Austrian Nobel Prize laureate Jelinek's most famous novel is a shocking, unpleasant, yet unforgettable exploration of sexual repression, sadomasochism, and abuse.
Tag: read in 2024
Ottessa Moshfegh · Eileen
Moshfegh's claustrophobic debut novel is a dark, exhibitionist character study detailing a week in the life of unassuming, unstable Eileen—as compelling as it is repulsive.
Emily St. John Mandel · Last Night in Montreal
Mandel’s debut is a dreamlike, compelling, gently unfurling mystery about a young woman unmoored, but also about obsession and the power of life’s fleeting connections.
Ali Smith · Spring
The third volume in the seasonal quartet, an extended experiment in synchronicity, is the most explicitly political so far, Smith's moral fury a swelling undercurrent; yet hope springs eternal.
Daphne du Maurier · The King’s General
A grisly discovery inspired du Maurier to write this historical novel set during the English Civil War—a story of a country and families caught up in the conflict, with a romance at the heart of it.
Roald Dahl · Madness: Tales of Fear and Unreason
One of eight themed centenary editions of Dahl’s short stories for adults, Madness collects ten short stories that explore the pleasures, dangers, and consequences of letting go of sanity.
James Baldwin · Go Tell It On the Mountain
Baldwin’s semi-autobiographical first novel reads like a long gospel sermon, and is remarkable in its intensity, symbolism, and lyrical power—a cutting indictment of Christianity’s hypocrisy.
Zora Neale Hurston · Their Eyes Were Watching God
A long-forgotten, captivating tale about a black woman’s unapologetic pursuit of true love and independence that masterfully blends poetic narration and African American vernacular.
Primo Levi · The Truce
This sequel chronicles Levi's roundabout homeward journey after the Red Army liberated Auschwitz: A remarkable, ten-month-long odyssey across Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
L. Kennedy · The End of the World is a Cul de Sac
This debut collection features fifteen sharp-edged, visceral slice-of-life stories that paint portraits of complex, wounded women trapped and limited by their circumstances, yet wild at heart.