10 Short Books to Devour During Dead Week
One-sitting books featuring pool soaks, rent boys, and lots of obsession
I am a major lover of novellas. The form is so rich: dive completely into one story over the course of an afternoon. In my opinion, there’s no better time than Dead Week to sit down and settle in. Here are ten short books—both fiction and nonfiction—if you’re looking for an afternoon companion.
Role Play, Clara Drummond—Newly translated into English, this voicey and biting critique on capital, sex, and identity takes a searing look at the well-off milieu of Vivian, a young woman in Rio de Janeiro. It’s deeply sardonic, and I was laughing out loud at the airport gate where I read it.
The Most, Jessica Anthony—This National Book Award longlist novella explodes a marriage open. Every successive hour in which Kathleen refuses to get out of the pool, the couple’s story unspools. The prose vibrates with energy, and I’m also constantly thinking about the layered meaning of this title (it’s truly perfect).
Rent Boy, Gary Indiana—Many turned to Indiana's work after he passed away this fall, and this novella is a thrilling place to get acquainted with his work. It follows a rent boy working in New York in the 80s. Read alone!
Grief is the Thing with Feathers, Max Porter—A poetic and chaotic meditation on the ways that grief takes up residence in our lives. The first of Porter’s books, and my favorite.
Intimations, Zadie Smith—A short essay collection written by one of our contemporary literary geniuses in the first months of 2020, Intimations now seems to offer insight on the years ahead. I picked it back up in November for a reread and found it more resonant than before.
The City is a Rising Tide, Rebecca Lee—This continues to be one of my favorite novels. In the spirit of this list, I’ve started reading it every year over the holidays, stunned by the gorgeous prose and the telling of this story of corporate embezzlement and unrequited love.
Intimacies, Katie Kitamura—A thrilling, dramatic novel set against an interpreter’s work in The Hague. Highly recommend for lovers of A Separation: international, unsettling, and beautifully written. How well can we ever know somebody else in love?
Bluets, Maggie Nelson—This work of nonfiction catalogues the narrator’s various obsessions—with a lover and the color blue—in brightly written vignettes.
Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin—Of course, one of the classics, on gay love, obsession, and destruction.
Assembly, Natasha Brown—I just finished this book this week. This very original novella wields its POV to unravel the formation of a national mythology in the United Kingdom, bringing class and racial narratives into a sharper dialogue.
Reference Section
Currently reading: Tony Tulathimutte’s Rejection: I’ve been busy reading for work the last few months, and I’m so excited to have a few days off to read for pleasure. Rejection made such a splash when it came out this fall—The Daily covered it on their Sunday edition—and I was riveted by the first story, “The Feminist.” Will be busy enjoying this over the next few days.
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