August

Daughter of Time – – Josephine Tey – 1951.  Pp 206.  A really beautiful book (for a detective novel). “The book explores how history is constructed, and how certain versions of events come to be widely accepted as the truth, despite a lack of evidence and/or any logical plausibility. Grant comes to understand the ways in which myths or legends are constructed, and how in this case, the victorious Tudors saw to it that their version of history prevailed.”

September

James by Percival Everett – 4.57 Goodreads rating – Historical fiction – pp 303, 2024.  A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.

Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.  Everett is a preeminent American author, and “James” is his sly response to “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” The title immediately suggests what he is up to with this subversive revision. In these pages, the enslaved man known as Jim can finally declare: “I will not let this condition define me. … My name became my own.” While Everett flashes his own brand of humor, the novel gathers speed and terror like a swelling storm. Its conclusion is equally shocking and exhilarating.

October – prep for November

The Trojan Women and Medea by Euripides.

November

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon. 2024, pp 304. Historical fiction.  4.25 rating on Good Reads.  An utterly original celebration of that which binds humanity across battle lines and history. 

On the island of Sicily amid the Peloponnesian War, the Syracusans have figured out what to do with the surviving Athenians who had the gall to invade their city: they’ve herded the sorry prisoners of war into a rock quarry and left them to rot.

Told in a contemporary Irish voice and as riotously funny as it is deeply moving, Glorious Exploits is an unforgettable ode to the power of art in a time of war, brotherhood in a time of enmity, and human will throughout the ages.

December

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan.  2021.  Pp 128.  Historical fiction.  Ireland.  Christmas.  For us, an anti-Christmas Carol?  Already an international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.
Booker Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2022), Orwell Prize for Political Fiction (2022), Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award (2022), Writers’ Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2022)

January

What Could be Saved by Liese O’Halloran Schwarz. 2021.  Pp 448.  A richly imagined page-turner that delivers twists alongside thought-provoking commentary. The novel is grounded in its deeply realized characters and the relationships among them, but the author layers in a consideration of power dynamics, racism, and privilege in a way that adds an undercurrent of realism and ugliness, particularly regarding the way the featured family lived in the ’70s. At the same time, the book is a gripping mystery that subtly ratchets up the tension with each chapter.