21st Century Literature discussion

Out of what you have read so far in 2025, what has been your best read and what has been your worst?

I think my favorite so far has been House of Fury by Evelio Rosero.

My worst read of 2025 so far, especially when factoring in the expectations I had for it, is Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata.

Oh, no, Rachel! I got excited to read Murata after reading a recent New Yorker piece (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...), but maybe I don't start with the Vanishing World...

My favorite so far has actually been a collection of non-fiction essays: Mothers, Fathers, and Others: Essays by Siri Hustvedt, an author I've become a big fan of ever since Hugh introduced me to her.

Least favorite so far: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (I'm generally a fan of hers)

Worst: 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen and (slightly better) Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Best: The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje

Ruben wrote: "Worst: 33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen and (slightly better) Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Best: [book:The Remember..."

I'm very excited to read The Remembered Soldier! I saw a bookstore by me had it available to purchase yesterday (not out here til mid May) and I was very tempted but am making myself wait for the library copy.

Marc wrote: "Siri HustvedtOh, no, Rachel! I got excited to read Murata after reading a recent New Yorker piece (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...), but maybe ..."

I really liked her Convenience Story Woman and I found out Vanishing World was written before that (it was written a decade ago) which explains to me why I found so much of it underdeveloped and not something I would expect from an experienced writer. I find myself agreeing with the Kirkus review, particularly their one line summary---"A great conceit with unrealized potential".

Rachel wrote: "I really liked her Convenience Story Woman and I found out Vanishing World was written before that (it was written a decade ago)..."

Good to know! Thanks. I'll likely start with Convenience Store Woman.

Marc wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I really liked her Convenience Story Woman and I found out Vanishing World was written before that (it was written a decade ago)..."

Good to know! Thanks. I'll likely start with Con..."

Convenience Store Woman was a delight for me on audio!

Nadine in California wrote: "....Convenience Store Woman was a delight for me on audio!"

My library has the audio available, I know what my next listen is!

Rachel wrote: "I think my favorite so far has been House of Fury by Evelio Rosero..."

This looks good, sort of a Columbian "Exterminating Angel".

My favourite read of the year so far is Bolla by Pajtim Statovci; infuriating at times but brilliant and I don’t get how this didn’t win the International Booker Prize.

I actually agree on the Murata being the biggest disappointment so far; I thought Vanishing World would be interesting based on the blurb and having enjoyed other novels of her before, including Convenience Store Woman, but it is just so slow to get to its point and repeats itself a lot, as if the reader is not trusted to infer anything. Second one would be Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor. I expected some resolution of the central first event, being the disappearance of a girl, but it just offers slice of life of a rural village in the chapters after.

Henk wrote: ...Second one would be Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor. I expected some resolution of the central first event, being the disappearance of a girl, but it just offers slice of life of a rural village in the chapters after.

Henk, we read this as a group a few years ago. There was definitely some split in opinion with those who read it as a mystery, and those who read it as 'slice of life'. The marketing of the book didn't help, in this regard. I thought I enjoyed this book more having known going in that the central 'mystery' wasn't going to be resolved.

Here's a link to the discussion, if you're interested.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Reservoir 13 ... I'd have it in my top 10 - or top 13 would be more appropriate - novels of the 21st century. Such a clever construct, and I love novels that confound expectations. As someone from a rural village, and where there is a 30 year+ unresolved case of a missing girl from the nearby town, this is so brilliantly done - life doesn't tend to come with neat resolutions unfortunately.

I'd second Bolla as a 'how did that not even feature on, let alone win, the Booker'

For me on the thread topic:

Best - Audition

Worst/most disappointing - The Safekeep probably, given it seems to have been shortlisted for every award

Best: The Children of the Dead by Elfriede Jelinek. Translated by Gitta Honegger. I’m just halfway through but it’s extraordinary and like nothing I’ve read before. The translation is stunning.

Worst: If You Love It, Let It Kill You by Hannah Pittard.

My favorite so far is Devil Is Fine by John Vercher.

Worst by far is a book others seem to love but its appeal is totally lost on me: All Fours by Miranda July

Well, this thread turned out to be just in time to help celebrate Independent Bookstore Day (this Saturday in the U.S.)!

Best: Nicholas Rombes' Lisa 2, v1.0. Intriguing open-ended and subtly disturbing. I think Rombes' fiction definitely deserves more love!

Oh wait, I read the Rombes last year, sorry. So for this year so far, my best would be Juliet Escoria's You Are the Snake: Stories. Tight and uncomfortable, reminds me somewhat of Lucia Berlin.

Worst: Thomas Morris' Open Up, despite enthusiasm in various circles.

(Marc, I messaged you back, don't think you're checking. This site is so decrepit, it's almost as anti-social as letterboxd.)

Thanks, Bill!

Joy, I know a lot of readers divided over Miranda July's book.

Best: Rosarita by Anita Desai, tied with The Complete Fiction of Nella Larsen: Passing, Quicksand, and The Stories by Nella Larsen.

Most disappointing: The Premonitions Bureau: A True Account of Death Foretold by Sam Knight.

I'm struggling for a best, though not because everything I've read has been awful or anything. I mean, I reread Macbeth and I've been rereading all of Sherlock Holmes. But it seems unfair to peg a classic as the best.

I'd say the two contemporary books I've most enjoyed so far were The Wren, the Wren and Small Boat.

The worst was Blessings or, if we're factoring in expectations, On the Calculation of Volume I.

After Vargas Llosa's death, I read The War of the End of the World, a dense, epochal book about a 19th century Brazilian religious community and the government's efforts to eradicate them. Best book I've read so far and an incredible achievement.

Two best were on audio - Haven by Emma Donoghue and Fagin the Thief by Allison Epstein and a very close 3rd was The Night Alphabet by Joelle Taylor in print.

The worst books were DNF's, so I won't mention them (other than to say, it's been a bad reading year for DNF's - nine, not including those I DNF'ed after only a few pages.

The most disappointing book I did finish was Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.

The best book was The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. This book was the complete package, great characters and story, amazing language, explorations of history and identity, and some crazy original takes on vampires.

Worst was The Only One Left by Riley Sager. Read for an IRL book club. My friend described it as a 70's movie of the week, which is pretty accurate, but at least those were only 90 minutes.