Slightness is not an attribute of short books nor profundity a necessary quality of length. Banana Yoshimoto’s Moshi Moshi is a short, beautiful coming of age tale.
Moshi Moshi by Banana Yoshimoto
Devils in Daylight by Junichiro Tanizaki
This short work is a sonata of classic literary noir, with haunted, nocturnal city streets and a fatal "dark lady".
Reading the Russian Revolution: China Miéville’s October and other works
I wouldn’t say that we get the charming, fun loving Lenin from Mieville but he’s not holding his nose when presenting the great revolutionary as Pipes seems to be doing.
The Terranauts by T. C. Boyle
T. C. Boyle’s new novel is all about the plot, with the author is at his acerbic best. You would not be blamed for thinking he has no faith at all in humanity until you get to the end. I can’t tell you about that because it would be the final spoiler of all the spoilers I will not reveal.
Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood
The fourth in the Hogarth Shakespeare Series turned out to be the best one so far. A retelling of the oft performed and retold The Tempest, this one is laid out like an intricate puzzle and seeing the pieces come together while reading it was pure enjoyment. It is another example of the brilliance that underlies all of Margaret Atwood’s writing.
Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet
Earlier this year, as soon as I heard news of Lydia Millet’s newest novel, I diligently set about reading the last two novels of her recent trilogy (How the Dead Dream, Ghostlights, Magnificence). Even when this author writes a trilogy, it is more like three loosely connected novels, the way some novels are a collection of loosely connected stories. I finished the trilogy satisfied that she had given me three distinct examples of her worldview shown through the eyes of three related characters.