I have always been an avid reader and I have always used reading as a way to relieve stress. So far this year, I have read many books but only a few have stood out to me. These books have moved me emotionally and have also made a big impact on my life.
Here are my top 3 books so far this year.
“Open Water” seems to be a love-at-first-sight story but develops into something more complex, peeling back the narrator’s vulnerabilities as a young British-Ghanaian man.
This novel follows two characters—both Black British—as their relationship develops over the course of a year or so. On one level, this is a beautiful 21st-century love story, but at its core, “Open Water” is an examination of what it means to be a Black male living in a society that fundamentally seeks their destruction. It dives into how a relationship in that reality can even be possible. Nelson’s voice here is so powerful and focused. Racism is not just isolated or even systemic—it is the very foundation of the world in which we live.
“The Swimmers,” at its surface, is a book about a group of adults routinely and recreationally swimming at a local indoor community pool. But the book is also about life, aging and family. The book has 3 parts that felt like 2, almost separate, and not in a bad way.
In the first part, you get a feel for the collective “we” group using the pool who relish temporarily escaping from the other obligations of life. Very little is shared about the group, outside of one, Alice, a woman who is starting to lose her memory. In the second part, readers learn about the next phase of Alice’s life as she transitions through it. In the third part, Alice’s daughter shares the story of their mother-daughter relationship.
Though “The Swimmers” is fictional, I would not be surprised to learn the story incorporates elements of Otsuka’s own life. It felt realistic and I enjoyed the writing style. A good book though heavy on somber, realities of life topics.
This book follows four friends after they graduate from college: Willem, a talented actor; JB, an artist, Malcolm, an aspiring architect at a well-known firm and Jude, a mysterious and intelligent litigator. What looks like an average bildungsroman narrative turns into an intense and tragic tale when we learn about Jude’s backstory. The book centers on Jude’s struggle to free himself from the demons of his past, that drown out the voices of his closest friends.
This book is relentlessly sad and exquisitely written. Hanya Yanagihara spares us no mercy when revealing Jude’s trauma. She details both his past abuse and his present self-harm with explicit specificity, her diction so precise and piercing. “A Little Life” is ruthless. I appreciated Yanagihara’s dedication to showing the darker side of reality. This book is pretty difficult to read solely because of the themes discussed but I would definitely recommend it.
While these books surround various topics, I have thoroughly enjoyed each of them for different reasons. I would definitely recommend these books if you’re looking for something new to read.