I read a total of 41 books and the overwhelming majority of them were good. They made me laugh and cry and reflect. This year, I tried to avoid getting caught up in bookish hype, bestseller lists, etc. and focus instead on reading according to my mood and personal interests. That approach seems to have worked well; I read a lot of backlist in 2017 and finally tackled several books that had been on my shelves for ages.
Here's a quick breakdown ..
Of all the books I read this year, here are my top six ...
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
"We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself 'whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth?' Once you have that figured out, you must find that story too. From there, you begin to get a clearer, yet still imperfect, picture." - page 227
Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing is pretty much perfection. Beginning in 18th century Ghana and carrying us through all the way to present-day USA, Homegoing covers hundreds of years of history, with particular emphasis given to events that have shaped the African-American community ... colonialism, the slave trade, the American civil war, emancipation, segregation, the "war on drugs", etc. Despite its impressive scope, the story is incredibly readable. At just 300 pages, Gyasi has obviously chosen her words carefully, creating a concise narrative without compromising rich, fully fleshed out characters. Homegoing is a masterpiece. It is historical fiction at its finest.
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
As a Canadian, I grew up with Anne's story ... I've been to Prince Edward Island, I've seen the Megan Follows miniseries, I know the soundtrack to the musical by heart. That said, as familiar as I was with the plot and characters, I never picked up the book as a child so this summer marked my first time reading the beloved CanLit classic. Oh, what a treat it was! Feisty and full of spunk, Anne is the perfect heroine and her story is delightful from start to finish. I ordered the beautiful box set from Tundra Books and look forward to reading more of Anne's story in 2018.
Behold The Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
Behold The Dreamers is a beautifully written story about immigration, opportunity and privilege. Without getting preachy, Imbolo Mbue explores what it means to pursue the so-called "American Dream" ... what does it mean to be successful? To belong? What happens when "America" lets you down? Set in New York City during the economic recession in 2007/2008, Behold The Dreamers delves into these themes via the narratives of two families - the Jongas (struggling Cameroonian immigrants living in Harlem and desperately trying to make a better life for themselves) and the Edwardses (wealthy, upperclass New Yorkers who appear to have it all but are secretly fighting their own battles behind closed doors). The lives of these two families become surprisingly intertwined as the story progresses, teaching us that perhaps we all have more in common with one another than we realize.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
"What a miracle it is to have people to come home to every day. To be loved. To be expected" - page 230
Of all the books I read this year, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is the one I find myself thinking of the most often. When I finished this book, I went up to my husband and said "I love you. I love our life together. I'd never trade this, not for anything!" ... for a fictional book to trigger that kind of reaction is a sign of a story well told. I went into this book knowing nothing about the plot, and I think that's the best way to experience it so I don't want to spoil too much. All I will say is that this book is a thought-provoking page turner, completely compelling and wonderfully unique. If you were a fan of the movie What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams, consider Dark Matter a must-read.
The Women In The Castle by Jessica Shattuck
Dark Matter is the book I can't stop thinking about, but The Women in the Castle is the book I keep pushing in people's hands and encouraging everyone to read. Jessica Shattuck's novel tells the story of three German widows who end up living together in an old, decaying castle in the years following WWII. The book is not written in chronological order and bounces around from year to year and character to character ... this technique can be hit or miss in a novel, but Shattuck does it brilliantly. Her writing style is subtle, but compelling; her characters flawed, but authentic and believable. The story explores resistance and complicity, why people make the choices they do, how they justify their decisions, how they pick up the shattered remnants of their lives when everything falls apart. What does it mean to be patriotic, to be brave, to be good, to be redeemed? I was incredibly moved by this story.
Honorable Mentions -
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Hunting Houses by Fanny Britt
Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
We're Going To Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union
Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
****
Having now compiled this list, I realize all six titles (+ all of my honorable mentions!) share a common theme ... all of them touch on the idea of picking up the broken pieces of life; rebuilding, resurgence, rebirth. A coincidence? Perhaps, but given the way 2017 unfolded I'm not at all surprised that I was drawn to these stories of strength and resilience. We need more books like these in the world.
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