I'll be real, it's coming to the end of the year, and I want to up my reading goal by quite a few more books. So I need little short books, books that you can sit and read in one session. Beautiful language, I don't care much for plot,
Literary fiction only! Translated is great, queer is great.
Novellas I've loved this year: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa translated by Polly Barton, Rosarita by Anita Desai, Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Hopefully you get the gist! Thank you
by Dusk_Song_6361
8 Comments
River has roots – Amal El-Mohtar (kinda gay, flowery poetic prose)
Ali Smith! You could read the Seasons quartet in a week, and still have time left over for a couple more. Companion Piece is particularly good.
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss. I finished it in one sitting then went straight back to the beginning and read it again.
Books by Claire Keegan are short and literary fiction.
‘Small things like these’ was wonderful!
Some of my favourite literary fiction shorter reads from the last few years. Most are under 200 pages, some are a bit more.
– On the calculation of volume I and ii by Solvej Balle are both fantastic. Excited to read III now that it’s out in English (tr)
– Toni Morrison’s Sula
– Anything by Claire Keegan (she tends to top out at 150 pages) but especially foster, and small thing like these, so late in the day
– Anything by Han Kang (usually around 200 pages). Human acts will wrench your heart out. The vegetarian. Greek lessons (tr)
– Anything by Banana Yoshimoto. Kitchen and The Premonition are both wonderful and around 150 pages (tr)
– Minor detail by Adania Shibli, will also rip your heart out (tr)
– The details by Ia Genberg (tr)
– It’s a tad over 200 pages, but Colson Whitehead’s the nickel boys is phenomenal and a gut punch
– Jacqueline Harpman’s I who have never known men (tr)
– Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Open Water, especially if you like Zadie smiths writing
– Jessica Au’s Cold enough for snow is tender and heartfelt
– you haven’t asked for poetry, but Nam Les 36 ways to write a Vietnamese poem is stunning
– Miranda Darling’s Thunderhead was also a gut punch, but a beautiful one. She also came out with a new novel this year but I haven’t read it yet
– Natasha brown’s Assembly
– Jenny Hval’s Paradise Rot is fun and unhinged
– we by Yevgeny Zamyatin if you feel like going full dystopian (tr)
– this is how you loose the time war for some fun queer sci fi
– clear by Carys Davies felt like a cross between Claire Keegan and Samantha Harvey
– but longer, but Robbie Arnott has a similar feel to me as Samantha Harvey – he writes beautiful love letters to landscape. Limberlost and dusk are on the shorter side and fantastic
Zorrie by Laird Hunt
Ransom by David Maalouf
Death in Venice
I’m not sure if this technically qualifies as a novella, but it’s very short, lol. *Convenience Store Woman*. It’s one of those where after you’re done you go, what did I just read? In a good way. Translated from Japanese.