Welcome to the blog home of my new literary newsletter, Lit Chat! I’m still figuring out what Lit Chat will look like long-term, but at least for now, I’m committed to sending out a monthly Dance Moms-inspired ranked pyramid of all the books I’ve read that month. Click the button below to subscribe to Lit Chat on Substack and get next month’s pyramid straight to your inbox.
The blog version of this newsletter is a bit longer and includes a bonus bottom tier of Honorable Mention reads that didn’t make the email. Scroll down to check out my thoughts and find your next read!
The Top:
The Door — Magda Szabó, translated by Len Rix
September was honestly a fire reading month and this was an especially difficult decision, but this translation of a Hungarian modern classic has stuck with me in ways that I absolutely did not expect. Initially published in 1987 and translated into English in 2005, it follows the inexplicable relationship between a writer in postwar Hungary and her eccentric housekeeper, Emerence, over a span of more than twenty years.
Emerence is an old, intractable peasant woman who chooses who she works for and at which hours and lets no one but the narrator’s dog into her own home, all while tending to the needs of an entire community with impossible strength and selflessness. Alternating between being charmed and completely exasperated with Emerence’s secrets and strange ways, the narrator becomes obsessed with knowing the true Emerence, and so, vicariously, does the reader. This novel explores the politics of love, shame, and pride with the same unflinching sense of innate moral justice that Emerence wields when making her pronouncements on humanity and the authenticity of art, cutting to the quick with searingly brilliant honesty. Reading this book sent me into a spiral which I still have not recovered from, about how many incredible books I’ll never get to read because I only read passably in two languages.
Solid Supports:
The Love Hypothesis — Ali Hazelwood
Turns out, I am as much a sucker for fake dating as I am for large, brooding love interests! Especially with the academia setting, I could mainline this shit straight into my veins. I thought it was a little cheesy how self-aware the book was of its genre and tropes (Olive, babe, we know you know you’re in a rom-com, calm down), but I ate it up nonetheless. Shoutout to my friend Megan for pressing this book into my hands after a glass (or three) of wine—which is, in fact, my preferred method of giving and receiving book recommendations.
The Children’s Book — A.S. Byatt
I bought this book one day in August when my grumpy little daily walk took me to the bookstore (not sure how that keeps happening). It has every element of a comfort book for me: manor homes in the English countryside, garden parties, fairy tales, delicious secrets and Edwardian-era scandals up the wazoo. Plus, it was over 800 pages, which meant I got to savor this one over a cup of tea in bed every morning for over a month. Forever grateful to the Staff Picks wall at Greenlight Bookstore, which has not failed me yet. Consider this your monthly reminder to shop indie, folks!
The Foundation:
Central Places — Delia Cai
Delia had the whole room rapt when she read from the first chapter of her debut novel as part of Rax King’s Girl City reading series back in July, so of course, I jumped on the chance to read a full advance e-copy (thx Netgalley!). Central Places is about Audrey, a young Chinese-American woman returning to her central Illinois hometown for the first time in eight years to introduce her very white, very New York fiancé to her immigrant parents. (Spoiler alert: it does not go well!) The unique angst of a former Midwestern teen was embarrassingly relatable, as was Audrey’s struggle to reconcile the life she’s created for herself with the one she grew up with and thought she left behind. Keep an eye out for this one in January 2023!
True Biz — Sara Nović
One of my favorite reading experiences is when a book teaches you something about a place or culture that you know absolutely nothing about, and True Biz did that for me with the Deaf community. The book follows the intertwined narratives of a Deaf high school’s headmaster and two of its students, interspersed with textbook excerpts teaching common ASL signs and exploring topics of Deaf history and culture. This was a smart and heartfelt exploration of language, connection, and identity, and I learned a whole lot, which I always appreciate.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle — Shirley Jackson
I used to get this one mixed up with I Capture the Castle, but let me tell you—no longer! If anything, this is the weird, witchy half-sister to Dodie Smith’s classic. Told from the perspective of a nearly feral young woman whose whole family except her older sister and elderly uncle were mysteriously poisoned six years prior, the tranquility of their reclusive lives comes to an abrupt end when an unknown cousin comes knocking on their mansion door. This was my final read of September and a fantastic kick-off to an upcoming month of spooky reads.
Honorable Mention:
A History of Present Illness — Anna DeForest
This brief novel is written from the perspective of a young woman in medical school and interweaves her educational experiences with her personal life and past trauma. Medicine as a field of study has always fascinated me, but there was a level of distance between the narrator and the reader which—though I believe it was intentional as a thematic representation of the necessary distance that must be kept between one’s work and one’s private self as a doctor—just made me feel like I was being kept at arm’s length as a reader.
The Heroes of Olympus (Books 1 & 2) — Rick Riordan
I spent the summer listening to the original Percy Jackson series on audiobook, because I’d never read them before and because I like having something in my ears when I leave the house that doesn’t require too much attention. Let me tell you, it’s been a delight. Having finished the original series, I’m onto the next spin-off series, The Heroes of Olympus, which features new characters alongside the old familiar ones as the heroes face down their most ancient and terrible enemies yet. These books are goofy and light-hearted, but I like to think they’re teaching me a little something about Greek (and now Roman!) mythology as well.
Piranesi — Susanna Clarke
Listen, I love this haunting, brilliant, bizarre little book. I love it so much that it got a rare re-read this month ( I read it for the first time about a year ago), but because this was my second go-around, it doesn’t feel right to bump it up on the pyramid above books that were first-timers. That said, if you like mazes, alternate worlds, and haunting examinations of the self, READ THIS BOOK. It didn’t win the Women’s Fiction Prize last year for nothing.
And that’s a wrap for September! Drop a comment if you want to chat about any of these or leave me a recommendation for October! And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter below to get the email version right in your inbox next month.
Catherine Thoms 