As I mentioned in my “2023 Reading in Review” post, I did not read much literary, contemporary, or historical fiction during the second half of the year. Consequently, my favorites are all books I read in the first few months of 2023.
This year, I dove into literary and historical fiction about Việt Nam. This is thanks in part to reading Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai’s Dust Child (as well as her previous novel, The Mountain Sings) and realizing how little I knew about the country, its people, and its history. Wandering Souls was also a fantastic book that told the story of the Vietnamese diaspora. I love being able to learn about Eastern history through these great literary works.
I am generally both a plot and character development reader, but I will take plot-driven books over character-driven ones any day. So if you had told me prior to picking up My Name Is Lucy Barton that I would love a book that is solely a woman reflecting on conversations with her mother, I would have laughed. But that is the magic of Elizabeth Strout.
In Notes on an Execution, Danya Kukafka took the story of a serial killer and turned it on its head by focusing on the women the women who passed in and out of his life, including those he murdered. This story of the aftermath of murder and its consequences. Any fan of thrillers or true crime should pick up this thought-provoking novel.
Scroll down to read some quick thoughts for each of my 2023 favorites (in no particular order).
Notes on an Execution
Danya Kukafka
Notes on an Execution is quietly provocative, exploring what it means to be human and the pain, anger, and love that goes along with it. What you take from the novel is really up to you. Kufafka has exquisitely crafted a story free from her own bias and judgement, allowing readers the space to command their own thoughts and opinions on the events and characters. In doing so, she invites self-reflection and elicits a profound empathy that challenges readers to contemplate their beliefs.
My Name Is Lucy Barton
Elizabeth Strout
What I can say, without a doubt, is that this book is utterly enchanting. Despite its lack of an intricate plot, the book managed to immediately capture my attention and hold on to it. Elizabeth Strout wrote My Name is Lucy Barton in quiet, stark prose that almost reads as a memoir. Somehow, it forces you to be introspective about your life and the people who you have met or known – both those who have stayed and those who have left. The book compels you to hold up a mirror and examine the complexity of love and your relationships.
Dust Child
Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Dust Child is beautifully written with a rich infusion of Vietnamese language and culture. Nguyễn’s writing is propulsive yet lyrical. I found the novel to be emotionally evocative even when I was angry at the decisions a character was making. I was impressed by Nguyễn’s ability to tell a such a complex and powerful story from a neutral point of view. It felt like she was simply recounting three stories as told by the individuals who experienced them. Yet, Dust Child encapsulates and imparts the characters’ histories and lasting psychological scars.
Wandering Souls
Cecile Pin
In Vietnamese culture, there is a belief that if a person is not buried at their home, the soul will be unable to rest and wander the earth. Wandering Souls illustrates this belief on multiple levels – through both the living and the death – as they are lost, looking for refuge, and finding a new home. Despite being a rather simple and straightforward story, three intertwined narratives provide a powerful, complex, and deeply personal look at unresolved grief, healing, and the intergenerational trauma of refugees. What results is a beautiful, compelling novel that pulled at my heart strings.
