828. Wise Children

Wise Children
Angela Carter
1991
Around 240 pages

I recently proclaimed that I like any novel that pays homage to Shakespeare. Well, this is awkward. I guess I should stop making such blanket statements. I promise to never make an empty promise again!

Look, I'll give you the summary of this novel, but please don't ask me to construct a family tree for these characters. The story begins on the 75th birthday of identical twin sisters Dora and Nora Chance. So we are off to a wacky start. The twins were once a famous song-and-dance team of the British music halls, and I'm totally picturing the two sisters in White Christmas. The sisters are the illegitimate and unacknowledged daughters of Sir Melchior Hazard, the greatest Shakespearean actor of his day. I'll leave the rest of the twists and turns for you to discover.

Angela Carter and I have never clicked, and unfortunately, this novel only deepened our divide. Her novels are always carnivalesque, and I never feel like I get my bearings with the characters and plot. Of course, she is deliberately creating this chaotic atmosphere, but that doesn't make it enjoyable for me. She has a strangely jolly approach to the subject of incest, and I'm not sure what to make of it.

I can see what the tone of this novel, and Nights at the Circus, would appeal to some, but it's not my cup of tea.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Carter wrote this novel after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

UP NEXT: Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord by Louis de Bernieres

827. Get Shorty

Get Shorty
Elmore Leonard
1990
Around 385 pages

I think I've had identical reactions to every Elmore Leonard novel so far on this List. They are just really fun, and he is one of my favorite authors to read on vacation. If it's geographically appropriate of course.

Ernesto "Chili" Palmer is a small-time loan shark based in Miami. After a run-in with a mobster Chili goes to Las Vegas in pursuit of Leo Devoe, a dry cleaner who has scammed an airline out of $300,000 in life insurance by faking his death, as well as avoiding his $10,000 debt to Chili's employers. After relieving Leo of the money in Vegas, Chili gambles it all away. At the casino, he gets a new assignment. The casino is looking to collect from Harry Zimm, a horror film producer. Chili, interested in the movie business, heads for Los Angeles to make Zimm pay.

As usual, Leonard's pacing, plotting, and dialogue is on point. It's also fun to explore Hollywood during this time, and Leonard's real life experience with dealing with the industry's dirtbags clearly influenced this story. 

Unfortunately, our last Elmore Leonard on the List, but I will definitely be tackling his body of work once I've completed my sentence.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to film in 1995, and a television series in 2017.

UP NEXT: Wise Children by Angela Carter

826. Amongst Women

Amongst Women
John McGahern
1990
Around 185 pages

Plot twist! I actually liked this Irish novel. The List still has a few surprises in store for me I guess. The central character in this story, Michael Moran, is also a complete tyrant, but I still found myself having a soft spot for him. Maybe because he reminded me of King Lear, and I love anything that pays homage to my main man (Shakespeare, not Lear).

Michael Moran is weak and depressed, and thinks his best days were spent serving in the IRA. His daughters decide to recreate Monaghan Day, an event that Moran once enjoyed. Part of the reason Moran liked Monaghan Day was that his wartime friend McQuaid would visit and reminisce, until Moran ended the friendship. In general, he is a brat, and a burden to his wife and children, who still respect him. 

This is a rather slow paced, carefully laid out novel, which provides the perfect tempo for getting to know these characters. Some authors, like James Kelman, make you feel completely at sea if you're not native to the culture of the novel, but McGahern painted a portrait of Ireland that was comprehensive and accessible. 

Of course, Moran is a frustrating character, but I really enjoyed the daughters and the relationship to the patriarchy that Moran represented. An interesting find.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a four part television series in 1998.

UP NEXT: Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard

825. Stone Junction

Stone Junction
Jim Dodge
1990
Around 385 pages

Talk about damning praise. Thomas Pynchon writes the introduction to this novel, which is reason enough for me to back slowly out of the room. Unfortunately, the List doesn't care that the mere mention of this man makes me violently ill, so I had to read this anyway.

Daniel Pearse is an orphaned child, taken under the wing of the Alliance of Magicians and Outlaws. Sages shape Daniel, including a card shark Zeta master. This upbringing leads him to a strange, six-pound diamond sphere, held by the U.S. government in a New Mexico vault, rumored to be the Philosopher's Stone or the Holy Grail.

Pynchon said "Reading Stone Junction is like being at a nonstop party in celebration of everything that matters." Based on my summary, it does sound like a fun party, or at least the description of a summer action movie starring Tom Holland. But Jim Dodge is a more of psychedelic type writer, so we get a lot of unlikable characters and build up that doesn't really go anywhere. 

I feel like this was a hodgepodge of much better works, so I'm not surprised that it has fallen into obscurity.  

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Dodge has worked as a shepherd, apple picker, and professional gambler.

UP NEXT: Amongst Women by John McGahern

824. The Music of Chance

The Music of Chance
Paul Auster
1990
Around 220 pages

I love novels that have such a strange central concept. You can tell one weird idea came to the author, and then they just ran with it.

Jim Nashe is a fireman with a two-year-old daughter and wife who has just left him. After coming into some family money, he decides to travel across the country in a Saab, and the money runs out fast. He meets a young gambler named Jack Pozzi, and they scheme to fleece a couple of millionaire bachelors, Flowers and Stone. Unfortunately, their scam fails so they have to become indentured servants to the two men, who want them build a wall on their grounds that nobody will ever see. 

Paul Auster is an amazing storyteller and a master at absurdist novels. Flowers and Stone were great villains, and the ending was both surprising and satisfying. You continue to impress me Paul!

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a film in 1993 starring James Spader and Mandy Patinkin.

UP NEXT: Stone Junction by Jim Dodge

823. The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien
1990
Around 250 pages

We've been in a bit of slump, but Tim O'Brien is here to breathe some life into this blog! Unfortunately, the subject matter is so upsetting that it's still not enjoyable read, but at least it's high quality.

This is a collection of short stories concerning the Vietnam War, from the perspective of a platoon of American soldiers. Many of the characters are auto-biographical, so we have another author dealing with his trauma through writing. Good for them. My favorite story was "The Man I Killed" where O'Brien imagines a life story for the man he killed in My Khe.

We have had a few of these fictionalized war memoirs. I guess they want to protect the identities of their comrades committing war crimes, or maybe the truth is just too extreme to look at directly. It's interesting that this book focuses on PTSD as much as the events of war. We haven't seen too many authors address what life looks like after for the survivors.

Well written and well structured. Definitely a haunting read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

A film adaptation of the book, directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Tom Hardy, is currently in pre-production.

UP NEXT: The Music of Chance by Paul Auster

822. The Midnight Examiner

The Midnight Examiner
William Kotzwinkle
1989

Around 320 pages

As much as I love the name Kotzwinkle, I haven't been too impressed by his work, and I don't think he is worthy of two entries. If it's the first page, and I am already grossed out, I don't feel like the rest of the novel has much promise.

Howard Halliday is the editor of the Midnight Examiner, which is a trashy tabloid (I guess that's redundant). It's an absurd story with absurd characters, set against the grimy backdrop of New York City in the 80s. 

This is very male centric humor, so that aspect completely fell flat for me. It definitely gets off to a slow start, I guess it picks up towards the middle, but by then I was completely uninterested in the characters. Next!

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Kotzwinkle wrote the story for Nightmare on Elm Street 4. 

UP NEXT: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

821. Possession

Possession
A.S. Byatt
1990

Around 510 pages

Here on this blog, we are Team Margaret Drabble all the way, so I wasn't really looking forward to this read. She comes across to me as a duller version of other writers, like Donna Tartt and John Fowles. 510 pages were not necessary for this work.

Literary scholars Roland Michell and Maud Bailey find that the socially antagonistic relationship between Victorian era poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte may have concealed a secret connection as lovers. Michell and Bailey form their own bond as they race to be the first scholars to spill this tea.

A large part of this book is devoted to the poetry that dutifully captures Victorian era melancholia, which I'm sure is pleasing to the romance crowd. This is too sentimental and saturated for my tastes, although I expect Umberto Eco would be impressed.

None of the twists are all that exciting, and I don't find her writing style particularly engaging. Next!

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Written in response to The French Lieutenant's Woman.

Adapted into a 2002 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart.

UP NEXT: The Midnight Examiner by William Kotzwinkle

820. The Buddha of Suburbia

The Buddha of Suburbia
Hanif Kureishi
1990
Around 290 pages

I was intrigued by the title of this work and this is definitely a fresh perspective on a time in England that I am not too familiar with. But some novels you just don't click with. I think in this case, the disconnect came from his style, which was a bit on the rambling side.

The novel is autobiographical and tells the story of Karim, a teenager who, naturally, dreams of getting out of the suburbs. I guess he's tired of being an island of hope in a sea of sameness (points if you get that reference). Through his work with two theater companies, Karim gets to meet people from different backgrounds, including Terry, who is an active Trotskyist and wants him to join up, or his love interest Eleanor, who is upper middle class but pretends to be working class.

So a coming of age novel that I couldn't relate to at all. Not very much happens and the characters were pretty insufferable (see above, re: Eleanor). But I'm glad the List just keeps getting gayer in storytelling, that's always fun.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

David Bowie wrote and performed the soundtrack for the BBC drama and was a huge fan of the novel.

UP NEXT: Possession by A.S. Byatt

819. A Home at the End of the World

A Home at the End of the World
Michael Cunningham
1990
Around 345 pages

Having enjoyed The Hours, I was interested in checking out the rest of Michael Cunningham's work. He reminds me of John Irving, with his talent for creating rich characters who experience really strange turns in life. Although if I had to choose between the two, Irving still comes out on top. 

Bobby and Jonathan become friends and experiment sexually when they are younger. This List is really leading me to believe that every man's adolescence was peppered with homoerotic experiences, whether or not they choose to pursue those encounters in their adult life. My formative years were not nearly that interesting. In any case, Bobby lost his family, so Jonathan's parents take him in, and we get point of view chapters from the boys, Jonathan's mother, and Clare, the woman they both become involved with.

Jonathan's mother points out that every generation thinks the world is going to end, but it never does. These characters really did seem to make decisions based on some unnamed dread, and I enjoyed exploring their complexities. This was also an interesting time in history to examine. I really liked Clare's disappointed retelling of her experience in Woodstock. It was just a music festival after all.

So a really good novel. I felt like the ending was a bit cliche, but still worth a read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

An excerpt was published in The New Yorker, chosen for Best American Short Stories 1989.

UP NEXT: The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi

818. Like Life

Like Life
Lorrie Moore
1990

Around 200 pages

We are in the 90s, otherwise known as the decade of Amanda! And we usher in the new decade with Lorrie Moore, who I fell in love with after reading Anagrams. Unfortunately, I could only find a free audio version of this short story collection, which is not my preferred method of consumption. 

This collection (ahem, not a novel, ahem) features eight short stories, all written in Moore's trademark humorous and philosophical style. Her characters are clever and goofy, and she definitely thrives in the short story format, as she is capable of coming up with concise and shrewd lines.

I definitely see myself reading all of her work in the future, once the List makes me stop hanging out with Salman Rushdie.

RATING: *****-

Interesting Facts:

In 1980, Moore enrolled in Cornell University's M.F.A. program, where she was taught by Alison Lurie.

UP NEXT: A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham

817. A Disaffection

A Disaffection
James Kelman
1989
Around 340 pages

A stream of consciousness novel written in a Scottish dialect does not make for an easy read. So I struggled through this one, even if I related to Patrick Doyle being a Bitter Betty.

Patrick is an unhappy teacher who is in love with another married teacher, Alison. Patrick discovers he is to be transferred out of his present school which is the result of Patrick asking for a transfer, although Patrick has no memory of doing so. The rest of the novel concerns Patrick's visit to his parents one weekend and then to his brother Gavin's home.

I know a lot of teachers, so the musings about the nature of the profession were amusing. Teachers are always entertaining when they are complaining. But the pacing was slow and as an American it was a bit inaccessible. 

But hey, if you're a Scottish male teacher, this may be your book soulmate.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.

UP NEXT: Like Life by Lorrie Moore

816. Sexing the Cherry

Sexing the Cherry
Jeanette Winterson
1989
Around 170 pages

I was interested in this novel based on the title alone, although the cover is even more intriguing than the name. So far, I've been pretty underwhelmed by Jeanette Winterson, but it might be one of those "when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" things.

The story follows the journey of a mother, known as The Dog Woman, and her protégé, Jordan. They journey in a space-time flux, across the seas to find exotic fruits such as bananas and pineapples; and across time. The mother is a giant and marked by hideous, flea-ridden smallpox scars but her son is proud of her. Oh, and it includes the fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses.

Because we are wacky and postmodern, we also get tiny drawings of fruit throughout the story. I enjoy any novel that incorporates fairy tales, so that was fun. But it was a little too surreal and hallucinogenic for me. Time travel makes me queasy.

The Listmakers love Winterson, so we'll be seeing more of her down the line.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Winterson came out as a lesbian at 16 and left home.

UP NEXT: A Disaffection by James Kelman

815. Moon Palace

Moon Palace
Paul Auster

1989
Around 320 pages

Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London didn't make the cut on this List, which is surprising. Yeah, it's a memoir, but I thought the List loved bending the rules of what makes a "novel" for white Englishmen. Oh well. Anyway, this novel reminded me heavily of that story, as both explore the question: is there artistic merit in living a life of destitution?

Marco Fogg is an orphan and his Uncle Victor his only caretaker. Fogg starts college, and nine months later moves from the dormitory into his own apartment furnished with 1492 books given to him by Uncle Victor. I wish I had an Uncle Victor. Unfortunately, he dies before Fogg finishes college and leaves him without friends and family. Marco inherits some money, becomes an introvert, spends his time reading, and thinks, "Why should I get a job?" Fogg eventually loses his apartment and seeks shelter in Central Park. He meets Kitty Wu and begins a romance with her after he has been rescued from Central Park by Kitty and his college friend Zimmer.

Paul Auster is a beautiful writer, and he does an excellent job making us care about a character that you mostly want to shake. I'm also predisposed to be sympathetic to any character who just wants to read and not pay any of their bills.

This felt like a huge step up from The New York trilogy in terms of breadth and theme. It's fascinating watching an author slowly master his craft.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Moon Palace was a popular Chinese restaurant for students when Auster was studying at Columbia.

UP NEXT: Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson

814. London Fields

London Fields
Martin Amis
1989
Around 470 pages

Kingsley Amis briefly reared his ugly head on this List again, but now we are back on our Martin reads. As I have made abundantly clear, I prefer the younger Amis, but this was still a rough read. It felt like a worse version of a John Fowles novel, and I'm not surprised the movie adaptation was a mess.

The story is narrated by Samson Young, an American writer living in London who has had writer's block for 20 years and is now terminally ill. He meets Keith Talent, a small time criminal and aspiring professional darts player, at Heathrow and later encounters Nicola Six who knows that she will be murdered a few minutes after midnight on 5 November 1999 and is searching for her killer.

This is a very meta story, and like most meta stories, it is firmly lodged up in its own ass. None of the characters are likable, and of course Nicola is a strange composite of male fantasies, rather than a real person. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the setting of this one and it's interesting to see Amis' version of 1999.

Skip!

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Film adaptation bombed and Amber Heard was nominated for Worst Actress.

UP NEXT: Moon Palace by Paul Auster

813. Billy Bathgate

Billy Bathgate
E.L. Doctorow
1989
Around 325 pages

I'm not the biggest fan of gangster stories, so this was kind of a snore for me. E.L. Doctorow is kind of a snore in general actually. I think that's the price of including so many real people in his stories. It doesn't exactly hold up as evergreen prose.

Billy Behan is an impoverished fifteen-year-old living in The Bronx with his mother. One afternoon, Billy is present when infamous Jewish mobster Dutch Schultz arrives to inspect a shipment of illegal beer. When Billy demonstrates his skill at juggling, an amused Schultz calls him a "capable boy" and tips him. Billy is later accepted into the gang. Isn't this just The Bronx Tale?

The Bronx Tale actually came out in 1989 as well, so that's a weird coincidence. Women in mob stories don't really have a lot to do, but I still enjoyed Drew Preston, the rich socialite and love interest for Billy, as a character.

Still one more Doctorow to go, sigh.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Runner-up for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize.

UP NEXT: London Fields by Martin Amis

812. Remains of the Day

Remains of the Day
Kazuo Ishiguro
1989
Around 260 pages

I would like to be reincarnated as a butler in Oxford who has intense sexual tension with the housekeeper of the estate. I think I would thrive in that environment, especially if I could take a motor tour of England after. I would call this Ishiguro's masterpiece if he didn't have so many other options to choose from.

Stevens is an English butler who has dedicated his life to the loyal service of Lord Darlington. We learn that Lord Darlington was a Nazi sympathizer; and Stevens is in love with Miss Kenton, the housekeeper at Darlington Hall, Lord Darlington's estate. The novel starts in 1956 after the recent death of Lord Darlington, with Stevens receiving a letter from Miss Kenton, describing her married life. His new employer, a wealthy American named Mr. Farraday, encourages Stevens to borrow his car to take a well-earned vacation—a "motoring trip". Stevens accepts, and sets out for Clevedon, North Somerset, where Miss Kenton (now Mrs. Benn) lives.

Much like Ishiguro, I love England, so I was happy to travel with Stevens as he roams the countryside. If I weren't so terrified of pulling a Matthew Broderick, I would take the same trip. A butler is the perfect encapsulation of the English spirit, and I enjoyed Stevens' contemplation about what exactly he has given up by choosing this life. 

Just a beautiful novel, and definitely a must read.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Won the Booker prize.

Adapted into a critically acclaimed film in 1993.

UP NEXT: Billy Bathgate by E.L. Doctorow

811. The Melancholy of Resistance

The Melancholy of Resistance
Laszlo Krasznahorkai
1989

Around 385 pages

The Melancholy of Resistance sounds like it is going to be a very depressing novel about Nazi occupied Hungary. Much to my surprise, it's actually about a circus which boasts a giant stuffed whale. The List always keeps you on your toes!

Word spreads in the small Hungarian village that the circus folk have a sinister purpose in mind. We get a fair amount of memorable characters, including the evil Mrs. Eszter and her weak husband; and of course our hero, Valuska, who is pretty much the only noble person around.

We only have had one previous Hungarian entry on this List, so it's nice to drop by this country. Krasznahorkai creates a very eerie setting and story. I suspect Bulgakov would be proud. But it's still set up as a rather grueling read, with periods of long, unbroken text.

So a good read if you want to pick up something otherworldly.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Krasznahorkai adapted the novel into a screenplay for the 2000 film Werckmeister Harmonies, directed by Béla Tarr.

UP NEXT: Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

810. The Temple of the Familiar

The Temple of the Familiar
Alice Walker
1989
Around 420 pages

I love novelists that create their own multiverse. Walker features the leads of The Color Purple as background characters, which is a nice touch.

This is a more ambitious narrative than her previous work. We get the interwoven stories of Arveyda, a musician in search of his past; Carlotta, his wife who lives in exile; Suwelo, a black professor of American History who realizes that his generation of men have failed women; and Fanny, his ex-wife about to meet her father for the first time.

Walker is a beautiful writer, although I have to admit this leaned more into the stream of consciousness side of things that I tend to dislike. I actually enjoyed her previous work more, which focused on fewer characters and wasn't so scattered. And once again, we get supremely unlikable characters, but that's just her style.

So worth reading but not her masterpiece.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Walker has published 17 novels.

UP NEXT: The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorkai 

809. The Trick is to Keep Breathing

The Trick is to Keep Breathing
Janice Galloway
1989
Around 240 pages

I was 27 not that long ago (I swear), and yeah, it's a weird time. Actually waiting for an age that's not weird time. So this was more relatable to me than your typical postmodernism work.

Our protagonist is Joy Stone, whose anorexia is so severe that she no longer gets her period. She also has a drinking problem and loves to read women's magazines. Galloway unpacks how women are encouraged to be passive in their life, and the effect this can have on your general well being and mental health.

This story is presented in a rather unconventional way, which fits the narrative about a young woman unraveling. I didn't enjoy it as much as Lorrie Moore, for example, but still a nice story on female psychology, which isn't a subject that gets a lot of attention on this List.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Shortlisted for both the Whitbread First Novel and Scottish First Book awards.

UP NEXT: The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker

808. The History of the Siege of Lisbon

The History of the Siege of Lisbon
Jose Saramago
1989
Around 315 pages

Jose Saramago and I haven't had our true love's kiss yet, but so far we are getting along okay. Hopefully, we reach the next step in our relationship soon.

Raimundo Silva, assigned to correct a book entitled The History of Siege of Lisbon, decides to alter the meaning of a crucial sentence by inserting the word "not" in the text, so that the book now claims that the Crusaders did not come to the aid of the Portuguese in taking Lisbon from the Moors. The second plot is Saramago's recounting of the siege in the style of a historical romance.

We also get a love story between Raimundo and his editorial supervisor Maria Sara. So this is a very meta narrative coming from somebody who clearly adores history. Of course, my knowledge on the siege of Lisbon is non existent, so it was a little hard to get into that part. But it was an interesting commentary on our interpretations of history and how fluid it is.

So worth reading but kind of disappointing compared to our other recent novels.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Reviewing for The New York Times Edmund White wrote: "I found the verbal pierce and parry of the two proofreaders' courtship the most persuasive and vivid aspect of the novel. The rest of the writing can sometimes seem to be nothing but digressions."

UP NEXT: The Trick is to Keep Breathing by Janice Galloway

807. Like Water for Chocolate

Like Water for Chocolate
Laura Esquivel
1989
Around 260 pages

I still remember the first time I read this novel. I couldn't put it down, and read it all in one sitting. Actually, I was lying on the floor reading it, for reasons unknown. I guess it was just that good!

The novel is divided into 12 chapters, one for each month of the year, and each chapter comes with a Mexican recipe that correlates to a specific event in Tita's life. Tita de la Garza, our main character, is 15 years old at the beginning of the novel. She lives on a ranch near the border with her controlling mother, Mama Elena, and her older sisters Gertrudis and Rosaura. Pedro Muzquiz is their neighbor, with whom Tita falls in love at first sight. Pedro asks Mama Elena for Tita’s hand in marriage but she forbids it, citing the de la Garza family tradition that the youngest daughter must remain single and take care of her mother until she dies. She suggests that Pedro marry Tita's eldest sister, Rosaura, instead. In order to stay close to Tita, Pedro decides to follow this advice.

I don't think there is any other novel that gets me so excited about food. Due to the magical nature of food in the story, it has literal effects on the people eating based on the emotions of the person preparing it. What a brilliant way to tell an emotional story. 

Esquivel is a beautiful writer, and her use of magical realism would make Murakami and Marquez proud. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going here.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Won the American Booksellers Book of the Year Award for Adult Trade in 1994.

UP NEXT: The History of the Siege of Lisbon by Jose Saramago

806. A Prayer of Owen Meany

A Prayer of Owen Meany
John Irving
1989
Around 640 pages

Usually when we reach the end of a well-known author's works on the List, I do a little ranking. I guess I would put The World According to Garp in bottom place, but I simply cannot pick between this novel and Cider House Rules. They are both too good, dammit.

Owen Meany is a character like no other, although if I had to compare him to a literary character, the obvious choice is Oskar Matzerath. Both characters have dwarfism, and I'm sure the similarities are intentional, as they share the same initials. John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany grow up together in a small New Hampshire town during the 1950s and 1960s. Irving always include so many strange twists and turns in his plot that I don't want to give away too much. Suffice to say, things are going to get weird.

I will never forget some of these set pieces. The manger scene, the baseball game, the mannequin...so many moments in this novel are unforgettable. I've tried to recreate my best estimation of what I think Owen Meany's distinctive voice sounds like, but I think I just sound like Voldemort. And I might have scared my partner a little bit when I was practicing.

An absolute masterpiece with a brilliant ending. I'm really going to miss Irving.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

The 1998 feature-length film Simon Birch, was loosely based on the novel and starred Ian Michael Smith, Joseph Mazzello, Ashley Judd, Oliver Platt and Jim Carrey. 

The movie does not share the same title as the book or the character names at Irving's request; he felt that it would "mislead the novel's readers to see a film of that same title which was so different from the book."

UP NEXT: Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

805. The Book of Evidence

The Book of Evidence
John Banville
1989
Around 225 pages

Atwood, now Banville, and we have Irving coming up! Somewhere in my youth and childhood, I must have done something good.

Freddie Montgomery is our unreliable narrator who tells his life story, recounting the events leading up to his arrest for the murder of a servant girl in one of Ireland's "big houses." Freddie was an Anglo-Irish scientist who, after living abroad for many years, returns to his family home seeking money. Upon his arrival, he discovers that his mother sold the family's collection of paintings, and Freddie attempts to recover them, leading to the eventual murder of a maid.

I'm not familiar with the crime that inspired this novel, although apparently the real life murderer Malcom Edward MacArthur (why do killers always have three names?) attended an interview with Banville at Trinity College after he was paroled. That must have been awkward. 

I really enjoy Banville's prose, even if I've had enough novels that unpack the psychology of men who commit violence against women for a lifetime. So not my favorite Banville, but still a decent read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Banville released a sequel, Ghosts, in 1989.

UP NEXT: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

804. Cat's Eye

Cat's Eye
Margaret Atwood
1988
Around 420 pages

I love Margaret Atwood, and we certainly earned this read after some of the clunkers on this List. Once again, Atwood astonishes me with her range and emotional intelligence.

Elaine Risley is a painter who goes back to her childhood town Toronto for a retrospective on her art. She had a somewhat unconventional childhood, as her father's entomology work kept them traveling a lot. At the age of eight, she becomes friends with Carol and Grace, although that friendship shifts after the addition of a new girl, Cordelia. Has there ever been a boring character named Cordelia?

I love it when characters reflect on their past, and Elaine is a very relatable protagonist. I'm sure all women have those memories of childhood bullying or weird social dynamics that still affect how you see things today. Atwood did a wonderful job capturing those adolescent insecurities that you carry into adulthood. Also, "the mean girls" in media tend to be very cartoonish, but Atwood created compelling characters in Carol, Grace, and Cordelia.

Not my favorite Atwood because she has so many masterpieces to choose from, but I would still consider this essential reading.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Finalist for the 1988 Governor General's Award and for the 1989 Booker Prize.

UP NEXT: The Book of Evidence by John Banville

803. Foucault's Pendulum

Foucault's Pendulum
Umberto Eco
1988
Around 625 pages

I guess this is known as the thinking man's The Da Vinci Code, as people love to tear Dan Brown down for the sin of achieving mainstream popularity. I'm not saying that all of his works are masterpieces, but Brown is much more fun than Eco. 

Foucault's Pendulum is divided into ten segments represented by the ten Sefiroth. Three Milanese editors cook up "the Plan," a hoax that connects the medieval Knights Templar with other occult groups from ancient to modern times. This produces a map indicating the geographical point from which all the powers of the earth can be controlled — a point located in Paris, France, at Foucault’s Pendulum. Some believe that the title refers to Michel Foucault, because of Eco's friendship with the French philosopher, but the author "specifically rejects any intentional reference to Michel Foucault"—this is regarded as one of his subtle literary jokes. What a crack up. 

Once again, there is an interesting narrative that is buried in Eco's exhaustive prose and historical allusions. Disliking Eco is considered the ultimate intellectual failure, but I'm not sure writing an enjoyable novel is high on his priority list. Instead, he wants to create some scholastic tome that terrifies his audience into submission. 

If you have the patience, there is some juicy occult intrigues in there, but for me the overall reading experience wasn't worth it.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

When asked if he had read The Da Vinci Code, he said, "I was obliged to read it because everybody was asking me about it. My answer is that Dan Brown is one of the characters in my novel Foucault's Pendulum, which is about people who start believing in occult stuff."

UP NEXT: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

802. The Beautiful Room is Empty

The Beautiful Room is Empty
Edmund White
1988
Around 240 pages

I had a professor who was part of the Stonewall riots and he was probably the coolest person I have ever met. What an amazing time to be alive.

Continuing from A Boy Own's Story, we get White's semi-autographical experience as a gay person in the 1950s and 60s. 

I don't have too much to say about this one. White is a talented writer, and really has a way with conveying life experiences through a series of vignettes that is very digestible and real. And the more novels that acknowledge the existence of gay people, the better.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

White cites Jean Genet, Marcel Proust, and André Gide as influences.

UP NEXT: Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

801. Wittgenstein's Mistress

Wittgenstein's Mistress
David Markson
1988
Around 250 pages

This is a novel in the style of Samuel Beckett, heavily praised by David Foster Wallace. If you aren't running for cover based on that description, you have poor self-preservation instincts.

Kate is typing away on her typewriter, recording every thought that goes through her mind. It is heavy with allusions, and oh my gosh, does it drag for only being 247 pages. I guess if you are interested in solipsism, this will scratch that itch. I won't judge you if that's the case, you probably don't even exist.

Skippable, and I think I've had enough Wittgenstein on this List.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Rejected 54 times before publication.

UP NEXT: The Beautiful Room is Empty by Edmund White

800. The Satanic Verses

The Satanic Verses
Salman Rushdie
1988
Around 550 pages

800! Given the publication of The Satanic Verses has been directly related to many deaths, enjoying it as a novel doesn't really seem to be the point of its inclusion here. For me, his style is too similar to Thomas Pynchon and I just spend the entire time counting down the pages, waiting for it to end.

The Satanic Verses consists of a frame narrative, interwoven with a series of sub-plots that are narrated as dream visions experienced by one of the protagonists. The two protagonists, Gibreel Farishta and Saladin Chamcha, are both actors of Indian Muslim background. Farishta is a Bollywood superstar known for playing Hindu deities while Chamcha is an emigrant who works as a voiceover artist in England. At the beginning of the novel, both are trapped in a plane hijacked by Sikh separatists, flying from India to Britain. The plane explodes over the English Channel, but the two are magically saved. In a miraculous transformation, Farishta takes on the personality of the archangel Gabriel and Chamcha that of a devil. 

I really don't enjoy extended dream sequences, which unfortunately make up a good deal of the novel. Like many novels that cause panic, its message is largely misunderstood. But I've never enjoyed Rushdie's exhaustive style, so it's a no for me.

 

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Fearing unrest, the Rajiv Gandhi government banned the importation of the book into India.

In 1989, Supreme Leader of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini declared a fatwa against Rushdie, resulting in several failed assassination attempts on the author, who was granted police protection by the UK government, and attacks on connected individuals, including the Japanese translator Hitoshi Igarashi who was stabbed to death in 1991.

UP NEXT: Wittgenstein's Mistress by David Markson

799. The Swimming Pool Library

The Swimming Pool Library
Alan Hollinghurst
1988
Around 360 pages

Only one more to go before 800! Can you believe it? If I walked away now, I would be able to squeak out a C+ on the List. But of course, I can't walk away now because I'm a psycho.

William is a hot young gay man, although I was initially confused about his gender because he kept referring to his tits. He saves the life of an elderly aristocrat who has a heart-attack in a public lavatory during an orgy, and the man asks him to write his autobiography. 

Is the opportunity for homosexual encounters really so rampant and I'm just oblivious? It seems like you can't walk into a gym locker room or public bathroom without turning down at least three sexual partners. Anyway, this was a decently paced novel, with a very smug narrator. I was interested in watching the relationships develop, and the ending was satisfying. 

Plus there was a ton of gay sex, so what else do you want?

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In 1988, Edmund White called it, "surely the best book about gay life yet written by an English author."

UP NEXT: The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie