Top 20 Books I Read in 2020

atonement by ian mckeown which pulls quite a few very difficult narrative tricks jumping between different time periods fast forwarding the development of a certain character and slowing down the action of a single summer night to analyze it from different perspectives a quite unforgettable novel and an absolute page turner

the beastie boys book is a firsthand and mediated account of a wonderful music adventure touching upon issues of remembrance mourning loss and how we relate to events so far into our past that had great and sometimes terrible consequences not just on our lives but on the lives of so many people around us

button brooks by thomas mann a great family saga a little bit like white teeth but much less fun or at least much darker in its humor utterly cruel in showing the new roses that brought along the downfall of this rich family in the germany of the 19th century truly masterful in the way it handles narrative shifts between different time periods

just like cities of the plane and my rereading of all the pretty horses i take this position to represent the whole of the border trilogy the way it talks about life on the frontier between the southern united states and mexico at the middle 20th century

ethan from by edith wharton a truly gripping hard-eating novel a great study of how a certain unforgiving landscape that of new england in the winter in the 19th century could really shape the psyche and the character of the people inhabiting it

high fidelity by nick hornby i really wasn't expecting to appreciate this book so much i thought it might be entertaining but that would be it but instead it turned out to be one of the most stimulating read of 2020 it is impossibly entertaining

this collection by penguin collects all the stories and bits of writing of reporting that kafka actually published in his own lifetime some of these are among the most magnificent and nightmarish fantastic stories you are ever going to encounter a report to an academy is possibly the best short story of all times if you ask me

number nine dream by david mitchell in its textual narrative playfulness in the way its chapters change styles and registers in the way it's not afraid of bringing in elements from various genres elements of fantastical fiction elements of crime and thrilling fiction i definitely enjoyed everything that the novel was throwing at me and it remains my favorite reading experience of 2020

persepolis was also a fantastic graphic memoir about the traumas and difficulties of uprooting your life and moving to a completely different country in order to try and find a modicum of safety and it is a wonderful testimony to the great courage and heart and humanity of a people and a nation iran

men by vladimir nabokov a hilarious heartbreaking study of a truly peculiar character inhabiting the microcosm the ivory tower of academia which seems to be his natural habitat and at the same time a place he is almost too well too good and too peculiar to survive in

porgo's complaint by philip roth the hilarious story of alex portnoy's terrible childhood traumas and tensions and impulses this idiosyncratic character digs truly deep into his psyche and the story of his own sexual awakening it's a truly liberating read and a great narrative statement in a way a truly courageous book

number five is prague's cemetery by a great study of hate and of prejudice and of the way these feelings evolve in society and of the way these feelings are encouraged by the powers that be to keep certain sectors of society at bay and a wonderful narrative feat bringing together textual sources from across the 19th century

jonathan lethem's latest novel the arrest goes back to the science fiction that characterized the early phase of his career and this might very well be his best science fiction novel a post-apocalyptic novel that tries to come to terms and to overcome some of the basic obstacles and some of the pitfalls that post-apocalyptic fiction so very often falls into absolutely recommended

a classic ulster novel people by a great cast of characters all of them facing unconventional bizarre situations and coming to terms with the vagaries of chance and the capriciousness of destiny it's mysterious and engaging i came to care very deeply for these characters and as a big oster fan i would possibly count it as his most enjoyable novel that i've read so far

the crossing again by cormac mccarthy and just like cities of the plane and my rereading of all the pretty horses i take this position to represent the whole of the border trilogy the way it talks about life on the frontier between the southern united states and mexico at the middle 20th century

the golden gate vikram seth's novel in verse an amazingly playful and yet truly tragic novel dealing in great terms with the complexities of human relations of friendship of love relationships with the terrible consequences of those moments when these relationships turn sour

patrick rothfuss the name of the wind easily among the most enjoyable books i've read in 2020 i still remember how much fun i had discovering the new developments in the tragic and exciting life of this protagonist of krothy this truly talented kid doing his best to survive in this wonderfully crafted fantasy world

the nickel boys by colson whitehead absolutely absorbing in the way it makes you care for all of the terrible difficulties that the protagonists have to endure in the juvenile prison at the heart in which the novel is set it's absolutely gripping on a chapter by chapter basis

the quiet american by graham greene a great study of how the west fails in its relations to other cultures because of all the assumptions it brings with itself it is a wonderful novel studying and exploring some of the consequences of guilt the way of our actions whether we can truly really interpret our own motives in what we do it's a wonderful book on so many fronts and has possibly the best final line i've read this year

the story of a new name the second neapolitan novel by elena ferrante the summer passage in the story of a new name the centre the long central section that focuses on a single summer holiday in the lives of protagonists leela and elena was again up there with the most enjoyable most gripping reading moments i experienced this year

story of the lost child by elena ferrante just as i did with mccarthy this position goes to the book itself which in some ways it's difficult to assess this in some ways it's possibly the best of the four neapolitan novels by ferrante this is the fourth and final one

the book at the top of the list number nine dream and the book at its very bottom my least favorite from 2020 were by the same author that other book would be utopia avenue most better disappointment of 2020 unfortunately you can't win them all

white teeth by zadie smith amazing family story a family saga bringing together two different immigrant families in london in the late 20th century at different times truly tragic absolutely hilarious quite powerful in its statements some of its more political statements have stayed with me for the whole of the year