Book Category: Essential
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Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell
Like the best of Black Mirror, Little Eyes’ near-future hooked me instantly, even the second time
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All Fours by Miranda July
Turns out I have more in common with this author and her protagonist than I expected
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Slaughterhouse-Five: The Graphic Novel by Kurt Vonnegut, Ryan North and Albert Monteys
It’s brilliant. One of the best Father’s Day gifts my kid could have come up with
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Collected Stories by Carson McCullers
These characters are lonely, despondent, often spiralling, and nobody writes them as well as McCullers.
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Hearts on Fire: Six Years that Changed Canadian Music 2000-2005 by Michael Barclay
Essential for those who were around the scene. I didn’t always love reading this book, but I love having read it.
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The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Shattering, beautiful and essential
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Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Even better and more readable than I expected
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The Trees by Percival Everett
What if Mel Brooks and Jordan Peele wrote an Elmore Leonard novel? This is unbelievably good.
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Happening by Annie Ernaux
It’s less than 100 pages long and shook me to the core. Absolutely essential and unforgettable.
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Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
“An alphabet, like a life, is a finite set of shapes. With it, one can produce almost anything.”