My 5 Favorite Books I Read in 2024

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway a trific story about an American Lieutenant serving in Italy during World War I and his relationship with the nurse he falls in love with brilliantly crafted using Hemi Way's iconic Iceberg technique a devastating painfully real novel topnotch but it'll kill you

number two a Terrace in Rome by the French author Pascal Kenard this book was sent to me for free by the publisher Wakefield press for a review and it was recommended to me by kit schlutter the author I mentioned previously this book is a beautiful demonstration of how much can be done in a novel with so little Pascal kards at Terrace in Rome is barely there and yet the narrative is so strong and compelling I was floored

the story of a French civil servant contending not only with his father's mortality but also it turns out his own viciously real novel it's a meditation on mortality and a grim critique of Western attitudes towards the elderly

number one number one number one of 2024 black Sun the brief Transit and violent eclipse of Harry Crosby by Jeffrey wolf I loved this book really loved this book did not expect to love it as much as I did which is the best right this was a patron only review and this is not like a marketing play like oh and if you sign up for my patreon no it wasn't planned that way but sincerely this was my favorite book of 2024 non-fiction too which is unusual

number five butcher Crossing by John Williams this was actually sent to me by my good friend Dana thanks a bunch man an outstanding Outdoorsman novel set in the wild west of Colorado we're in a young man who travels out west named will Andrews commissions an experienced Hunter named Miller to lead a Hunting Expedition to a spot Miller claims is filled with Buffalo but very remote in the mountains very dangerous to get to their intention is to go up there kill the Buffalo and come back and sell the Skins sure enough Miller's correct but it's soon revealed that when he's able to do what he's best at something takes over and he simply can't stop killing a brutal but beautifully written Story by the author of Stoner which I thought was excellent

Cartoons by kit schlutter which was sent to me for free by the publisher city lights for review also full transparency the author kit schlutter is a friend of mine cartoons is a collection of strange comedic absurdist short stories it was the funniest book I read all year just tears of laughter seriously especially the short story from the first person point of view of an umbrella meditating on the nature of human cruelty God and the saints that story is entitled an umbrella outstanding

number three the obscene bird of night by Jose donoso this was sent to me by my kind friend and Patron Shauna thank you so much Shauna the obscene bird of Knight is a tremendously bizarre cavernous narrative centered around the strange mute caretaker of a dilap ated Convent filled with witches mudito in his relationship with a twisted aristocratic Senator named heran detia dooso temporarily went inane after being given morphine not knowing he was allergic and after 15 days of experiencing a schizophrenic break he found he was finally able to write the novel he'd been struggling with this novel in a blend of folklore Gothic and experimental literature dooso has created something so singular it's not comparable to any of the book I've come across an epic meditation on identity and class struggle told in the form of a wretched nightmare Fable I call it black magical realism one of the most challenging and demented things I've ever read beautifully executed

the orestia by escalus a profoundly interesting Tragedy by the Greek playwright escalus about the murderous chaos within a royal family the story is centered around the murder of King Agamemnon by his wife Queen CLM nestra imagine a courtroom drama with Greek gods it's quite something

by the author of Stoner which I thought was excellent

the corant by Steven Gregory sent to me by my kind viewer Jamie thanks a bu Jamie a short Welsh hor story about a man who inherits the Sinister pet of his deceased Uncle a bird a corant who begins to have a truly dark Supernatural effect on his family and himself as if his evil uncle is living through the bird demented well written highly recommended for those who enjoy Lovecraft or stuff like the paragram by J Baker

the turn of the screw by Henry James a brilliantly written masterfully understated short Gothic novel it's a story of a govern who is hired to take care of two children in a large estate that appears to be haunted by a couple of the previous inhabitants the question is whether or not the governess herself is a reliable narrator what's really going on you decide brilliant short novel spectacular writing I mean excellent

the atrocity exhibition by JG Ballard sent to me by my friend and Patron Benji thanks a bunch Benji the Prelude to Ballard's magnum opus crash one of my favorite books a mentally and structurally disordered narrative told in the form of what Balor describes as a series of condensed novels a mental breakdown as literature totally psychotic brilliant in its own way though crash in my opinion was better

the collected poems of Hart Crane a magnificent evocative emotional but near impenetrable collection of poems by one of the greatest American poets who ever lived I mean it's just an incredible demonstration of the possibilities of language you know I highly recommend it

the history and origins of consciousness by Eric nyman was a student of Carl Young this book is an enormous theory of the stages of Consciousness and how it manifests in the individual as well as a collective exploring how the stages have manifested in symbols myths archetypes and religions heavy stuff but wonderful it seemed to have been an enormous undertaking definitely essential reading if you're into analytical psychology incredible that he was just able to construct it into a coherent Theory you know

the Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller oh yeah the fictionalized Memoir of a starving writer in Paris with a dirty mind and a Lust For Life funny sincerely moving and to this day still outrageous heartwarming degeneracy one of the best sex capades money can buy

number four in the heart of the heart of the country by Will gas this book was sent to me for free by the publisher nyrb for review this is a collection of cold dark literary stories from the midwestern postmodernist author William gas an extremely aidite author with a writing style that seems to have been laboriously carved in the same manner that Landscapes are smoothed by water over thousands of years his combination of eerie unsettling narratives combined with his stunningly crafted Pros was a real highlight of the year