Dec 292009
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell–Long-time readers of this blog have already had to endure multiple love letters to this book of six interlocking tales that span every genre from epistolary bildungsroman to post-apocalyptic adventure. The stories form a narrative Mobius strip that is dazzling in its execution. The book’s sobering study of human cruelty and oppression lingers in the mind long after the last page is turned.
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon–Chabon gives comic books and comic book creators some long-overdue literary love in this sprawling novel. It traces the careers of a couple Jewish cousins who partner to write comics in the days leading up to World War Ii. Their tales of the Escapist become a huge commercial success, but they are also a vehicle for the cousins to articulate their utter contempt for Hitler and his Nazis. Chabon’s prose is lovely and his characters quickly earn our empathy and affection in a vivid story about the enduring power of imagination.
- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke–Clarke’s mannered and imaginative novel about the rivalry between two 19th-century sorcerers in an alternate England is a kind of Harry Potter for adults, complete with footnotes. It melds historical fiction with high fantasy to create a fully realized world where magic exists but it rarely seen. Clarke spent ten years writing this book and it shows in the carefully crafted plot and the distinctly British touches of humor.
- Spin by Robert Charles Wilson–I love to read science fiction, but I find a lot of it pretty forgettable. Not so with this book that describes what happens to three friends and the rest of the world after the stars disappear from the sky. Wilson’s grand idea is a whopper, but he’s just as interested in examining how his Big Idea changes the lives of his characters. Good science fiction asks “What if…?” and then sets about answering that question on human scale. Spin does just that.
Thanks for noticing Cloud Atlas and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I loved them both … so now I’ll go look up the two you mention that are unfamiliar.
Wishing you the happiest of New Years.