I’m feeling quite pleased with myself having pared back this year’s list to twenty books, a first for me, although I’ll have to guard against more sneaking in as I look back over 2023. As usual, I’m planning four posts, one per quarter, beginning with a remarkable piece of writing which got my reading year 
off to a brilliant start.
The pitch for Dawn Raffel’s Boundless as the Sky was such an intriguing one, I couldn’t resist although I wasn’t at all sure it would work for me. I’m usually more circumspect about accepting books for review published by small presses such as Sagging Meniscus Press, the book’s wonderfully named publishers, mindful of wasting their time and resources. The first part, billed as Raffel’s response to Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, is made up of a series of fragments, some telling a brief story, others describing cities – some fantastical, others real. The second tells the story of one afternoon at Chicago’s A Century of Progress exhibition, all eyes trained on the sky for the ‘air armada’, a company of twenty-four planes led by Italo Balbo, commander of the Italian Air Force, on July 7th, 1933, sent from Rome by Mussolini. Raffel’s writing is gorgeously poetic, singing off the page in its lyricism. Not one for fans of linear narrative, but I loved it.
Sarah May’s chunky Becky, her twenty-first century take on William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair, got me through some dark chilly January evenings with its story of a young woman who works her way up the tabloid press ladder, determined to get to the top whatever the cost to herself and others. Her Becky follows a similar trajectory to Thackeray’s, although she tells us her own story making it all the more immediate, threading her backstory through the adult Becky’s career, small details drip fed to us helping to explain how she has come to be so ruthlessly ambitious. It’s all deftly done, the grubbiness of tabloid journalism laid bare. Such is May’s skill, that despite Becky’s appalling behaviour, I still felt some sympathy for her.
February was once my most hated month but since discovering a heronry on one of my regular walks, I look forward to spotting 
nest repairs in the first few weeks knowing that I’ll see parents feeding their chicks soon.
As for reading, two of February’s books hit the spot beginning with Victoria MacKenzie’s, For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy on My Little Pain, one of those books I suspect I wouldn’t have read if I hadn’t been sent it. MacKenzie’s debut reimagines the lives of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, alternating the stories of these two very different women told through their own voices in simple but often beautiful language. I found this a riveting piece of fiction, a celebration of the resilience and determination of women. Extraordinarily ambitious for a first novel but MacKenzie carries it off so well I included it on my Women’s Prize for Fiction wish list. Proof that stepping outside your comfort zone often reaps rewards.
Which could also be said of February’s second book, Douglas Bruton’s brief novella, With or Without Angels described by the blurb as ‘a response through fiction’ to ‘The New World’ an artwork by the late artist Alan Smith, itself a response to the eighteenth-century artist Giandomenico Tiepolo’s ‘Il Mondo Nuovo’. Bruton structures his novel around Smith’s response which takes the form of eleven pictures, beginning with the artist and his wife, each one reproduced at the end of a brief chapter of narrative that explores many themes, not least love and creativity. Such an impressive piece of fiction: thoughtful, imaginative, erudite, and beautifully written. Published by Fairlight Books, a small indie, it’s the kind of book that often slips through the review cracks.
We’re into March when spring is most definitely on my horizon, with thoughts turning to holidays and days out, but not just 
yet. Only one book on the list for the month, but it’s an extraordinarily good one. Sebastian Barry’s Old God’s Time follows a recently retired police officer whose ex-boss has been told to reopen a cold case which involved two priests, both child sex abusers, one of whom had been brutally murdered while the other was moved on to another parish. Tom’s narrative reflects a confusion which may be memory loss or the aftereffects of trauma, slowly unfolding a story the details of which he has been hiding from himself for thirty years. There’s a beauty in Barry’s telling of this desperately sad story which makes its ugliness all the more stark. I was delighted to see his novel on the Booker longlist although disappointed not to see it make the shortlist.
Spring’s favourites shortly and, after a decidedly melancholy end to my reading winter, there’s a rollicking good read in the frame for April which took me back to my bookselling days.
Well, two of your books had already firmly hit the spot with me too – the Victoria MacKenzie and the Sebastian Barry. And you’re a reliable witness, so the others have – er – reappeared – on my list of must-reads.
Two of the others are a little niche! But I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the McKenzie and the Barry.
Well, I’d like to see if I fit the niche!
I hope you do!
I’ve read Seb Barry and the others sound very interesting!
Bit of a heart-wrencher but so beautifully written.
Great to have this guide. Thank you!
You’re welcome! These lists are a pleasure to put together.
I thought Old God’s Time was a stunning read, looking forward to your further reveals!
Wasn’t it? Desperately sad but so beautiful. Part Two on Wednesday…
Yeah, the Mackenzie is good, isn’t it! And the Raffel, which I’d never heard of, sounds like exactly the sort of indie publication that deserves more love.
Yes to both! The Raffel blew my socks off.
Thanks for the reminder about the Raffel – I really must read it!!
It’s a little gem.
Always an interesting list. I still want to read For Thy Great Pain. Looking forward to the spring list
Thank you! A book that took me by surprise. I loved it!
Sagging Meniscus Press is a great name!
Isn’t it, just? They publish some interesting books, too.
I’d made note of Becky based on your earlier post; the Raffel sounds very intriguing too!
Two very different titles but both excellent in their way.
Old God’s Time is the only one of these that I’ve heard of, although the cover of the Victoria MacKenzie looks familiar. I think the Barry would be too sad for me, but it does sound beautifully written.
The Barry’s very beautiful but certainly the saddest novel I’ve read this year, Jacqui. Mackenzie’s novel is fascinating. Quite a step outside my usual literary territory.
I, too, am surprised the Barry didn’t make the Booker shortlist.
I’d thought it was a dead cert whereas I included Prophet Song on my wishlist more in hope than expectation.
I hadn’t heard of Becky, but that does sound very interesting. Old God’s Time is on my wishlist it does sound good.
Becky’s very entertaining although it does make series points about the awful tabloids.
I had made a note of Becky when you first posted about it but never got round to it. Must bump it up the list!
It would make a good Christmas read. Very entertaining and satisfyingly sharp about the tabloid press.
Barry is such a beautiful writer; his work would make for an excellent reading project.
All the rest sound very good too.
It would indeed!