I’m not being too strict this year… a couple of these were not published in 2013. Books 10 to 2, could easily be jumbled around in order, but number 1 slot was a clear winner this year.
- TransAtlantic – McCann, Colum
- The Quarry – Banks, Iain
- Life After Life – Atkinson, Kate
- Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar – Lustig, Robert H.
- The Fault in Our Stars – Green, John
- Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls – Sedaris, David
- You’re Not Doing It Right: Tales of Marriage, Sex, Death, – Black, Ian
- Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries – Ronson, Jon
- Dark Places – Flynn, Gillian
- The Goldfinch – Tartt, Donna
I loved the Goldfinch. Easily get’s the number one slot.
Now and then, someone in work will ask me what I’m reading, and what’s it’s about. I’m often a bit stumped on how to answer that, as happened with the Goldfinch recently. I could say it’s about a guy who steals a painting after an explosion in an art gallery, and the consequences that followed. But of course the painting in The Goldfinch is a bit of a mcGuffin, and as with a lot of books like this, I found myself saying… Oh… god… what is it about… it’s about everything, love, loss, death, friendship, art, marriage, morals, parenting, growing, mental health, addiction, hedonism… life.Tartt, Euginedes, and Franzen really excel at taking a bunch of interesting and believable characters to tell a story that itself is just a backdrop to the broad canvas of life. Their novels are always an amazing experience to read. The books that come before and after always pale in comparison. And The Goldfinch is no different. A masterpiece.
