What these two books have in common is that they were slim volumes with eloquent language that made it feel like I reading so much more than was there. One was a favorite writer who had last year’s #1 book read, and the other was new to me.
#7) Weather by Jenny Offill – Fascinating look at our moment in time as uniquely talented author Jenny Offill examines the political shift in America and how it affects us individually. Lizzie is the University library’s reference librarian who earns an additional job answering letters to a popular podcast hosted by her mentor. The podcast forecasts dark times ahead and many of the letters Lizzie handles treat her like a therapist doling out advice. Even as Lizzie gets caught up in her letter-writers’ angst, she juggles raising her young son, supporting her downward-spiralling brother, and alternatively fending-off an enticing potential affair. Offill’s writing is unique; short bits of insightful and arch observation that sometime seem disparate, but add up to a sobering yet entertaining whole.
#8) The Presence of Absence by Simon Von Booy – In his elegant, thought-provoking prose, Simon Van Booy has created a beautiful gift to his fans; a fictional conversation of sorts between the author and his readers, speaking through the mouth of Max Little, an author who learns that he will die within a year or so. As his terminal disease advances, he ends up spending his last days in a hospital bed, reflecting on his life, his beloved wife, and the future… even beyond his passing. Through it all, he carries on a conversation with the reader, an asynchronous dialog that is happening as he writes it, but also as the reader reads it. The book is sectioned into two parts, “In Vivo” or, within the body, and “Ex Vivo” or, outside the living body. As you might imagine, the first part is told while Max is still alive, and the latter part years later.
This type of story benefits form Van Booy’s simultaneously sumptuous and spare writing style . Never using an excess of words, he selects them so carefully that they come together like poetry. Sprinkled with moments of deep emotion and sudden humor, The Presence of Absence is a wonderful addition to this talented writer’s bibliography.