Strange to remember writing my books of the year posts for 2019 last December, blissfully unaware of the surreal year that lay ahead for us all. I’ve been one of those fortunate people whose concentration didn’t take too much of a pandemic hit instead burying myself in reading and blogging, finding solace in books and virtual friends when doorstep chats were the only way to meet local ones. As ever, there’ll be four posts, roughly corresponding to the year’s 
quarters, all with links to reviews on this blog
Two titles stood out for me in January, one eagerly anticipated the other very nearly passed over. Kevin Wilson’s Nothing to See Here tells the story of Lillian, still reeling from the betrayal by her best friend which wrecked her life, who nevertheless responds to that friend’s call for help. It’s also about two children who burst into flames when agitated. Wilson narrates his story in Lillian’s funny, often snarky voice as she tries to find ways to keep Bessie and Roland fire-free, offering them the love and security that, like her, they’ve sorely lacked. It’s an absolute treat – funny, heartrending and wholly original. If the prospect of spontaneously combusting children puts you off, I’d ignore it. You soon get used to the idea.
No such reservations with Emma Jane Unsworth’s Adults which tells the story of Jenny, fast approaching middle-age, who’s in the grips of a social media addiction. The lone parent of a fifteen-year-old and the only sensible voice in Jenny’s life, Kelly’s patience finally snaps as her friend’s life unravels in an endless cycle of craving approbation, no matter how fleeting, from people she’ll never meet and who may not even exist. Unsworth’s novel manages to be both moving and cringe-makingly funny, nailing the chasm between how some of us present ourselves to the social media world and the chaos of reality. I thought this one would be a shoe-in for the Women’s Prize for Fiction but the judges thought otherwise…
They also failed to agree with me about the first of February’s favouites, Carol Anshaw’s Right After the Weather. Set in Anshaw’s home town of Chicago in the months before and after the 2016 election, it explores both the state of the nation and the nature of friendship through a forty-two-year-old theatrical set designer determined to anchor her precarious way of life in a more secure future. When Cate interrupts an appalling act of violence all the cards of her life are thrown into the air, affecting both herself and her relationships with others in surprising and deeply unsettling ways. A quietly brilliant novel
Jenny Offill’s long awaited follow-up to Dept. of Speculation, Weather, was the only one of my wishes to appear on the judges’ shortlist. Set against the backdrop of Trump’s America and the ever more urgent climate crisis, Offill’s novel follows Lizzie as she tries to take care of everyone while disappearing down an apocalyptic wormhole, responding to the emails of listeners to the podcast, Hell and High Water. Fragmented, non-linear and discursive, Weather really shouldn’t work yet it does so beautifully, approaching the crisis facing our planet with wit and panache, a constant ever darkening backdrop to Lizzie’s everyday dilemmas.
Just one title for March written by an author whose work has never failed me, although the setting for this one made me less eager than usual. Daniel Kehlmann’s Tyll is a 
lengthy, richly imagined historical novel that takes us from the early years of the Thirty Years War to the convoluted negotiations which bring it to an end. A sharp, clever boy, the eponymous miller’s son takes off with a friend as soon as he’s old enough, becoming a travelling entertainer which eventually leads him to the highest court in the land. Kehlmann’s evocative novel takes us from Tyll’s hungry, squalid village to the peace negotiations in Osnabrück’s gorgeously appointed Town Hall. Throughout it all, Tyll is the fool who sees his masters’ folly, unafraid to speak truth to power if only they’d listen. I loved this novel with its contemporary resonance, gobbling it up.
By the end of March, we in the UK were in a lockdown nowhere near as severe as other countries were enduring in continental Europe. H’s and my last day out had been to see the recently restored Doom Painting in St Thomas’ Church, Salisbury, originally painted around 1480, about a century and a half before Tyll opens. It seemed oddly appropriate.
Part Two shortly which will include another title I wasn’t at all sure about and two comfort reads, one published quite some time before 2020.
Tyll is one I need to prioritize before the end of the year; I bought it on a 99p Kindle deal.
I hope you like it, Rebecca. Each book I’ve read by Kehlmann is so different from his others. Sign of a good writer!
I really like the sound of Tyll and had not read anything about it before so thanks for flagging it up.
You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it.
The Carol Anshaw is calling me most from this group. I went to Chicago ( in 2016 oddly) but did t have as much time as I would have liked to explore. Maybe this book will help me do that.
It’s more about the characters than the location, Karen, so you might be a little disappointed. Gret book, though.
We’re in agreement about Adults! I haven’t read the others but a couple are on my list (Nothing to See and Weather).
I’ve started to compile my list of the books that most frequently appear on ‘best of’ lists for the year – just a hint, you’re right on the money so far 😉
Hurrah! It’s still a mystery to me why Adults wasn’t on the Women’s Prize for Fiction list, but what do I know…
Excellent post, thank you.
One observation : Unsworth’s ‘Adults’ is published here in U.S with the title ” Grown Ups’. I know this is not uncommon but I wonder why in this case? Any thoughts?
Thank you. That’s interesting, although I can’t shed any light on why, I’m afraid. Different connotations, culturally?
Nice recap. I need to try Tyll, F had left me disappointed
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Tyll will give you something to get your teeth into.
Lovely to see your favourite books starting to appear. Right After the Weather sounds excellent. I remember reading lots of reviews of Tyll, yet somehow it was the one title on the international booker prize list I liked the sound of least. I am probably completely wrong about that as I couldn’t get past half way with the winning book.
Thanks, Ali. I have to admit to ducking out of reading The Discomfort of Evening. Tyll is also a bit grim in places but it’s balanced with humour. The period setting didn’t appeal at all, at first but there’s a very strong contemporary resonance with that talking truth to power theme. Right After the Weather is a great read; highly recommend it.
I read three from the International Booker long list but not the winner or Tyll, and now looking back I see that Eighth Life was there too, which after winning the Warwick Prize for women in translation, I’m tempted by.
Lovely to see your lists coming out, even if I’ve read none from this first crop. I’ve read double the number of books this year that I thought I would read, amazing what eliminating a social/leisure life can do for one’s reading habits.
I’ll look forward to that, Claire. Yes, this was an unusually seasonal one for me. I’ve been missing my trip to the mountains. This was as close as I managed to get!
I also read Right After the Weather… it was very good!
One of those titles that seemed to slip through the review net, here. So glad you enjoyed it.
Yes, I reviewed it as well, but I’m sorry it didn’t get much traction when it was released. I like her style.
The only one I’ve read on your list is Wilson’s Nothing to See Here. I absolutely share your opinion that it’s great! Like many, the quirky premise put me off trying it (despite the fact that I’d read and loved The Family Fang). Fortunately, I had bought it as a gift for a friend and, on my way to sending it off, started reader and immediately became hooked. It really is a wonderful read — funny, insightful and well written. I’ve decided to just put Kevin Wilson on my list of “writers to always check out!” (he’s just published a book of short stories BTW, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth)>
I’m not at all sure I’d have picked the Wilson up had I not been sent a review copy. I’m glad you loved it as much as I did, and you’re right – best grab anything he writes in future.
Nothing to See Here has been very popular at our library, but I feel more drawn to Adults, Weather, and Tyll.
I love the end-of-year lists, but they also remind me of all the good books I didn’t read! 🙂
So pleased to hear that about the Wilson. Spontaneously combusting children are a little niche. And me, too, about those end-of-year lists!
Hah, the painting. So funny. (Er, not.)
I know!
I absolutely adored Nothing To See Here. So incredibly weird, funny and heartwarming. Definitely one of my favorite books this year.
I’m so pleased by all the positive comments about this book on here. Lots of people seem to love it.