We’re on the last lap, you’ll be pleased to hear, with a surprising number of gems in November, an indication of the way the publishing year has shifted since so many sales migrated online. I remember when October was the big publishing month.
That month’s only stand out title for me was Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy by the Sea, Lucy Barton’s third outing, the second in a year, and a pandemic novel, all of which made me a bit wary. Lucy and her ex-husband spend the first year of the pandemic in Maine where Lucy’s life, like many others, is changed in surprising sometimes shocking ways. William is quick to see which way the wind is blowing as Covid grips Europe, whisking the sceptical Lucy off to the coastal town of Crosby. Things are a little scratchy at first, but they settle into a routine, Lucy making some surprising friends while William finds an unexpected contentment. As ever, Strout’s writing is empathetic and insightful, vividly summoning up the introspective, claustrophobic bubble of lockdown before vaccinations offered us freedom. Any doubts were quickly dispelled for me. If anything, I found this a more interesting novel than the Booker shortlisted Oh, William! and My Name is Lucy Barton.
I’ve been a huge fan Robbie Arnott’s since Flames, his debut. A coming-of-age story set in 1940s Tasmania with the Second World War a distant hum, Limberlost follows fifteen-year-old Ned who spends his summer hunting rabbits, saving his earnings in the hopes of buying a boat. He’s a lost boy without his brothers, longing for the approval of a father and sister whose thoughts are often far away from home. I loved both of Arnott’s previous novels but Limberlost feels more assured, the work of a novelist whose writing continues to mature in a way that many never achieve.
I’m not one for Christmas books but Lynn Steger Strong’s Flight fits that bill well even if I did read it in November having not yet gone anywhere near a mince pie. Set in snowy New York state, it follows three siblings and their families facing their first Christmas without their beloved mother. Over the next few days, the family’s dynamics take a different shape, their relationship to each other brought into sharp focus by a crisis involving another family less fortunate than their own. This quietly absorbing novel portrays a middle-aged family brought face-to-face with its privilege with a perceptive empathy. That may not sound very exciting, but I found myself thinking about Strong’s book for quite some time after finishing it.
Rather like Strong, Meg Howrey was a name new to me but a blurb promising a novel set in ‘80s New York together with a
resounding recommendation from Ann Patchett caught my eye. They’re Going to Love You explores themes of love, betrayal and dedication against a background of the dance world as Carlisle is faced with visiting her dying father after a schism of nineteen years. She’s the daughter of a dancer and a ballet festival director but by the time Carlisle is ten, her father is living with his gay lover in a Greenwich Village apartment where she spends her summers, becoming closer each year to James, if not to her father, until a chasm opens between them. Howrey unfolds her deeply involving story in a plain, unadorned narrative making its emotional complexity all the more powerful.
My last book of 2022 is Jonathan Coe’s Bournville which I began expecting to be disappointed. Set in the eponymous model 
village built by the Cadburys, it tells the story of post-war Britain through one extended family. Coe structures his novel around seven occasions that apparently united the country, from the opening V.E. Day to its muted commemoration in 2020. It’s a clever idea and Coe executes it well. There are some enjoyable set pieces – the 1966 World Cup final is lovingly described as are the Bond movies – and there’s humour to enjoy but this is also an elegiac book. As the touching, funny and angry author’s note makes clear this is a work of fiction, but the main protagonist is based very much on Coe’s mother who died during the pandemic, the family unable to have the funeral they would have wanted for her. A thoroughly enjoyable, engrossing novel which makes me hopeful for Coe’s next one. A good note to end on.
And if I had to choose? Tricky as ever but it I think it would be a toss-up between Zorrie, Trespasses, Fight Night and Shrines of Gaiety.
For those who’ve stuck with me throughout all four posts and to all who’ve read and commented on my blog this year, thanks so much. Always a pleasure to hear from you! There will be a couple more reviews this year but mostly I’ll be looking forward to 2023 which is shaping up nicely. Meanwhile, if you missed my first three books of the year posts and would like to catch up, they’re here, here and here.
I managed to pick up a review copy of Limberlost, and looking forward to reading it very much.
I hope you love it as much as I did, Mallika.
Delighted to see/hear that Limberlost & Arnott are getting so much love on the international stage – he deserves it.
October still is the BIG publishing month, but this year in particular, with so many authors having written something during lockdowns, has been BIG every month. Even December has some BIG books coming out, which almost never happens.
Glad I have Bourneville on my TBR – it’s getting lots of online love. Might save it for my summer holiday read.
He most certainly does! That’s interesting about your publishing schedules as opposed to ours in the UK. Perhaps it’s the difference in season. And I hope you love the Coe as much as I did. Good holiday choice!
This must be a record, I ordered and have just collected 3 of the novels you’ve recommended here! So, happy reading to me then?! Cheers!
Delighted to hear that although now I want to know which ones…
I started They’re Going to Love You at the weekend based on your recommendation Susan and so far I’m really enjoying it.
Pleased to hear that, Cathy. I’m not sure it’s getting much coverage which is a shame.
Many thanks for these summaries; a number of my favorites of the year are listed which will send me off to collect all the others you recommend.
My pleasure – we seem to have similar literary taste. Happy reading, Vicki!
Elizabeth Strout is on my must read list for 2023
You’re in for such a treat!
Susan it’s embarrassing at this stage tbh…but I’ll get there!
Never too late, and I’d be amazed if you didn’t love her writing.
I absolutely loved Limberlost: It’s one of my books of the year, to be sure, Bourneville’s on my list for future reads (obviously) and Flight sounds worth a punt. I’ve enjoyed this series of posts – thanks!
My pleasure! I’m so pleased you enjoyed Limberlost. Such an evocative novel.
I loved Lucy by the Sea! Not sure if Zorrie outshines it, but okay!
Ah, well – it did for me.
Ooh, good to see Lucy by the Sea. A new to me author and a book I picked up on a whim yesterday. I’ll look forward to reading it 🙂
Ah, you’re in for a treat! And if you like her writing she’s got a great backlist to explore.
You have read some excellent books this year. I love the sound of Flight and I am very much looking forward to reading Bournville at some point, perhaps in the New Year.
I’ve been lucky! I hope you enjoy Bournville – I know it has local associations for you.
Last lap – boo! Always delighted to read your tempting posts Susan 🙂 I really like that Flight cover.
Isn’t it lovely? So subtly beautiful, and thank you! I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed them.
I’m happy to see Fight Night is a contender – such a good book!
Fell in love with Swiv! I usually run a mile from child narrators but Toews nailed it.