True confesh: I read several books in crime and spy novel series this year. That usually indicates that I sought books that would provide an escape, and that rings true with 2025. I don't write about them here because I want you to esteem my literary sensibilities, but if you are also into escape literature, I recommend both the Thursday Murder Club books and the Slow Horses books. Both have been made into pretty good TV series.
But back to how I read serious literature that makes me think.... This year, among my favorite novels were three that surprised me because they feature a kind of magic as key plot devices. That usually turns me off, but I guess Holly Gramazio, Madeline Miller, and Yoko Ogawa write well enough that I could stand the mumbo jumbo. Or maybe I'm changing as a person (talk about magic!)
My friend and trusty novel-recommender Cassie Christopher listed The Husbands among the books she read and liked in 2024. I borrowed it not knowing exactly what to expect. The title could have applied to any number of stories. It's not spoiling too much to say that this is a fantasy novel in which the protagonist's attic magically produces a new husband every time her current husband goes up there. This wild premise might have turned me off, but Gramazio plays so wonderfully with it that I got hooked. The story remained imaginative and mostly fun throughout; Gramazio cooks up a great variety among the partners. Possibly more surprising is that this wacky world can also produce thought-provoking moments about the blessings and challenges of marriage, family relationships, and friendship. Although I really want to tell you about some of them, I shall refrain and instead encourage you to experience all that The Husbands offers for yourself.
The Housekeeper and the Professor, Yoko Ogawa, 2003
My sister-in-law Lauren Jackson recommended this sweet novel translated from the Japanese to me. In this unusual book, we meet a housekeeper, her school-age son, and a math professor whose house she tends. The professor's memory lasts only 80 minutes due to some kind of unnamed traumatic event. The housekeeper supports him in maintaining a small life in a cottage behind his sister-in-law's house, and he becomes fond of the housekeeper's son. The professor and the boy share a love of baseball. It's a simple story told in simple language and sprinkled with math problems.
Circe, Madeline Miller, 2018
When both my competent wife and my reading buddy Cassie Christopher recommend a novel, I pay attention. They, or course, did not steer me wrong in the case of Circe. Madeline Miller makes Greek mythology accessible and of-the-moment in a soothing and satisfying way. It's been a long time since I've read about these Gods and Goddesses, nymphs, and the mortals they play with and maybe envy. Miller's Circe, witch of Aiaia, shows her flaws and her fears amidst her mysterious powers. Actually, a most intriguing aspect of her powers is how practical they seem. Rather than just shooting lightning bolts out her fingertips, she cooks up her magic and follows protocols to deploy it. I combined reading and listening to portions of this book; it proved a wonderful dozing companion. For that, I credit Miller's language and British actress Perdita Weeks's narration. Overall, I found the story moving and was sad to say goodbye to the characters at the end.
When my friend Cassie Christopher (I told you she's good, right?) recommended this novel to me, she had me at "a take on Little Women." As a huge an of that classic novel, this felt like required reading. Napolitano's homage is discreetly low-key. Yes, the main characters consist of 4 sisters and a boy coming into their universe. Readers, though, will be hard pressed to find one-to-one doppelgängers between these Padavano sisters and the March girls. And there's not a Marmee in sight. Also, a humble Chicago neighborhood from the 1980s to 2008 bears little resemblance to Civil War and Reconstruction Concord, MA. Hello Beautiful refers to Little Women but stands capably on its own. Between its covers, I found sweetness, sadness, and believable humanity. Napolitano moves the authorial narrator around between the characters at parallel points in time. It works well structurally. The story comments on what we do - whether visible to us or not - in response to the strengths and faults of our family of origin. As a reader, I appreciated that Napolitano saw the story through to completion without nailing down every detail of these characters' present or future lives.
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