For the people who read for a living, the year has seen a pile of standouts. So, what impressed the experts?
We’re past halfway but not so far into the year as to have reached that buoyant non-category: the beach read. Descriptors for books have yet to loop, sandy and
Yet those things — books and free time — are important to us in September too. So I surveyed booksellers across the country and asked them to share their favourite reads of the year.
Their answers — tender, lyrical, clever tomes with protagonists as varied as aimless werewolves and plots akin to “Sally Rooney’s Normal People but on an effective anti-depressant” — feel as much as a list of great literature, poetry and self-help as it does a culmination of things that have given them moments to indulge — permission to sink deep into leisure; to read, perhaps above all else, for themselves.
Fire Rush
By Jacqueline Crooks (Jonathan Cape, $37)
A lyrical and absorbing novel that will sweep you up into the life of the British underground dub scene of the 80s, to a love story gone wrong, and deep into the trauma and racism of Black British lives. This novel is a masterpiece and deserves all the praise that has come its way. It is also a fictional portrayal of the author’s own life. Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023, and perfect for fans of Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Small Worlds (another stellar novel). — Mandy Myles, Bookety Book Books
The Hero of This Book
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Advertise with NZME.By Elizabeth McCracken (Penguin Random House, $37)
This incredibly tender novel is both a profound and laugh-out-loud exploration of grief, love and storytelling. It follows an unnamed narrator on a trip to London to mourn the death of her brilliant mother. Elizabeth McCracken’s eye for creating eccentric characters is superb — they leap off the page. She delights in human absurdity and the slippery art of writing about your family — be it fiction, memoir, or somehow both at once. Definitely one of my favourites of 2023 so far. For fans of We All Want Impossible Things, Deborah Levy, Elizabeth Strout and Ann Patchett. — Bel Monypenny, Scorpio Books
Audition
By Pip Adam (Te Herenga University Press, $35)
Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize winner Pip Adam is well known for exploring beyond the boundaries of narrative possibility in her writing. The beginning of the novel Audition places three characters on a Y-shaped spaceship going… somewhere. While on Earth, these characters were giants, but they weren’t always giants. Still growing inside the spaceship, they are running out of space. The only way the growth stops is if they keep talking. Adam is a master at placing her characters in altered but recognisable universe to portray observations of our contemporary life. Audition, in particular, gives insight into the human condition when the body is confined while offering a reimagined solution for our society. Brilliant! — Jenna Todd, Time Out Books
Wavewalker: Breaking Free
By Suzanne Heywood (HarperCollins, $35)
I tend to mostly read fiction, and I’ve read some absolute gems so far this year, but Wavewalker by Suzanne Heywood has been a surprise standout non-fiction read. Such an unbelievable yet true story of an unconventional childhood spent on a yacht and the lengths teenage Suzanne will go to gain an education that her parents try to deny her. A heart-in-mouth, page-turning memoir that has prompted much discussion with customers and book clubs. My teenage son is now devouring it. — Olivia Spooner, The Booklover
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By Akwaeke Emezi (Bloomsbury, $33)
I haven’t been this moved by a poetry collection in some time. Despite its slim size, it took me some time to get through, partially due to the tears but mostly because I wanted to savour every letter. Emezi wields their pen with precision and purpose — not a word is wasted as they grapple with faith, family and identity, ultimately emerging as their own distinct, powerful entity. ‘[G]aze upon me! i am the fucking miracle’’. What a triumph. I will linger between these pages forever. — Eden Denyer, Unity Books Wellington
Dream Girl
By Joy Holley (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $30)
Joy Holley’s Dream Girl is an entrancing read — a collection of short fiction that captures the highs and lows of girlhood and being in love. Astrology and heart-shaped beds, playlists and complex friendship dynamics — Dream Girl takes these elements and weaves them into a delicious, sensual tapestry. Each story is gorgeously detailed — descriptions of music, food and literature ground us in reality while seemingly supernatural forces hover at the edges. Dream Girl will surprise and enthrall you, each story as satisfying and entertaining as the last. — Bella Sexton, Unity Books Wellington
Birnam Wood
By Eleanor Catton (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $38)
Finally, a new Eleanor Catton book after 10 years of waiting, and it lives up to the hype! Eco-terrorism, guerilla gardening, leftist wannabe journalists, and faux conservationist pest controllers all come together to basically mess up everyone else’s lives. — Melissa Oliver, Unity Books Wellington
Is Mother Dead
By Vigdis Hjorth (Verso Books, $30)
What a beguiling read this was! We follow Johanna, a frustrated, devious and sometimes delightful 60-year-old woman who returns to Norway to prepare for a retrospective of her painting career. But this is where her family (who she hasn’t seen or spoken to in decades) live. Johanna’s infatuation with making amends with her family results in psychological torment after she stalks her mother intensely for months. This story is gripping, sucking you in and spitting you out again, just as Johanna’s family did to her, or is it the other way around? — Kate McDonald, Unity Books Wellington
Bittersweet
By Susan Cain (Viking, $40)
Bittersweet by Susan Cain is a deliverance for anyone asking: Is it okay that I’m sad all the time? How do I enjoy something I know will eventually come to an end? How do I continue when the person I love dies? Cain explores the essence of bittersweetness using historical analysis and interviews with world authorities on human emotion. These are questions for the likes of Leonard Cohen and directors of Pixar films. Here is a space for sorrow to breathe. Grief may not have rhyme or reason to it, but Cain has a message for anyone struggling with a little bit (or even a lot) of melancholia. — Haro Lee, Unity Books Auckland
The Wager
By David Grann (Simon & Schuster, $40)
Yes, the new book from the author of Killers of the Flower Moon, the next movie we are all hanging out to watch. The Wager looks to be just as unbelievable, a true story involving every imaginable, ghastly aspect of man’s behaviour. And yes, Martin Scorsese has apparently snapped up the movie rights! Check out all the reviews for this book and you won’t want to pass on it. — Jo McColl, Unity Books Auckland
Busy Being Free
By Emma Forrest (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, $33)
For a memoir about life after divorce from actor Ben Mendelsohn, it’s an incredibly romantic, seductive read. There are vignettes on Emma’s voluntary celibacy that conjure unsuspecting passions, witty parallels to Trump’s presidency and her ex-husband and their divorce, plus a life-affirming move from her L.A. mansion to a small attic flat in London as a solo parent. It’s a portrait of self-discovery after a marriage fraught with volatility and passion in equal measure, highlighting the vulnerability and interconnectedness of two people passionately in love who were wholly suited to one another, until they weren’t. — Chloe Blades, Unity Books Auckland (join Chloe at the Unity Bookclub on September 23rd in a discussion on this book. Tickets available at Unitybooksauckland.co.nz)
Bored Gay Werewolf
By Tony Santorella (Atlantic, $37)
This one had me at the title. The Sunday Times said “there really aren’t enough novels about aimless, gay werewolves called Brian…” and I concur. Bored Gay Werewolf by Tony Santorella is a satirical portrait of modern wellness culture and sexuality. It uses the werewolf trope to explore themes of toxic masculinity, which is a stroke of genius. Supernatural elements aside, this novel will resonate with anyone who has ever felt a bit lost and directionless in life. This darkly comedic, clever story really captures that awkward period in your twenties when you are learning to adult. — Daniel Devenney, Unity Books Auckland
Tsunami
By Ned Winlock (Bateman, $35)
Set in small-town New Zealand, Ned Wenlock captures an honest representation of rural life through the eyes of Peter, a child. From bullies to absent parents, Peter begins to feel the pressures of teenagehood. Wenlock brings to life the reality of being a teenager and the despair of feeling like your actions are inconsequential and nobody sees your struggles. For Peter, the lack of attention from parental figures means he often struggles to do the right thing. The minimalist art in this graphic novel draws you into thinking it will be a simple, sweet story. But as you read on it takes a dark turn. — Kelly Gordon, Unity Books Auckland
The Rachel Incident
By Caroline O’ Donoghue (Virago, $38)
I usually hesitate to read Goodreads reviews but there was one that made me chuckle. A user described The Rachel Incident as Sally Rooney’s Normal People but on an effective anti-depressant, which is a perfect way to describe it. Irish writing has made 2023 for me and this recent discovery by Caroline O’Donoghue has taken the place of my favourite read so far. Messy, indulgent, and painfully funny, The Rachel Incident hits a nerve on so many things that can make or break our twenties. This isn’t just any old or tried coming-of-age novel, though, but one where the cost of a cheap Ryanair flight takes priority over the safety of an abortion not yet legal in Ireland in 2010. The Rachel Incident will leave you feeling outraged as well as in tears of laughter, a dilemma O’Donoghue balances remarkably well. — Demi Cox, Unity Books Auckland
And the people who wrote them.
How A Novel About Video Games Became A Surprise Bestseller. Gabrielle Zevin didn’t expect a wide audience for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, her novel about game developers.
She Wrote A Blistering Satire About Publishing. The Publishing Industry Loves It. In ‘Yellowface’, R.F. Kuang tackles issues like cultural appropriation and representation.
Bernardine Evaristo & The Booker Bounty. For the British author, success was a Goldilocks affair — not too early, not too late.
Book Club: Everything We Thought While Reading Eleanor Catton’s ‘Birnam Wood’. Three of Viva’s resident bibliophiles sat down to read the ecological thriller.
