Doesn't look like I'll be getting to anything new before the year ends, so here's my end of the year "Best Of 2017". Most years I have trouble with the top of this list, but for me this year was easy. The hard part this year is listing 10 that I really liked. Keep in mind, I'm only including books published in 2017. While a very solid reading year at the top of the list, the bottom of this year's list contains books that wouldn't have sniffed the list the past several years. I'm going to leave a gap in the list where I feel like the quality between two offerings is significant enough to warrant more than one slot in rankings in most other years. As always, your mileage will vary.
So here goes, my "Best literary fiction 2017"
1. Sing, Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
2. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
3. Autumn by Ali Smith
4. Human Acts by Han Kang
5. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
6. The Leavers by Lisa Ko
7. The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
8. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
9. American War by Omar El Akkad
10. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Honorable Mention:
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami (I feel like he's written the same book several times now, whiskey, a lonely dude, a cat and lots of awkwardly described sex (but not with the cat)).
The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh (technically crime fiction but it's literary enough to qualify for the list)
And my "WTF?" award goes to:
Homesick For Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
So here goes, my "Best literary fiction 2017"
1. Sing, Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
2. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
3. Autumn by Ali Smith
4. Human Acts by Han Kang
5. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
6. The Leavers by Lisa Ko
7. The Golden House by Salman Rushdie
8. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich
9. American War by Omar El Akkad
10. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Honorable Mention:
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami (I feel like he's written the same book several times now, whiskey, a lonely dude, a cat and lots of awkwardly described sex (but not with the cat)).
The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh (technically crime fiction but it's literary enough to qualify for the list)
And my "WTF?" award goes to:
Homesick For Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh
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