Showing posts with label Maris Kreizman. Show all posts

Monday, December 5, 2016

The 25 Best Books of 2016 / Part four

The 25 Best Books of 2016

PART FOUR

A collection of the best novels, non-fiction, and memoirs from the past year.

At a time when politics have dominated the national conversation in a way that can often feel overwhelming, the best books of 2016 so far have provided escapism and comfort. They've shown us that empathy is a great virtue, and that art can transcend the unhappiness of the everyday. These 25 books are all highly recommended.

By Maris Kreizman and Angela Ledgerwood
Dec 5, 2016

25. How To Be a Person In the World by Heather Havrilesky

If Americans really wanted a president who "tells it like it is," Heather Havrilesky would be running for office right now. At a time when most self-help gurus are charlatans, the world could use a less bullshitty, more emotionally connected leader, one with equal parts compassion and charisma. Enter Havrilesky, who writes the advice column Ask Polly for The Cut, and who has compiled a collection of many new columns along with some old favorites. Havrilesky uses a liberating blend of straight talk, empathy, many F-bombs, and pop culture references (see the extended metaphor about Kanye West she uses in a reply to a woman searching for ways to build her self-esteem). Havrilesky's advice answers each question specifically, but they also contain universal truths that will empower just about anybody. —Maris Kreizman

24. Shrill by Lindy West

Lindy West is funny. That's the first thing you should know about her essay collection on feminism, fat acceptance, and Internet harassment. Shrill is as hilarious as it is angry. Lindy has faced so many intolerable and enraging situations as a fat woman who is outspoken in her writing and on social media, but she always frames her negative experiences with humor and perspective. With her clear-eyed insights into modern culture and her confidence in her own intelligence and personal worth, West appeals to the humanity of even the most parents' basement-dwelling, misogynistic and casually hateful of trolls. —MK

23. The Girls by Emma Cline

You might expect a novel about a young girl who joins a Manson-like cult in the summer of 1969 to be lurid, violent, and sensational. But the most surprising and rewarding trait about The Girls is the author's wonderful restraint. Emma Cline is more interested in studying the loneliness and confusion of being a teenage girl, rather than the depravity of being a cult leader. So the focus remains solidly on Evie Boyd, who has reached the exact point of longing and vulnerability that could lead an innocent-ish girl to fall in love with the women who surround the cult leader. The Girls shows how "good" girls can be drawn to the dark side, and how the decision to distance oneself from evil is sometimes more difficult and less black and white as it seems. —MK

22. The Red Parts by Maggie Nelson

Maggie Nelson is a big star in the literary world now for good reason—she combines personal essay and broader criticism in a way that feels lofty but not at all academic. The Red Parts may not be her piece de resistance, but it's the perfect introduction to Nelson's writing if you'd like to know where to start. Originally published in 2007 and reissued by Graywolf Press in April, The Red Parts is Nelson's deeply intimate memoir about the aftermath of her aunt's murder by a presumed serial killer. It's an enthralling personal story-slash-true-crime-book that just happens to be written by one of the most thoughtful writers of our time. —MK

21. What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi

If you haven't ever read Helen Oyeyemi, stop what you're doing right now and delve into her perfect backlist of luminous novels. Caught up? Great! Her new collection is perfectly on brand, dealing in monstrous teen pop stars, enchanted puppets, secret gardens, mystical diaries, and photo albums full of selfies. What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours contains Oyeyemi's heady trademark combination of upside down fairy tale fantasy that is as emotionally resonant as it is inventive, and the excellent details from modern life that bring her stories firmly into some magical version of our own world. —MK

20. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli

A very slim volume that contains multitudes. Can't remember much from your high school physics class? Get confused by science fiction because you can't separate what's real versus what's been made up? Italian theoretical physicist and writer Carlo Rovelli uses a conversational tone to untangle the most complicated yet most beautiful advances in science in modern history. Lesson topics range from Einstein's theory of relativity to black holes, and you'll feel a whole lot smarter for having read this elegant, straightforward little book. —MK

ESQUIRE

19. Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Queen of the Night joins Tipping the Velvet and The Crimson Petal and the White as the rare historical novel in which the setting may be old, but the writing makes everything feel brand new. Alexander Chee has written a subversive, sexy epic about a young American girl who struggles more than her fans will ever understand on her way to eventually become a highly celebrated soprano at the Paris Opera House. Lillet Berne's dramatic rise to success is all the more exciting because of all the wonderful details Chee includes about her life in the late 19th century. The descriptions of her dresses alone are worth the price of this book, and Chee's knowledge about opera is such that you can almost hear the music when reading his words. But for all the research and historical detail, in the end, it's a love story, as so many of the most excellent books are. —MK

The 25 Best Books of 2016 / Part three

Jade Sharma

The 25 Best Books of 2016

PART THREE

A collection of the best novels, non-fiction, and memoirs from the past year.

By Maris Kreizman and Angela Ledgerwood
Dec 5, 2016

18. Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam

Rumaan Alam has a near telepathic knowledge of the female mind. His debut novel would still be a lovely, emotionally raw meditation on a complicated friendship between two women, even if the author weren't a man. But Rich and Pretty is especially jolting because it's clearly a feat of intense observation and imagination. Alam understands the petty (and not so petty) jealousies that accompany friendship, and the small digs and larger issues that divide and reunite friends. —MK

17. Lust and Wonder by Augusten Burroughs

After Running with Scissors and Dry, Augusten Burroughs closes out an unforgettable trilogy of memoirs with Lust and Wonder. In Lust and Wonder we find Augusten sober (or, at least, soberer), a successful writer, and rather unlucky in love. It's only fitting that the next piece of the puzzle to solve involves romantic relationships, and the failures and heartaches that always accompany such quests. That he finds an ideal mate is not a spoiler, but a well-earned happy ending for the lonely and disaffected. That his dream man with the singular laugh happens to be his friend, his literary agent, and a co-parent to their growing menagerie of dogs is even more satisfying. It takes nothing away from Augusten's struggles to acknowledge that in a lifetime of uncertainty and unease, it really does get better. —MK

16. Proxies by Brian Blanchfield

The premise of this autobiographical essay collection is simple: Blanchfield writes from memory alone, without consulting any outside resources to fact check. As the author explains, "I wrote these essays with the internet off." The result is unlike anything written before. The 24 single topic essays in Proxies are short and focused (topics range from owls to housesitting to frottage), but every single one leads to a more personal revelation or a wider point about the author's life or the greater world. The conclusions of his writings feel organic and authentic, and the 20+ pages of corrections at the end of the book only validate how powerful writing from memory and relying only upon what's inside your own brain can be. —MK

15. Problems by Jade Sharma

"Behind every crazy woman is a man, sitting very quietly, saying, 'What? I'm not doing anything.'" If this sentence doesn't make you want to stand up and cheer, stop reading this blurb right now. If you prefer to read books with cuddly, likable heroines who always make good and healthy decisions, stay away from this novel. But if you enjoy complicated protagonists who don't necessarily pass the "likability" test but do speak to the blackest part of your soul, Problems is for you. Jade Sharma's debut is a darkly funny character study of an unhappy yet witty-as-hell woman whose self-destructive streak is as appalling as it is somehow understandable. Problems challenges readers to forget traditional redemption stories and yet to still find empathy for the messiest of heroines. —MK

14. Party of One by Dave Holmes

Esquire Editor-at-Large Dave Holmes uses music—21 songs, and many others that also get name checked—to tell the story of his life with exactly the amount of humor and sensitivity and celebration of fandom that you'd expect from him (lots). The former MTV VJ and pop culture whiz has written the kind of book where, at the end one of the most affecting and charming chapters in the book about coming out at his very Catholic college, he rewards you for finishing with a photo of Melrose Place's Grant Show. (Thank you, Dave.) Party of One is as charming as it is funny, and it's a testament to how pop music has the power to shape our lives. —MK

13. What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell

An American schoolteacher living abroad meets a 23-year-old male prostitute in a public restroom in Bulgaria. Money is exchanged. A long, complicated relationship ensues, one based in lust and shame and dread. What Belongs to You is a short novel, but Garth Greenwell's sentences are expansive and revelatory and poetic. Greenwell juxtaposes the narrator's experiences in an unprogressive, formerly Communist country still recovering its infrastructure, to the narrator's own childhood, growing up gay and closeted in the oppressive American South. What Belongs to You is a lovely meditation on fear and acceptance, desire and oppression, and the disparity between two cultures. —MK

ESQUIRE

The 25 Best Books of 2016 / Part two

Zadie Smith

The 25 Best Books of 2016

PART TWO

A collection of the best novels, non-fiction, and memoirs from the past year.

By Maris Kreizman and Angela Ledgerwood
Dec 5, 2016

12. Seinfeldia by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

A little TV show about nothing became a cultural phenomenon that still inspires avid fandoms to this day. In Seinfeldia entertainment reporter Jennifer Keishin Armstrong not only goes behind the scenes of the making of Seinfeld to deliver some great insider stories, she also widens her lens to cover the people who love it. Packed with many delights and great trivia (if you want to know which suggestion from the writers made Julia Louis-Dreyfus burst into tears, you'll have to read the book), Seinfeldia is a smart, fun read by a writer who truly is the master of her domain. —MK

11. The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan

Just like its beautifully designed cover, The Association of Small Bombs is simple in premise, but it explodes in bursts of brilliant color. Karan Mahajan's masterful novel explores the aftermath of a small bomb detonation in the '90s in Delhi, and the many people whose lives it alters—from the families of victims to the bombers themselves. With great empathy and no lack of humor, Mahajan shows the multitudinous sides to the kind of story that we usually read a line or two about in a newspaper, or hear short mention of on television. —MK

10. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler

Sweetbitter is the most delicious (sorry!) summer read. A former server at Union Square Cafe and Buvette, debut novelist Stephanie Danler writes sumptuously about her heroine's education in food and wine as she trains and works at a tony New York restaurant. But you don't need to be a foodie to love Sweetbitter because it's also a heartfelt novel about being a newcomer in a new city, about the dangers of being young and lonely and drunk and in love in New York. It's a grasping glimpse what happens behind the scenes where the rich people dine, but it's more sensual and poignant than you might expect. —MK

9. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

In any other circumstance, one might think Born a Crime is a dramatic title for a celebrity memoir, but in Noah's case there's nothing exaggerated about this claim. His very conception and birth was a criminal act—as the child of a black Xhosa mom and a white Swiss dad, he simply wasn't meant to exist in apartheid South Africa, where he was born. It's hard to imagine that the current host of The Daily show was kept mostly indoors in his early years to protect him from a government that could take him away at any moment. Noah's childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa's history that must never be forgotten. —Angela Ledgerwood

8. Swing Time by Zadie Smith

In classic Smith style, her new novel is sweeping, packed with bold voices, and explores when and how our lives diverge from those we love. There's the fraught friendship between two biracial girls forged over their mutual love of dance, a celebrity pop star attempting to build an orphanage in an African village, and a grown up narrator asking herself, "How did I get here?" She thinks, "A truth was being revealed to me: That I had always tried to attach myself to the light of other people. That I had never had any light of my own. I experienced myself as a kind of shadow." This revelation about identity underpins the entire tale, as does Smith's concern with class and race. —AL

7. Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird

Don't be fooled by the demure portrait of Victoria on the cover—here is a woman who reigned over a quarter of the world's population at the height of her rule. (She also bore nine children and survived eight assassination attempts.) In Baird's deft portrayal, Victoria lives, breathes, and struts before us in all her complexity, and so do her consorts, particularly her politically ambitious husband Prince Albert—and later her "Scottish stallion" and probable lover, John Brown. On a geopolitical level, Baird's sweeping historical portrait also illuminates just how interconnected the European royal families were during this time—Victoria's Belgian cousin, King Leopold II, perpetrated genocide in the Congo while her German nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II, would go on to initiate World War I. Historical astuteness aside, the pages gallop along enhanced by titillating morsels of info—like a certain Prime Minister's predilection for whipping, in and out of the bedroom. —AL

ESQUIRE