Favorite Reads of 2024

a year of classics!

My first Henry James! My first Edith Wharton! How did I not already know and love these brilliant American masters? I have loads of backlist catching up to do. Cheers to lifelong pursuits.

Portrait of my daughter reading

My little list is neither timely (only two books on here actually came out this year) nor comprehensive—I only read about 50 in 2024. But here are my subjective top 10 of the pile:

1. The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry

   I’ve gushed about this elsewhere, but Barry’s latest novel was the highlight of my reading year. In 1891 Butte, Montana, Tom and Polly are lovers on the run from trouble of their own making. The story is dark and witty and full of profanity. No one does dialogue like Barry! He’ll take you on a journey you’re not likely to forget or easily recover from. I highly recommend the audio, read by the author.

2. The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard

   Hazzard’s book The Transit of Venus landed on my favorites list last year. The Great Fire won the National Book Award in 2003. I was swept away once again by her skillfulness as a writer. The plot centers around a forbidden and slow-moving romance—a beautiful story juxtaposed against the backdrop of post-WWII Hong Kong and Japan, where the Allied veterans recall (and in some cases try to rectify) the atrocities. The heroine is woefully underage (16 to her love interest’s 30!), but I strangely loved it anyway. One of the most beautiful and moving books I’ve ever read. It’s prompted me to tackle the Brigitta Olubas biography about her.¹

3. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

   It’s no historical spoiler to tell you that Ernest Shackleton captained an Antarctic expedition in 1914, got stuck in the ice, and then rescued every member of his crew 20 months later. The HOW of the thing—unbelievable and inspiring—might change the way you show up in the world. My husband can second this: he’s finally taking my advice and diving in. Working out of town, he calls me every night to recount what’s happening with Shackleton. It’s easily the most riveting book I’ve read in recent memory.

4. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

   I heard Jennifer Egan identify this as the book she’d re-read most often and was sold. Tragic and relevant and unputdownable. It felt in many ways comparable to The Portrait of a Lady, which I’d read earlier in the year and loved. Except that I loved House of Mirth more!

5. The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

   I loved the independent Isabel Archer—a woman ahead of her time—and felt truly shocked by the way the story played out. I can’t wait to read more of his work.

6. Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt

   This is the intimate story of a single woman raising her grandchild when her daughter abdicates her role as a functional parent. As a person with an addict they love in the family, always hoping for the best but living through the worst, I’ve never felt so emotionally seen.

7. I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

   Classic, delightful storytelling from the man who brought us Peace Like a River² all those years ago. The hero navigates Lake Superior in an environmentally and economically ruined and dystopic near-future. Despite this premise, the book is laced with the best kind of human optimism. Enger hits his original high mark again here, IMO.

8. Death in Summer by William Trevor
   A traumatized girl steals a baby as part of a deluded plan to find love. I think I liked this so much because it thematically reminded me of my favorite Trevor novel, Love and Summer. He’s simply the best.

9. This is Happiness by Niall Williams
   A tiny town in Ireland stands at the cusp of electricity after holding to the old ways for so long. A charming, humorous, and understated story about love and the difficulty of change.

10. One of Ours by Willa Cather

    Cather has undisputed talent and range and I’ve championed every book of hers I’ve ever read. At some point, I came across criticism from Ernest Hemingway about this title that kept me from picking it up, until I saw his derisions refuted in Benjamin Taylor’s excellent Cather biography, Chasing Bright Medusas. One of Ours won the Pulitzer in 1923 and focuses on the life of sensitive and philosophic Claude, as he struggles to fit into the pragmatic world of his native Nebraska plains.

And now to you, dear readers! What were your favorite books of the year?

xx

Lacy

1. It appears Hazzard was writing pals with Muriel Spark and Elizabeth Bowen! What better trio??

2. I literally don’t know anyone who didn’t read and then love Peace Like a River.