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All tagged Historical Fiction
What a genre-mashup delight this book was! Part antihero western, part dual-timeline family saga, with a sprinkling of magical realism (including a very mysterious book), The Bullet Swallower has something for everyone.
Everyone’s already calling James — Percival Everett’s reimagining and extension of Huckleberry Finn — a favorite for next year’s Pulitzer Prize. I’ve got to agree.
Our queen has blessed us once again. Boy, does Leigh Bardugo know how to sweep us away, how to write a love story, and how to knock an ENDING (!) out of the park.
The Unmaking of June Farrow is part sweeping time-travel, part love story, part murder mystery, and fully unputdownable. It’s the perfect book if you’re looking for a fast, immersive read that you’ll want to gobble up in one day.
See, now this is what I want every literary historical fiction novel to be for the rest of time. More books like this please!!
Night Watch is written with lovely prose, but unfortunately, it was just not my cup of tea. Stomach-turning scenes and an unsatisfying ending left me unhappy with it.
Sensory and immersive, brutal and beautiful, Let Us Descend is another masterpiece from our queen Jesmyn Ward.
Quiet, immersive, and culturally rich, Drum-Time gives us a heartbreaking look at the intersections of both modernity and tradition and faith and identity.
This Other Eden isn’t perfect, but it is gorgeously written and undeniably moving. I’m not surprised it’s a finalist for both the Booker Prize and the National Book Award.
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store is absolutely going to be one of my favorite reads of the year. Somehow, It’s both heavy and feels like a big literary hug at the same time. McBride, I’m coming for your backlist!
Booth is part historical fiction, part family saga focusing on the family of John Wilkes Booth. I felt pretty neutral about it, but definitely recommend audio over print if you read it.
The Vaster Wilds is another work of genius from Groff, intimate and visceral. You have to be in the mood for a book like this (it has almost no dialogue), but if you are, I think you’ll love it.
Case Study is a quick, (I found) engrossing read. The way it explores the idea of the self and performance was also very smart. I don’t think it’ll be for everyone, but I liked it!
Fire Rush is an impressive debut, with an undeniably electric voice and propulsive energy that really makes it stand out. I thought the pacing was a bit uneven, but I still liked it and I’m glad I read it.
Black Butterflies is a well-researched, captivating, deeply moving novel about war and art set during the siege of Sarajevo. I couldn’t put it down and ultimately loved it.
Trespasses is a well-written, intentionally tense novel about choice, conflict, and community. I wasn’t quite in the right headspace for it, but there’s no denying its merits.
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea is a lush, poignant dramatization of the life of legendary pirate queen Zheng Yi Sao. It’s very interior, more about her than her adventures. I liked it a lot.
The Stone Virgins is a technically challenging and emotionally difficult read, but there’s no denying that it’s also an incredible work of fiction. While I struggled with it, I was also so impressed.
The Colony is a quietly devastating, gorgeously written book about colonization and agency set on a small Irish island during the Troubles. It has lots of layers!
The Sun Walks Down is a super atmospheric, polyphonic novel set in 1800s Australia about a boy lost in the desert and how the members of his town respond. I liked it a lot.
