Nonfiction: My best nonfiction book from 2016 was Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman. Well researched, detailed, and covering much about all three sisters. Many of my false preconceptions were corrected, and I learned all that could've been expected. Honorable mention for 2016 goes to Frantumaglia , a writing auto-biography of sorts, by Elena Ferrante (The Neapolitan Quartet), because as good as it was at showing the passion and deep thought of the author, I think it would only be of interest to other writers and Ferrante devotees. My best nonfiction read in 2016 goes to Private Demons: The Life of Shirley Jackson (1988) by Judy Oppenheimer. Another biography of Shirley Jackson came out this year, but I prefer this volume, mature, balanced, and fun to read.
Poetry: Sad to say, I read no poetry published in 2016 that blew me away, but my honorable mention goes to May Day by Gretchen Marquette, which was well worth the read and contained some first rate poems. I read Mary Oliver's Pulitzer Prize winning American Primitive (1983) last year, and found it mature, deep, and it made me fall in love with nature all over again. Oliver's earlier writing is more complex and (I hate to say it) "traditional" than her simpler, more direct later writings. If you need more complexity in your poetry, American Primitive should meet that need. I also need to mention two quite different but perhaps equally unknown and hard to find poets I read this year. Bill Knott was an American poet who is generally either adored or hated. For the right reader, The Naomi Poems (1968) and Auto-Necrophilia (1971) will be irresistible; for others these books will be puzzling or annoying. They are his two best books, and no other poetry ever written is quite like them. The other unknown poet is Japanese tanka (like five-line haiku) poet Akiko Yosano whose Tangled Hair (1901) explores the emotional facets of love in a way to touch your soul.
Fiction: I read more fiction published in 2016 than I expected, and while I may be hyper-critical, not much of it live up to the classics I read the rest of the time. My best read published in 2016 was largely overlooked, as it was too odd and quirky for most readers, and that was Nutshell by Ian McEwan. It actually reminded me of his early, Kafkaesque short stories, and it was brilliant, crude, and inspired. Something completely different. Kind of impossible to describe, and if I tried it would just deny you the opportunity to discover it yourself. Honorable mention for 2016 goes to Graham Swift for Mothering Sunday, a small but intriguing slice of life. The best novel I read last year, while ostensibly a mystery is much more than that, was In the Woods (2007) by Tana French. Multi-layered, razor-edged detail, and emotionally wrenching. And best of all it's just the first in her Dublin Murder Squad Series (there are now six), in which she focuses on a different detective in each book. Tied was The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, which would be considered a masterpiece if she hadn't written Harry Potter. Honorable mention goes to After Dark (2007), one of Haruki Murakami's most overlooked books. Second honorable mention goes to Richard Farina's Been Down So Long It looks Like Up to Me (1966), a lost 60's classic, with all the sins and virtues of that decade's long strange trip.
Classics: This is getting long, and classics are classics for a reason, so I'll just list the ones that blew me away in 2016 (there are other classics I read, but some are too predictable, and others I just wasn't quite as amazed by, classics though they were): Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961); Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937); Shirley Jackson, The Road Through the Wall (1948); Hubert Selby, Jr., Last Exit to Brooklyn (1964)(not for kids). All classic in their own way, all different, all worth reading.
Forgotten Gems: This is the category closest to my heart: novels that I loved beyond reason, but have sadly sunk into obscurity. This is my chance to mention them once again. It Happened in Boston? (1968) by Russell Greenan did get a reprint in 2003, but again was quickly lost. An artist confronts life and God. Brilliant, but again too unique and odd to succeed, like a A Confederacy of Dunces that didn't make it. Check your library. My second attempt at resurrection is all four mysteries written by Sarah Caudwell in her short life: Thus Was Adonis Murdered (1981), The Shortest Way to Hades (1984), The Sirens Sang of Murder (1989), and The Sibyl in Her Grave (2000). Cozy British mysteries with a difference, and the kind of books you can fall in love with, if you can stand the dry humor, arch writing, and all the darned lawyers.
So, that's my best of 2016. Reviews of all of these are on the blog. I loved reading these books, and just hope I can find more to love in 2017.
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