Ten Literary Fiction Books I Wholeheartedly Recommend, part II

Couch on the Porch, Cos Cob, by Frederick Child Hassam, 1914

Voila! Part II is here. I hope you enjoy <3

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♡ The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan

The Happy Couple is primarily about the relationship between Luke and Celine, who are engaged to be married. But we also see their relationship through the perspectives of those around them. Archie, the best man, and Luke's ex-bf, is still in love with Luke. Vivian, another of Luke's exes, is curious to see how the wedding will play out, especially as she knows firsthand how flaky Luke is. And Phoebe, Celine's sister, and also a bridesmaid, is suspicious of Luke and doesn't trust him. But then we see through Luke's and Celine's povs as well. Luke is a serial cheater who can't (or won't) make decisions. Celine is primarily focused on playing piano and living a life of domesticity.

I love books that explore the complexities of relationships. At first, I thought I would hate Luke for being commitment-phobic. But in seeing him through the eyes of others, and then from his own pov, I got a better understanding of his personality, his successes, and also his shortcomings. This was the same for each character. No one is perfect, and Dolan does a great job at highlighting this. There were parts where I was frustrated with the characters for lack of communication, but also understood why this was the case. As a reader, things are more obvious, but in reality, it's so easy to get lost in translation. 

Memorable quotes:

"I find life so stressful that I can't be expected to communicate with people who love me."

"Heteronormativity is a near ubiquitous form of mania."

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♡ Family Meal by Bryan Washington

This book wrecked me emotionally, but in the best of ways. In Family Meal, we meet Cam, who is grieving the death of his boyfriend and the love of his life, Kai. Cam's way of coping is unhealthy and destructive. When he moves back to Houston, the place he grew up, Cam reconnects with his estranged childhood best friend, TJ. Meanwhile, Cam receives infrequent visits from Kai's ghost. 

This is def one of the best books I've ever read. Washington's prose is raw and visceral. The themes of grief, love, reconnection, and friendship are written about so well in this book. I literally cried multiple times because the story and the characters really spoke to me. Of course, Family Meal is equally tragic and heartbreaking. 

Memorable quotes:

"You wasted your money, said Kai, but he buried his nose in the flowers anyway. I couldn't see his face for blocks. Just the petals bouncing over his gait."

"With every single person we touch, we're leaving parts of ourselves. We live through them. I thought that was bullshit and I was wrong, because it isn't."

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♡ A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

Rum's debut novel follows the story of Isra, a young Palestinian woman who is married off to Adam, who comes from a Palestinian family that now lives in Brooklyn. When Isra moves to New York after her wedding, she is immediately isolated from both the world and her family. Confined to days of doing chores in the house and helping her mother-in-law, Fareeda, in the kitchen, as well as the pressure to have a son, Isra's mental health begins to diminish. Years later, Isra's eldest daughter Deya, now 18, is beginning to meet with marriage suitors. As far as she knows, both her parents died in a car crash when she was 7. But one day, she receives a mysterious letter, which causes Deya to question what really happened to her parents.

This was a beautiful novel! A Woman Is No Man follows three generations of women: Fareeda, who experienced the Nakba in Palestine in 1948; Isra, who is forced to marry Adam, Fareeda's eldest son, and move to a new and foreign country; and Deya, the eldest daughter of Isra and Adam, who wants to go to college. I loved the storytelling. Rum does a great job at building up the story and the mystery element to it. This book explores the effects of colonialism and displacement and how it passes down through generations (intergenerational trauma). It's also told through multiple povs: Fareeda's, Isra's, and Deya's. While this novel is quite sad and tough to read at times, it ends on a hopeful note.

Memorable quotes:

“A real choice doesn’t have conditions. A real choice is free.”

“I was born without a voice, one cold, overcast day in Brooklyn, New York. No one ever spoke of my condition. I did not know I was mute until years later, when I opened my mouth to ask for what I wanted and realized no one could hear me.”

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♡ The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

Rachel and her best friend/roommate James plan a book launch at the bookstore they work at for her professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, in order for Rachel to seduce him. This, obviously, does not go to plan, and shenanigans ensue. As well as secrets and lies that end up affecting Rachel, James, Fred Byrne, Byrne's wife, and others. 

From the description, I thought it was going to be a super serious book. And in some ways, it was, but it was also humorous and fun. I really liked Rachel as a character. She was naive in the way most 20-year-olds are, and the mistakes she made were human and realistic. I really appreciated the friendship between Rachel and James as well. I thought it was so wholesome! 

The book also discusses larger issues: how the recession affected Ireland (the book mostly takes place in Cork between 2009-2010), as well as abortion rights (or lack thereof). I thought O'Donoghue brought these issues into the story in a very realistic and nuanced way. I had no idea that abortion was illegal in Ireland until late 2018 (with services commenced on January 1, 2019). I’m very happy that it’s legalized there now!

Memorable quotes:

“I think they felt guilty that they couldn’t help me in the way that I wanted to be helped. But we would get through it the way Irish people traditionally get through things. By getting shit-faced.”

“On top of the recession, there was also a lot of anxiety around the Kindle and what it would do to bookshops.”

“I don’t know who I was trying to impress. I did not want a boyfriend; I did want romance. I wanted passion; I did not want to be someone who was known as easy. I was desperate to be touched; I was terrified of being ruined.”

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♡ Luster by Raven Leilani

Edie is a young Black woman who begins a relationship with Eric, an older white man who is married but in an open relationship. Through a series of mishaps, Edie ends up staying with Eric, his wife (who’s a mortician), and their adopted daughter, Akila, who is also Black. The book explores themes of race, racism, complex relationships, power dynamics, young adulthood, capitalism, and more. It might sound like a lot packed into one, but I find Leilani brings them all together well. I also just really like the melancholic vibe throughout, as well as Edie’s internal monologue. There are SO many quotes that I love from this book, some of which are featured below. I’ve actually read Luster 3 times just because I love it so much!

Memorable quotes (there are so many good ones that I had to include multiple):

“Based on his liberal use of the semicolon, I just assumed this date would go well.”

“It’s that there are gray, anonymous hours like this. Hours when I am desperate, when I am ravenous, when I know how a star becomes a void.”

“I believed, like a Catholic or a Tortured Artist, that the merit of a commitment correlates directly to the pain you endure in its pursuit.”

“…even though racism is often so mundane it leaves your head spinning, the hand of the ordinary in your slow, psychic death so sly and absurd you begin to distrust your own eyes.”

“He hasn’t considered the lies you tell to survive, the kindness of pretend…”

“I have said goodbye enough times to know that departure has a way of gilding what are, at best, slow quotidian deaths, but still each time I think of everything I will lose.”

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Annnnnd, an eleventh one for good luck!

♡ Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi

Jayne and June are estranged sisters living separate lives in New York City. June has a successful and high paying job in finance, while Jayne attends university and can barely afford rent. When June is diagnosed with uterine cancer, the two are suddenly back in each other’s lives.

I absolutely love Choi’s writing. It’s funny, sincere, heartfelt, and more. I liked how all-over-the-place June's and Jayne’s relationship is. While I don’t have a sister, I do have two brothers so I know to some degree what it’s like to have that “love you/hate you” relationship with a sibling. June and Jayne have a lot of personal and communal baggage that they have to work through. Ultimately, this book is about sisterly love and how powerful it can be. Jayne also struggles with an Eating Disorder, and Choi does an excellent job of portraying how debilitating it can be. Race is also a huge theme in the book as the two sisters are Korean-American. Yolk demonstrates the implications of anti-Asian sentiment, especially in the United States.

Memorable quotes:

“Humans need to share their darkest parts. Unburdening makes you closer to everyone.”

“I know what it's like to want to leave. How it feels when the home you have is a mirage, an illusion. But I know that wherever I am, if June's around, I'll be ok.”

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And those are my ten (eleven) literary fiction book recs! I honestly have so many favourite books, so you’ll probably see more of them on here as time goes by. As always, please feel free to give me any book recs, comments, etc. I’d love to hear from you!

Love,

Sofie <3