryptic and whereas we knew exactly who Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell were, we struggle to understand Piranesi and wonder if even he knows who he is. The sheer philosophical beauty of the end of this novel has stayed with me. Just thinking about the book makes me want to toss my ARC commitments and listen to Chiwetel Ejiofor read the story all over again. A perfect gift for your literary fiction-lover friend or partner.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Kline
This is a book that made me absurdly happy when I read it. I enjoyed it so much. From Arthur's dull and empty life he mines pure gold and rebellion. A sweet fairy tale of a book that is balm to the pandemic-scarred soul. I've given this as a gift to several friends.
Speaking of balm for the soul...
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesey Just when you're way down and think you can't possibly make it through another dismal day, this book will remind you that you're not alone and don't have to be (except for social distancing) alone. It reminds you that you're stronger than you think, and farther along than you thought you were. I've given it as a gift to several friends.
The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
Franco's regime in Spain is one that most Americans are not really aware of in any detail. Yes, it was a dictatorship, but many people are not aware of the use of religion as a sort of weapon by Franco. Spain was a Catholic state and those who didn't show loyalty to the fascist regime after the Spanish Civil War ran afoul of the Catholic church. One of the shocking ways this occurred was taking newborn children from poor or dissident Spaniards and giving them to loyalists or those supporting the Franco regime. A fact disbelieved even today by some Spaniards (like hey, my brother-in-law), Sepetys explores this shocking practice in well written novel that ends with hope and love.
Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald
A series of essays about nature, Vesper Flights offers some truly luminous moments. Macdonald (of H is for Hawk fame) is a great lover of animals and I have to say I've read through some of the entries, like High Rise, In Her Orbit, or Symptomatic, several times. I remain caught in the stories she weaves of a natural world caught in amber, slowly melting. A beautiful book.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
Honestly, if you had told me a year ago that I would haunted by a Christopher Paolini novel and tempted to listen to to all 32 hours 29 minutes of the audiobook all over again I'd have said you were mad. Yet, after an opening section about the almost treacly happy life that Kira Navárez was building for herself, the novel draws us into a vortex of wonder that has stayed with me in the months since I've finished the novel. The character of Itari and aspects of intraspecies communication disjuncture is something I continue to ponder. My friend Glo and I continue to discuss the book from time to time.
This was a beautiful novel of historical fiction, set in a less common period for Indian historical novels. It isn't about the Raj period or about Partition but it does look at the very potent caste/class struggle facing women, how harshly women are judged, and how easily they are ruined. This is also a novel about sisterhood that shows that struggle in the face of poverty, as well. Beautifully evocative.
This is a simple straightforward book of historical fiction and I'm including it here because of its curative theme of working together for a greater cause, and for the power of reading to effect change. It's a pleasant read, but highlights losses as being something that can be overcome. In that sense, a timely read for our present situation. If you're looking for a positive novel to give as a gift to a fiction-lover, this is an excellent choice.
In many ways this is the most important book on this list. It's a prescription for how to make changes in your own yard, no matter how small, to conserve this planet. From birds, to insects, to native plants, there is so much we can do to improve things. Additionally, it empowers us with knowledge relevant to community planning if we live in communities with associations or planning councils. This book is full of resources and is very accessible. Tallamy has lectured all over the country and you can find his lectures on YouTube. But this book is worth reading and owning if you want to try to improve your world. Spread its words.
Migrations gives a speculative fiction look at the not too distant future, in the guise of literary fiction. It's a book with countless haunting scenes of a world ravaged by climate change and in the midst of a rapidly accelerating sixth extinction. Migratory birds, and countless animals of land and sea are gone. Against this backdrop, a woman with a shattered life tries to forge a path to honor someone she lost. A book that made me cry and that my husband loathed, but one I cannot forget. It will be the reason you take up Doug Tallamy's book and determine to make a difference, as much as you can. On the positive, the fact that animals still seem to survive unexpectedly, just as in real life, is a heartening thing.
So that's a wrap. What were your favorites in 2020?
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