:material-library:{ .anim-rotate } Literary Fiction
Contemporary works exploring the human condition.
A Man in Full, by Tom Wolfe (2026)
When 2 people, worlds apart, are pushed to extreme situations, their true nature shines through.
❤️A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry
Unrelentingly bleak and stays with you long after you are done with it. Four lives intersect during India’s Emergency. For a brief period, amidst the chaos and uncertainty, there is a glimmer of something better.
❤️When We Cease To Understand The World, by Benjamin Labatut (2025)
Literature collides with Science as the author probes the edges of human understanding during the Second World War. Blending fiction with real events turns out to be a marvelous choice.
Narcopolis, by Jeet Thayil (2025)
An opium-filled ode to old Bombay, full of highs and (mostly) lows. Shades of A Scanner Darkly and Trainspotting but with a more Indian vibe.
Bewildered, by Richard Powers (2025)
The life of an astrobiologist and his son in a world blind to the impact of climate change. Very well written but quite bleak.
The Secret History, by Donna Tartt (2025)
A dark, fascinating novel about a group of elite students obsessed with ancient Greek language, philosophy and ritual.
Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro (2024)
I was an Ishiguro fan after Remains of the Day, and this book is almost as good.
A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan (2024)
Time weaves its way through several interconnecting stories. Reminded me a bit of Cloud Atlas.
The Dead, by James Joyce (2020)
Short and bitter-sweet story.
❤️Luzhin’s Defense, by Vladimir Nabokov (2020, 2026)
What can I say? It’s Nabokov and Chess and obsession, in language and form that only he can create.
Despair, by Vladimir Nabokov
Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout (2020)
Well-written, poignant stories of old age, depression, families and so on, centered around an outspoken, strict school teacher.
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel García Márquez (2023)
A dreamy, looping novel. Found the recurring names confusing – but it was clear this was intentional.
To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf (2023)
My first Woolf novel. I liked the rich inner monologues of the characters.
Under the Skin, by Michel Faber (2023)
I don’t read horror usually but I really enjoyed this one. There are larger and deeper themes that make it a deeper book than it appears.
❤️The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro (2023)
A butler whose mission is to serve a worthy master reminisces about his life’s journey.
What We Can Know, by Ian McEwan (2026)
A thoughtful look at how history remembers its heroes. In the near future, a historian looks at an ‘Immortal Lunch’ hosted by a poet.
Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy (2022)
A mercilessly bleak book that I’m glad I read but intend to never read again.
Look at the Harlequins!, by Vladimir Nabokov (2022)
Nabokov’s last published novel. The protagonist feels like the closest imitation of the author. Beautiful, lyrical prose.
American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis (2022)
Extremely disturbing. Maybe something like Dorian Grey if he was a yuppie, but quite gruesome.
Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscribe, by Thomas Ligotti (2022)
The dreaming, slumbering ghost of Lovecraft is alive and well in this collection of horror stories.
Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre (2022)
A gloomy but nice book about a lonely writer pondering his existence.
❤️Pale Fire, by Vladimir Nabokov
The Authenticity Project, by Clare Pooley (2021)
A gift; not the usual genre but interesting in its own way.
Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk (2021)
Our great depression is our lives. Reread this. Immensely quotable book.
Golden Gate, by Vikram Seth (2021)
This is a technically brilliant book but ultimately dealt with themes outside my usual genres.
Haunted, by Chuck Palahniuk (2021)
Ahh this one is not for the queasy. A collection of uncomfortable short stories about cynical wannabe authors stuck in a writers’ retreat.
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (2022)
A bleak book to end a bleak year. McCarthy heaps one misery upon another on a father/son duo traveling in a harsh and unforgiving post-apocalyptic world.
Post Office, by Charles Bukowski (2023)
Trash. I’m not sure why Bukowski is rated so highly. Certainly not for this pointless book.
Glory, by Vladimir Nabokov (2023)
One of his russian books, translated by his son. The writing is as always, luminous in places. The protagonist is a lot more decent than the usual odd characters Nabokov writes about.
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath (2023)
The story of a bright girl dealing with mental illness. Appears to be semi-autobiographical, which is quite sad.
No Country for Old Men, by Cormac McCarthy (2023)
I was already going through this when the great writer passed away. This one is more straight-forward than his earlier books like Blood Meridien, but is still a very great read.
The End of the Affair, by Graham Greene (2024)
A fine, powerful, bitter novel about a turbulent affair during the second World War.
Mother Mary Comes To Me, by Arundhati Roy (2025)
Not an easy read. The author revisits her life, from her difficult childhood to her years as an architect, a foray into films, her writing career and her activism. The complex relationship she had with her mother is approached frankly but with nuance and compassion.
The Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri (2019)
I didn’t like this all that much. It seemed like a slightly foreign view of Indian life, so the characters didn’t seem to feel natural.