Ten Novels I Like That I’m Pretty Sure My Friend Angelle Would, Too
(Angelle is one of my oldest friends, and the second member of a two-person book club of mine. She prizes character above all else, but also, it seems to me, admires books if they contain a twist that seems inevitable rather than arbitrary and if they manage to communicate a surprising yet convincing worldview. She is averse to most SF, graphic novels, and crime fiction and prefers novels to short stories. I’ve arranged this list alphabetically by author and restricted myself to books I believe she hasn’t read already.)
The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Chang
Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan
The Ensemble by Aja Gabel
The Wildlands by Abby Geni
Matrix by Lauren Groff
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
The Deluge by Stephen Markley
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
The Heaven of Mercury by Brad Watson
The Household Spirit by Tod Wodicka
— December 17, 2021