My reading life has been quite busy this summer. I’m participating in The New York Public Library’s Best Fiction Committee which has required me to read literature’s latest novels and short story collections. Once a month, I meet with my colleagues to discuss a selection of books and the impressions they had on us with the ultimate goal of figuring out which ones deserve to be considered the best. This is, of course, incredibly subjective, a fact we talk about frequently. I haven’t had much time to read anything besides new and upcoming releases. Despite the demand, it has been an engaging and rewarding challenge. (In addition to the committee, I also started two book clubs in an effort to meet people in my neighborhood which has been really fun!) Admittedly, most of the books I’ve read have been so so, but spending time with a book, even if it ends up being mediocre, is still a worthwhile experience. Underlining thought-provoking sentences, rolling my eyes at dumb ones, taking the long way home just so I can read a substantial chunk, picking up books from the library, getting books in the mail, finishing a story with a sense of triumph and relief, encountering fresh articulations of the human experience… These for me are the pleasures of the text!

Of all the books I’ve read so far, three books have captured my affection.

• The Time of Cherries by Montserrat Roig (translated by Julia Sanches)
  Originally published in 1976, this Catalan novel follows a woman’s return to her hometown Barcelona after spending more than a decade away. It is the early 1970s and Franco is in power, though the focus lies less on the regime, and more on the main character, her family, and the ways they’ve changed since she last saw them. The novel is rich with nuanced character portraits, distinct details, and an infectious fervor for Barcelona. I especially admired the way Roig explores people’s reactions to the dictatorship and attempts to resist or ignore it. A fabulous book—probably my favorite of the year??? If you enjoy the writing of Elena Ferrante or Natalia Ginzburg, you’ll likely enjoy this novel too. Another one of Roig’s books, Goodbye Ramona, was recently translated into English as well and comes out next month.

• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
  Though most American teenagers have to read Their Eyes Were Watching God in high school, somehow I didn’t read it until June. I was always a bit hesitant, because of the phonetic way the dialogue is written. Though once I acclimated to the style, I was hooked by Hurston’s storytelling. Silly of me to say, but this is a classic for a reason! Hurston digs deep into the novel’s ideas while threading them together so seamlessly. The prose are gorgeous and while reading it was evident how much Hurston has inspired Black literature over the years. I also loved reading about a Black woman’s self-discovery

• White Nights by Urszula Honek
  This is technically a collection of short stories, but they’re interconnected in such a way that makes the book feel more like a novella. The book is about a poor community in a rural Polish village and tragedies that strike individuals and families throughout the town. The plot is very loose. I would say the book is more focused on creating an impressionistic image than telling a specific story, and the resulting image is dark and beautiful and eerie. Splendid sentences throughout!

Currently, I’m reading Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli which is really making me question the limitations of the essay-fiction hybrid. Next, I plan to read How to Make a Woman by Marie Darrieussecq, Is Beauty Good by Rosalind Belben, and First Love by Ivan Turgenev…

Let me know if you’ve been reading anything nice.

Happy summer,
Loré <3

P.S. In case you missed it, In Review Magazine published a short story of mine—my first!