I decided to read more for fun in 2024, especially fiction. Here’s what I read, some brief thoughts, and Bookshop.org affiliate links. My goal was 24 books (2 per month). I didn’t make it, but I’m not at all upset at my final number. It’s more fiction than I’ve read in a long time.
A satire of the “woke” DEI politics and outrageous affluence-driven student social life at elite “Devon University” (the author’s alma mater Yale?), this story is more Tom Wolfe than David Lodge in terms of its perspective on higher education and its (lack of) subtlety. I appreciated the critique of the influence of rich students and donors, though is not as thorough as the critique of DEI. Would be interested to see a more complex treatment of the relationship between those two critiques also.
An academic novel of sorts – set in an MFA writing program at “Warren University.” It’s scholarship student Samantha against affluent “the bunnies,” hilariously nicknamed Cupcake, Creepy Doll, Vignette, and The Duchess. I’ve always heard that MFA programs can be cult-like. Bunny takes this to its logical conclusion. I guess this is what some call “dark academia” or “gothic satire.” It has light elements of a horror novel but also reads as a sort of fairy tale. If you like these genres, you will probably really enjoy this take.
I’ve been putting this book off for years now, but a recent visit to the Tule Lake American concentration camp forced me to confront it. This is a singular novel published in 1956 but ignored until 20 years later. It is not about the forced relocation and imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during WWII but its aftermath, seen through the strained family life, friendships, and activities of the “no-no boy” Ichiro. The portrait of Japanese-American life in post-war America is beautifully and painfully multidimensional.
Although the protagonist, Dorothy, is an adjunct professor, this is not much of a campus novel. The real action revolves around her miscarriage and the action/reflection it generates. I’ve heard this genre referred to as “depressive realism” and that fits even my layperson’s understanding of those words. I didn’t feel good in any way after reading this book, though it definitely captured a reality worth contemplating.
This is a professor sleeps with graduate student academic novel, with a twist. As expected, the story does not have a happy ending, as the protagonist student Regina’s obsession becomes her downfall. The process of getting there is painfully satisfying in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable about myself.
A comedic campus novel about an 8th year graduate student in English whose advisor thinks she lacks talent (he invokes “The Peter Principle” to her) who is (haha) writing a dissertation about talent. The story spins off campus into a literary mystery powered by shady behavior on the part of the protagonist Anna and one Helen Langley.
On one level, an academic novel (my fav genre) highlighting academic politics pitting experimental and theoretical physicists against one another. Also has rom-com elements between the two protagonists. Then a good way through it becomes an NC-17 romance novel that will make some readers blush. Not my typical academic comedy but I have to admit I enjoyed it. I’m not likely to read any more of Hazelwood’s work because I liked the academic novel aspects over the romance novel aspects.
Finished this on the plane ride to California as Sandy and I are going to see Macbeth at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. As I recall from HS, Shakespeare’s language is ornate and hard to read. But some ideas are timeless and very timely.
“Boundless intemperance
In nature is a tyranny.”
Picked up this new novel based on the title and description. Those concerned with reactionary cultural forces active today may appreciate the pointed but comedic send up here. Set in “Troy, GA” which may be based on Sylva, NC. There’s a lot of virtue signaling but they are virtues I support so didn’t bother me.
Seeing the events and time covered in Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from the perspective of the enslaved person Jim (here, James) is a revelation. Funny, sad, painful, enlightening with a dramatic plot twist near the end and a cliff-hanger ending. If you think taking a beloved story like Huckleberry Finn and telling it from the perspective of an enslaved person is critical race theory inspired woke-ism, you won’t like this novel.
Paused the novel I was into to read this one, in anticipation of reading Percival Everett’s James. Hadn’t read since high school and enjoyed Twain’s storytelling and humor, though the free use of the N-word took me some time to get used to.
Found this on the sale table at The Book Ferret in Winston-Salem. The plug that it is an “ode to growing up in the ’80s” got me, though the 80s references were not heavy-handed. The story of four Gen Xers later in life coming together upon the (trigger warning) suicide of one of their classmates. They set out to confront their HS speech team coach but in the end (surprise!) have to confront themselves, their relationships, and their life choices. Plenty of humor to go along with the GenX journey of discovery.
This is not really a “campus novel,” though it begins with four roommates thrown together their first year at Smith College. Some of their time there is covered with humor (e.g., “Brie was funny and kind and happy, so much happier than other intelligent people Celia knew”), but the novel’s core action “commences” after their graduation. Some surprising (and dark) turns along the way.
The antagonist among this group of Brooklyn hipster pseudo-intellectual writers, Nathaniel P., is a cad. Cishet male readers may reluctantly see (parts of) themselves in him, and cishet female readers will probably see their boyfriends in him. It was an easy read (i.e., listen) for me as the book is dialogue-driven in a way. I appreciated the ambiguous but not really ambiguous ending signaling Nathaniel P.’s likely future.
I’ve been meaning to read this book for so long as it fits somewhat in the campus novels genre I enjoy. The length held me back for a while but I finally dug in and glad I did. The plot is intriguing and Tartt’s ability to describe characters and scenes is outstanding. There were so many passages that were so well written they stopped me in my tracks. I listened to the book so couldn’t mark them for future reference, which I regret.
Written by a local TV news celebrity, this is a beach read set in the context of beach reading. I really didn’t like the two protagonists at the start, but the characters’ behaviors were fully explained along the way. As befits this genre, all was resolved neatly (if somewhat quickly) at the end in a satisfying manner.
I love to read “campus novels,” most of which are comedies or satires (e.g., David Lodge’s campus trilogy). I missed John Williams’ 1965 novel Stoner the first time around, and also when it achieved a revival in 2013. Why? Although the book’s protagonist is a literature professor at the University of Missouri, the tone is melancholic. No laughs to be found. But the writing is starkly beautiful throughout.
This was a breezy, pointed, and funny sendup of both writers and the publishing industry around the issue of race and representation. It’s like a beach-read version of Percival Everett’s Erasure (which isn’t to say Erasure wasn’t also fun to read). This no doubt has roots in Asian American fantasy author Rebecca Kuang’s experience as an author. It’s straightforward and untaxing and has some fun plot twists at the end as the protagonist spirals.
Learned of this book (published 2001) via the movie adaptation, Academy Award nominee “American Fiction.” Debated watching the movie first but glad I chose the book. My overidentification with the narrator, Professor Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, may say too much about me. Everett’s criticism of stereotypes of Black life is pointed, and the novel is 2 books in 1, as you’ll see when you read it.
Being from Half Moon Bay, the title of this book immediately caught my eye. It’s a psychological study of a mother (not always a likable character) disguised as a dark thriller (not overly complex). The book begins on Kauai (where my dad was from), moves to Berkeley (where I went to college), and ends on the Coastside (where I was raised), so the locales were very familiar to me.
I chose to read Romantic Comedy over the more highly recommended Demon Copperhead. I’m glad I did. I deal with heavy issues for a living so it was nice to read (listen to, actually) a lightly plotted book with sufficient but not elaborate characterization. Fans of SNL Live will appreciate the setting for much of the book. I can see why these kinds of books are so popular!