Eleven Best Books

The New York Times named its picks for the ten best books of 2008--and not only did a collection of short stories make the cut, but so did a novel in translation. I won't pick the Times for leading a literary culture shift here, but it's great to see even a slight variation from the nonfiction tomes and novels that are presumed to be the genres of best quality.

In the spirit of picking favorites, I'm going to stick my own neck out here to name my top ten favorite books of 2008--ones read in 2008, mind you, rather than ones necessarily published this year. And by "ten," I mean "eleven." I just couldn't eliminate any of these.

Titles aren't listed in any particular order, beyond the fiction/nonfiction divide. Most links are to what I've written about these titles shortly after finishing them; you'll notice that I take the liberty of quoting myself below. But I admit to not reviewing all of them ... even though they are among my favorites ... But call me up and let's go get coffee and chat about any of these, and more!

FICTION:

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen

She's funny. She's got a sharp eye for the poses we perform for each other. She, wonderfully, complicates the notions of 'sense' and 'sensibility,' as modeled by two sisters, avoiding the trap of making each one a manifestation for a single characteristic. The ending is not a wholly happy one, but it's close; like life, leaves us wondering 'what if?' For the first novel that Austen published, she comes through swinging, armed with remarkable talent, empathy and playfulness.

The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton

"I tell you, it was fraught; this is a great book that I viscerally responded to. So engrossing is the tale of Lily Bart and New York society at turn of the twentieth century, we ended up bringing that second copy home and continuing to read til 3 a.m (there was a short spaghetti break)."

 Laughter in the Dark, by Vladmir Nabokov

"I think the words 'sardonic' and 'trenchant' often come up in book reviews to describe writing like this. I often shook my head in bemused awe at the kind of stuff this writer could get away with. I mean, a villain named Axel Rex? A sentence like: 'An electric milk van on fat tires rolling creamily?' Incredible."

The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel, by Amy Hempel

What to say about Amy Hempel. It's a trip to follow her mind in this varied collection of stories. She has an ear that's attuned for the white space and silences of our lives, in part manifested in her short-shorts. She's hilarious and attentive to echoes. The characters in her stories are like ghosts.

Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson. Translated by Anne Born.

"There is suspense and mystery in Out Stealing Horses--but it hardly moves like a step-by-step thriller; Petterson performs the writerly miracle of making mysterious what we already know has happened. And that 'what' that has happened isn't itself easily defined, even as I can feel its weight. It's rather like someone asked me 'what' has happened in my life. I couldn't tell you. But I feel its weight."

The Fall, by Albert Camus

"... perhaps the most unsettling book I've read this year."

Temporary People, by Steven Gillis

"In the interview (between Gillis and myself), we talk fables, imaginary landscapes in fiction, hybrid point-of-view, Gandhi, creative nonviolence, intertexts, memoir scandals, whether or not writing in present-day America is 'revolutionary,' literary communities, independent presses, and, well, other stuff. Yeah. He's that interesting."

NONFICTION:

Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, by Stephen Greenblatt

"My immediate response upon finishing this book? Every Shakespeare play I read from now on will be funnier, deeper, more moving and generally more of a joy because I read this."

Orphans: essays, by Charles D'Ambrosio

"The eleven essays are haunting, hallucinatory, and so sharp-eyed that it rattles the bones. D'Ambrosio moves among landscapes like a watchful ghost--from oddball modular homes in Washington state, to the infamous Hell House, from Seattle in 1974 to a Russian orphanage, from a tent on a cold ocean beach to a utopian experiment in small town Texas to a courthouse multiplex where a teacher's on trial for becoming pregnant by her 13-year-old student. Sound strange? D'Ambrosio thinks so too ... or rather, he's rapt at the spaces of ambivalence, of fakery and rhetoric, the blurring of what we mean and the meaning we make."

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan

"But I'm glad he's playing it out in this follow-up. He's a fantastic writer whose commentary leaves room for nuance--nothing's wholly one thing or another which is, um, just how life is. And his writing is compulsively readable."

Whipping Girl: A Transsexual on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, by Julia Serano

Julia Serano is one of the smartest writers out there. Absolutely innovative thinking, and she's unafraid to take a stance. As a professional biologist, journalist, and transsexual woman, Serano's vantage on the concepts of gender and the ideas of femininity and masculinity have a rare authority. But besides being brainy, Serano's compelling voice, candor, and personal stories are what seal Whipping Girl's place in the top eleven reads of 2008.

Comments

[Henry K.]

The Fall is absolutely outstanding, maybe one of the best I've ever read, but where is the poetry love? I expected as much from the Times, but expected a little more from you :).

[steven gillis]

Very honored indeed to be in such wonderful company. Hope the others feel the same. Thanks much for the mention. Steve

[Anna Clark]

Good call-out on the poetry, Henry. It's funny--I read a bunch of poetry collections last year, and was surprised to realize that I read hardly any this year. It's like I'm on a binge/purge schedule with the poems. It's my loss! What do you think should I pick up in January, to start 2009 right?

Steve, Jane Austen has informed me that she's honored to be in your company too ...

[Henry K.]

Off the top of my head, I'd say Tom Lux's "God Particles", or Warren Wilson's own Adrian Blevins' "The Brass Girl Brouhaha". Also, if you haven't read Stephen Mitchell's Rilke translations or Anne Carson's "Glass, Irony, and God", those are pretty much required reading.

And to be fair, I don't exactly read a lot of fiction these days.