Matt Snee's Blog, page 68

Best of 2020

According to Goodreads, I read 211 books this year. But this slim novel, by Mexican author and journalist Fernanda Melchor, was the best. Brutal, appalling, unsentimental, but also heartbreaking and beautiful. A masterpiece.

Currently reading.

Currently reading – Luster, by Raven Leilani. Born in 1990, Leilani is an American writer, and this novel, about a young black woman in New York juggling her desire to make art and her relationship with a white man in an open marriage, was one of 2020’s literary sensations.

Currently reading.

Currently reading – Thirteen Months of Sunrise, by Rania Mamoun, translated by Elizabeth Jaquette. Born in 1979, Mamoun is a Sudanese journalist and fiction writer. This is a collection of her short stories.

Currently reading.

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Currently reading – Cities of the Plain, by Cormac McCarthy. Born in 1933, McCarthy is considered one of America’s greatest living writers, and the author of All the Pretty Horses, The Road, and No Country for Old Men. I read the first two parts of this trilogy 20 years ago. Better late than never.

Currently reading.

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Currently reading – The Tent, by Miral al-Tahawy. Al-Tahawy is an Egyptian novelist and short story writer from a conservative Bedouin background. This novel depicts life for women in Bedouin society. she currently lives and teaches in the Untied States.

Currently reading.

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Currently reading – Jonny Appleseed, by Joshua Whitehead. Whitehead is a Canadian First Nations poet and novelist, of Oji-Cree descent. This is his first novel.

Currently reading.

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Currently reading – Bluets, by Maggie Nelson. Born in 1973, Nelson is a poet, memoirist, and art theorist. She is one of my favorite contemporary writers. This is a book-length poem.

Currently reading.

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Currently reading – The Burn, by James Kelman. Born in 1946, Kelman is a Scottish author, playwright, and essayist. He won the Booker prize in 1994. I had to order this book of short stories used from the U.K. Don’t remember where I heard about it.

Currently reading.

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Currently reading – The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw. Philyaw is an American author and essayist. This book of short stories was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award.

Currently reading.

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Currently reading – Fireflies, by Luis Sagasti. Born in 1963, Sagasti is an Argentine writer and art critic. This book is a lyrical exploration of the connections between great artists, philosophers, and scientists through history.