859. The House of Doctor Dee

The House of Doctor Dee
Peter Ackroyd
1993

Around 290 pages

Well, Pete, it's been a minute. I was intrigued enough by Hawksmoor that I was curious what else he had in store, but this was kind of a yawn. 

Matthew Palmer inherits his father's house in London. Palmer learns that the Doctor John Dee, an alchemist who worked for Elizabeth I, used to live in the house. He sets out to find out more about the mysterious alchemist. The second chapter then moves into Dee talking about his life in England during the Renaissance. This is a parallel format to Hawksmoor, but I don't mind if you are a one trick pony if you are consistently good with your output.

But once again, he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. He had an interesting premise, but the execution was extremely dry. Which is similar to my sentiments about Umberto Eco, although I do prefer Ackroyd. Expendable, and apparently the Powers That Be agree, as this was left out of future editions.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2003.

UP NEXT: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

858. The Robber Bride

The Robber Bride
Margaret Atwood
1993
Around 550 pages

It's a pretty safe bet that I'm going to love any Margaret Atwood novel. I'm still in awe of her range. Even my favorite writers are often repetitive in their work, but Atwood manages to create something unique and exciting with every new genre she takes on. 

Set in present-day Toronto, Ontario, the story follows three women and their history with old friend and nemesis, Zenia. Roz, Charis, and Tony still meet once a month in a restaurant years after Zenia betrayed them. During one outing they spot Zenia, who they thought to be long-dead. We then find out how Zenia stole their respective partners one by one. 

That actually sounds like it could be the story in a country song, but I promise this is well-crafted and deeply nuanced novel that explores the power dynamics between men and women (just like Goodbye Earl did). 

The story really poses interesting questions. For instance, is there such a thing as a "homewrecker", or are women just repeatedly saving each other from spending their lives with unfaithful duds? And because it is Atwood, the action rarely lags and the characters are brilliantly fleshed out, with Tony being my personal favorite.

Atwood earns every single one of her entries on this List. Another work of genius to add to her resume.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

In 2014, Atwood published the short story "I Dream of Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth", which revisits Roz, Tony, and Charis in the present day.

UP NEXT: The House of Doctor Dee by Peter Ackroyd

857. The Emigrants

The Emigrants
W.G. Sebald
1992
Around 360 pages

I feel slightly guilty that the most memorable thing about Sebald for me is that he inserts photographs in his work. I guess he gets tired of putting atrocities into words.

Our narrator recounts his involvement with and the life stories of four emigrants who have left Germany after the Holocaust. Sebald explores the impact of World War II, and what we carry with us when we leave our homeland.

Sebald is, understandably, a melancholic writer, so this is obviously going to be a tough read. He offers an interesting perspective and I appreciate that he keeps his writing tight. That displaced feeling you have when you are living in another country is hard to put into words, even in non wartime circumstances. The pictures are always a bit jarring, but maybe he was super into scrapbooking.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Sebald credited Thomas Bernhard as a major influence in his work.

UP NEXT: The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

856. The Secret History

The Secret History
Donna Tartt
1992

Around 560 pages

I love a good campus novel, and dammit, after the last couple entries, I deserve a treat, dammit! I really enjoyed this is as a unique detective story with unforgettable characters.

Richard Papen leaves his hometown to study literature at the elite Hampden College in New England. Richard cannot enroll in the classes of the Classics professor Julian Morrow, as he limits enrollment to a hand-picked clique. Richard works his way into the clique, and spends more time with the group, which includes twins Charles and Camilla, hypochondriac Francis, prodigy Henry, and mooch Bunny. Richard discovers that bizarre tensions exist in the group, and that they might be covering up a dark secret.

I feel like if A.S. Byatt wrote this story, it would be way too slow and erudite, but Tartt's first priority seemed to create an exciting and well-paced narrative. All of her literary allusions served the greater person of getting us to understand these characters inside and out. 

What can I say? I like intellectual murderers. In theory, of course, this is all strictly academic... 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Tartt did not like the film adaptation of The Goldfinch, so there is doubt whether she would ever allow this to be on screen.

UP NEXT: The Emigrants by W.G. Sebald

855. Life is a Caravanserai

Life is a Caravanserai
Emine Sevgi Ozdamar
1994
Around 300 pages

To my knowledge, this is the only Turkish novel on the List, so it's nice to check off another country before we bid our güle güle. Unfortunately, I really did not enjoy this novel, so apologies for Turkey that this diplomatic attempt failed.

A basically plotless story that I guess is a fictionalized memoir of the author's experience growing up in Turkey in 1950s and 60s. It was mostly stream of consciousness, with many repeated phrases and weird structural choices. 

Also, there was a lot of flatulence, which I guess was an attempt to be funny, but that's never been my humor. Just one to get through as quickly as possible.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Ozdamar won the 1991 Ingeborg Bachmann Prize.

UP NEXT: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

854. The Discovery of Heaven

The Discovery of Heaven
Harry Mulisch
1992
Around 905 pages

We haven't had a chunkster like this in awhile, and there aren't a lot of Dutch novels on this List. But I'm not that interested in spiritual quests, so for me this turned out to be quite a drag. Although now that I know the movie version starred Stephen Fry, it makes the the character more retroactively likable.

An angel-like being is given the task of returning the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments to Heaven, because even Heaven's library has strict due dates. However, he cannot directly travel to Earth, so he manipulates events to bring three people together who will conceive a child with an innate desire to fulfill the mission. The three people turn out to be Max, Ada, and Ono, and they have Quentin. Dear lord, not another literary Quentin.

I think I wanted this to be more like Robert Musil than it was. Musil was much better at pacing. By the time I hit page 400, I was ready to call it a day. But the List never sleeps, so neither can I. I know it's a bit unreasonable to demand a more grounded story from a novel about angels and the Ten Commandments, but I just wasn't that interested in the plot, knowing it was all pre-ordained, or that it would likely resolve itself with a dream or hallucination. 

But you should judge a book for what it is, not what you wanted it to be. Just not something that caters to my personal tastes, but a unique and obviously methodically crafted tome, which is pretty impressive.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to film in 2001.

UP NEXT: Life is a Caravanserai by Emine Ozdamar

853. A Heart So White

A Heart So White
Javier Marias
1992
Around 280 pages

The title of this novel comes from MacBeth, when Lady MacBeth tells her husband: "My hands are of your color but I shame to wear a heart so white." Basically, I've committed the same crimes as you, but you don't have to be such a bitch about it. I loved all the nods to Shakespeare in this novel, and prefer this type of thematic homage to the Bard, rather than another "it's this play, but in a different setting" stories we often get here.

Our narrator Juan has recently married Luisa, and they both work as translators. As a translator, Juan wants to hear everything, but doesn't actually want to know everything. His father, for instance, has been married three times, but the fate of the women is a bit of a mystery. 

Marias is an excellent writer. I feel like we really got a chance to understand Juan, whose motivations were at first unclear. At the beginning, I wasn't sure that he loved Luisa, for example. Marias is a methodical writer, and would repeat certain phrases and descriptions, almost like a song. I do think he dragged out the big reveal, but maybe that just means he effectively built tension to the breaking point. And of course, the pay off was worth it and tied in beautifully with the central theme of the novel.

Unfortunately, this is our only Marias. Maybe we could have traded in one of the many Ballard or Rushdie novels on the List for another Marias entry? Another author to explore further in my List afterlife.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Received the International Dublin Literary Award in 1997.

UP NEXT: The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulis

852. Possessing the Secret of Joy

Possessing the Secret of Joy
Alice Walker
1992

Around 290 pages

Well, we spun the List wheel and unfortunately it landed on female circumcision again. Not that it's a subject that should be ignored. But is there a single more upsetting subject on the planet?

Our main character is Tashi, who actually appeared as a minor character in The Color Purple. Tashi lives the fictional African country Olinka, which still practices female genital mutilation. Tashi wants to go back to Olinka and have the procedure done as an adult to connect to her African roots. 

This is actually our last Walker novel on this List, so we are saying goodbye to her right after Toni Morrison. And like Toni Morrison, Walker is capable of breaking my heart into a billion quarks in ten sentences. I immediately clicked with the style of this novel, and particularly enjoyed the panther story at the beginning that effectively sets the tone for the rest of the novel.

And what else is there to say about the main message of the novel? As Walker eloquently points out, torture is not culture. The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is because it's not a story that I want to revisit or dwell on. But Walker sure got her point across!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Walker has faced multiple accusations of antisemitism due to her praise for British conspiracy theorist David Icke and his works, which contain antisemitic conspiracy theories, along with criticisms of her own writings.

UP NEXT: A Heart So White by Javier Marias

851. Jazz

Jazz
Toni Morrison
1992
Around 230 pages

We've finally arrived at our last Toni Morrison novel! She's one of those authors who I always need to space out, because her works hurt my heart so much that I need breaks to recover. Always poetic, and always tugging on my heartstrings and causing me severe chest pains. So without further ado, here is my official Morrison ranking:

1. Beloved

2. The Bluest Eye

3. Jazz

4. Sula

5. Song of Solomon

This one might not be leading the pack, but that's just because those first two were so good. It's winter in 1920s Harlem. Joe Trace a fifty-year-old salesman shoots his lover to death, the eighteen-year-old Dorcas. At the funeral, his wife Violet tries to disfigure the corpse with a knife. We learn about the characters' odd behaviors that led up to these moments.

I'm still conflicted about the ending. Like most of Morrison's characters, this group had been dealt a very hard hand, but I still had trouble sympathizing with Joe and his mommy issues. I enjoyed the setting and incorporation of jazz music into the story. I would have preferred a much more cosmically just conclusion to Joe's story, but I understand where Morrison was going with the themes of redemption and letting the past go. And Dorcas never having a voice fits pretty well as she represents the sexualized and silenced women of the time.

I'll miss you Toni, even though I'll probably experience less heartache without you.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Won the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize.

UP NEXT: Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker

850. The English Patient

The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje
1992

Around 320 pages

Does anybody else remember the Seinfeld episode where Elaine hated The English Patient? That's not an entirely unjustified reaction to the movie, but the book was much easier to get through.

The novel is out of sequence, moving between our severely burned "English" patient's memories from before his accident and current events at the bomb-damaged villa, where he is being cared for by Hana, a  Canadian Army nurse. The casting was so perfect for this film that I couldn't help but picture everybody as their hot 90s actor.

The four main characters were each so different and morally complex. It was fascinating examining how war had affected all of their lives in distinctive ways. And since this wasn't a mainstream movie, the story could go in weirder directions that its screen adaptation. Frankly, I'm pretty disgusted by one of the changes, but the List has mostly desensitized me to such things by now.

Like most romantic novels, its main love story is actually quite creepy, but it's still a moving and rich read, with the best character work we've seen lately. Also, I have a crush on Naveen Andrews, so that helps.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Won the 1992 Booker Prize.

Adapted into film in 1996.

UP NEXT: Jazz by Toni Morrison

849. Indigo

Indigo
Marina Warner
1992
Around 385 pages

I love Shakespeare, so I'm always excited to read fresh tributes to the guy who apparently used up all the ideas for good stories back in 1610. That being said, The Tempest isn't one of my favorites. 

The plot is based on The Tempest, retold from the perspective of Miranda rather than Prospero. Sycorax lives on a fictional Caribbean island, just before the British, led by Everard, show up. Sycorax is a healer who developed the technology of indigo dyeing. She rescues Dulé, the baby of slaves who had been thrown overboard. The second story follows Everard's descendants, who now live in London. 

So a post colonial work that is written by a white woman, because that's the representation we needed on this List. Of course, it was created with good intentions, but so was that insufferable Imagine video. It wasn't actually that bad, even though the beginning was slow. 

Well-paced, but overly ideological. Fairly forgettable.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts: 

Warner began her career as a staff writer for The Daily Telegraph, before working as Vogue's features editor from 1969 until 1972.

UP NEXT: The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

848. The Crow Road

The Crow Road
Iain Banks
1992
Around 500 pages

The Crow Road is one of my favorite novels, and contains what I believe is the best opening sentence in literature: "It was the day my grandmother exploded." I had to take a long walk after finishing this novel, just to fully absorb how brilliant it was. Banks has never been more funny, romantic, philosophical, strange, or entertaining. 

Prentice's uncle Rory disappeared eight years ago while writing a book called The Crow Road. Prentice becomes obsessed with his uncle's papers and sets out to solve the mystery. I feel like the best mystery novels disguise that they are mystery novels, which just makes the twists and turns more shocking. I was perfectly content following Prentice's coming of age journey as he dealt with family turmoil, unrequited love affairs, and sibling drama. And then Banks throws in a masterfully crafted murder, just to show off. 

I also have to give a shout out to the secondary characters, with Lewis and Ash being my favorites. Really, this novel had just about everything I love. Dark humor, sexual tension with pay off, thoughtful religious discourse...man, is there a better moment than discovering a novel, and feeling like it was made just for your tastes specifically? I cannot recommend this story highly enough.

Interesting Facts:

Adapted for television in 1996.

UP NEXT: Indigo by Marina Warner

847. Written on the Body

Written on the Body
Jeanette Winterson
1992
Around 190 pages

Jeanette Winterson could have had one novel on this List, and that would have been enogugh. But the List likes to overexpose certain authors to keep their ranks tight. So she ended up getting four novels on this blog. And since this is her last entry, we are due a ranking. 

1. The Passion
2. Written on the Body
3. Oranges are Not the Only Fruit
4. Sexing the Cherry

Truthfully, the two of us never clicked, so I'm not attached to this order. Written on the Body is a story of an affair between a married woman with cancer and an unnamed narrator, whose gender is not disclosed. I don't like it when major plot points in romantic stories hinge on one character deciding what's "best" for the other person, and they withhold major information and rob the other one of any agency. It's not necessarily a sin of the story, it's just annoying.

But I do applaud Winterson for writing a story like this and not coming across as overly sentimental or sappy. Another okay, but not particularly memorable work. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

In 2012, Winterson succeeded Colm Tóibín as Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester. 

UP NEXT: The Crow Road by Iain Banks

846. Smilla's Sense of Snow

Smilla's Sense of Snow
Peter Hoeg
1992

Around 435 pages

This is such a surprising entry on the List, we don't usually have foreign thrillers a la Girl With a Dragon Tattoo. But I guess even the Listmakers let their hair down sometimes. 

Smilla, the daughter of an Inuit hunter and a Danish physician, lives alone in an apartment complex in Copenhagen. She befriends ten-year-old Isiah, who is a fellow Greenlander and neglected by his alcoholic mother. When Isiah's body is found, it is assumed he fell off the roof playing, as there is only one set of footprints off the roof. But Smilla knows about Isiah's fear of heights. She's as sure that his death wasn't an accident, as I am that I'm pronouncing her name incorrectly.

Smilla is a fascinating character, as she has her foot in both worlds and doesn't quite fit in. Some of the sex stuff was weird in this one, but that's about par for the course at this point. I was genuinely interested in the mystery aspects, and a tad disgruntled that Hoeg wanted to leave the ending ambiguous. But it still was a compelling story that was much more fast paced than our usual fare.

A good winter read, and best read with a cup of hot chocolate and a snuggle blanket.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into film in 1997.

Shortlisted for Edgar Award.

UP NEXT: Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson

845. The Butcher Boy

The Butcher Boy
Patrick McCabe
1992

Around 230 pages

Ick. The authors can't resist trying to make us vomit a few more times before we shed this List coil. This struck me as particularly in poor taste, because of the Manson family murders, but you know. Good taste wasn't the goal of this narrative.

Francie Brady is a violent schoolboy with a troubled home life. And I can handle disturbing stories, I even loved The Wasp Factory. But it was very clear from the onset what we were getting here. A surreal and disgusting journey of a mentally ill person going off the deep end. And didn't we just have to suffer through that with American Psycho? 

Francie is like the anti-Jude the Obscure. Just way too eager to kill piglets. Having such a singularly obsessed crazy guy at the helm of this story was exhausting. Just go write a Texas Chainsaw Massacre sequel, weirdo.

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Shortlisted for 1992 Booker Prize.

Adapted into film in 1997.

UP NEXT: Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg

844. Black Water

Black Water
Joyce Carol Oates
1992

Around 155 pages

Joyce Carol Oates is a genius for this work, regardless of anything else she ever does. To take a real life event and turn it into a mythical story that explores an age old theme (woman trusting man in power with devastating results, man facing zero consequences), was just brilliant. 

So it's the Chappaquiddick incident, but with different names because the Kennedys are scary. This story really resonates with me. Maybe because I live in Pittsburgh, The City of Bridges, and I constantly have nightmares that I'm in a car that goes over the edge. And being trapped with somebody in their final moments in the most harrowing place books can be put us. It's so morbid and compelling, which is perhaps why we were all so interested in the Titanic submersible going missing.

By far the most essential Oates novel on the List so far. I hope Ted Kennedy's hell involves having to listen to an audio version of this, in Jar Jar Binks' voice, for eternity.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

1993 Pulitzer Prize finalist.

UP NEXT: The Butcher Boy by Patrick McCabe

843. The Heather Blazing

The Heather Blazing
Colm Toibin
1992

Around 245 pages

This is basically a retread of Amongst Women, but if the List has taught me anything, it's that every idea has been done before, and that the best we can hope for as writers is to approach old themes with a fresh take. I don't really think that happened here. 

Eamon Redmond is a judge in the Irish High Court in the late 1900s. We examine his relationships with his wife and children through his life and the memories of a childhood marked by the death of his father. And once again we have an author who assumes his readers are from his home country. Which is perfectly fine, not every novel needs to be for everybody. Just makes it less enjoyable for me and my fellow Plastic Paddies.

So yes, I'm sure this is entertaining if you are interested in Irish politics of the time. This is impressive for a second novel since his voice is well-developed at this point. Not much else to say about this one, kind of a yawn.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Won the 1993 Encore Award for a second novel.

Takes its title from a line from the song "Boolavogue":"a rebel hand set the heather blazing."

UP NEXT: The Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

842. Asphodel

Asphodel
Hilda Doolittle
1992

Around 240 pages

Asphodel is an obscure work by Hilda Doolittle, written in the 1920s. Apparently, H.D. had written "Destroy" on this manuscript, but of course we are going to read it anyway, because it's on the List. Doolittle can join Kafka in the esteemed ranks of authors' whose dying wishes we ignored.

This is the story of the unfortunately unmagical Hermione, a young American who begins to explore her sexuality against the backdrop of pre World War I London and Paris. We get thinly disguised versions of the literary powerhouses of the era, most notably Ezra Pound, who Doolittle was engaged to in real life. Ick.

There's no denying that Doolittle led an unusual life, and this is a highly autobiographical work, so there's some intrigue there. And we love our lesbian poets here. It was odd going back to the 20s now that I'm strictly in 90s mode. And Ezra Pound is about as 20s as you can get.

Overall, a quick read, but I'm not surprised that this isn't the most talked about discovered manuscript. I feel like we just read somebody's diary without permission, which is a little gross. But so is getting engaged to Ezra Pound, so maybe we're even?

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Doolittle was treated by Sigmund Freud in the 1930s.

UP NEXT: The Heather Blazing by Colm Toibin

841. Black Dogs

Black Dogs
Ian McEwan
1992
Around 180 pages

Ian McEwan is Azor Ahai, the hero that was promised. We've been in a slump lately, occasionally alleviated by okay works. But McEwan always delivers quality novels, and we haven't even reached his best works yet.

Jeremy is the son-in-law of Bernard and June Tremaine. Seeking to understand how their deep love could fracture by ideological differences, Jeremy undertakes writing June's memoirs. McEwan is an entertaining writer and manages to keep the plot moving forward even when he is exploring transcendental ideas.

So for anybody else, this would be their masterpiece, but because it's McEwan, we know he is capable of better than this, and his later novels aren't so dependent on the climax to tie everything together. Still a great work, he's a master of creating suspense.

And we didn't have to linger on the concept of losing your child to serial killer in a supermarket this time, so that's nice.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Zadie Smith dubbed Black Dogs a "brilliant, flinty little novel, bursting with big ideas."

UP NEXT: Asphodel by Hilda Doolittle

840. Hideous Kinky

Hideous Kinky
Esther Freud
1992
Around 195 pages

I actually had the opportunity to get this novel at one of those free mobile libraries that brighten up certain street corners, but I was overcome with irrational guilt that somebody may need the book more than me. And then I ended up having to pay for the Kindle edition, since my library doesn't have an edition. So let this be a lesson for all of us to be greedier in the moment.

Julia travels to Marrakesh with her two young daughters as she is disenchanted by the dreary conventions of English life. Julia explores Sufism and the younger sister, Lucy, wants a father and matches their mother with a Moroccan acrobat.

Well, this sounds like the premise of a terrible live action Disney movie, but fortunately doesn't play out that way. It was more spiritual in its subject matter than I preferred, but I think somebody like D.H. Lawrence would be proud. And the sisters were charming, and I enjoyed their bond.

Not enough to shake us out of our slump, but moving in the right direction.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into film in 1998.

UP NEXT: Black Dogs by Ian McEwan

839. Arcadia

Arcadia
Jim Crace
1991

Around 315 pages

I don't think anything makes me squirm as much on this List as when authors provide their...interpretations of breast-feeding. Lots of sore and cracked nipples here.

Victor is celebrating his 80th birthday with a dinner. His righthand man Rook helps prepare his birthday feast, only Victor wants to fire him and build a shopping center. We learn about Victor's childhood. I think the recounting of his mother's final moments was the strongest writing in the novel.

Crace explores some complex ideas here, but comes to mostly curmudgeonly opinions. Everything is getting worse, but things were also harder back then and kids today couldn't handle it. I think some readers will be charmed by the chaos of the story and characters, but the point of view felt overly complicated.

So a middle of the road read, which seems to be the norm lately.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

His novels have been translated into 28 languages.

UP NEXT: Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud

838. Wild Swans

Wild Swans
Jung Chang
1991
Around 530 pages

Any book banned by a government is worth reading, even if the reading experience isn't all that enjoyable. But this was actually a very entertaining read, so that's a bonus. 

This is a family history that spans three generations of women. So we get to experience three fascinating eras of Chinese history. We get the foot-binding era, the Communist era, and Jung Chang's experience of eventually rejecting the Maoist doctrine and moving to England.

I tend to enjoy multigenerational novels, and this was one of the best crafted of its kind. Chang, her mother, and her grandmother each have satisfying arcs that are set against pivotal moments in history. It's crazy how much China crammed into three generations. 

Those foot-binding descriptions are definitely going to stick with me.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Sold over 13 million copies.

Translated into 37 languages.

UP NEXT: Arcadia by Jim Crace

837. Time's Arrow

Time's Arrow
Martin Amis
1991
Around 165 pages

I asked for a break from boring white guys, and the List granted me Martin Amis. Well, it could be worse. And the influence of one of my favorite writers, Primo Levi, is clear here, so that's a pretty good jumping off point.

It's the life of a German Holocaust doctor, but in reverse! So when you are torturing somebody in reverse, you are actually healing them from unimaginable pain. It's a fresh take, for sure, although Amis acknowledges the debt he owes to a certain paragraph in Slaughterhouse Five in the afterword.

How is this the second novel on the List starring a Holocaust "doctor"? Obviously, an upsetting read told in a very unconventional way. I wasn't a huge fan of the point of view here, but I understand that the structure of the story made narration difficult.

This is probably the best Martin Amis novel out there. If his father wasn't such a dick, he would be proud!

 

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

According to Amis's autobiography, the story is narrated by the soul of Odilo.

UP NEXT: Wild Swans by Jung Chang

836. Mao II

Mao II

Don DeLillo
1991
Around 240 pages

Why does Thomas Pynchon keep butting in? I swear he has called five different authors on the List the most important writer in America. Wait, I do that too. Ahem. Anyway, his praise immediately sours the read for me, but DeLillo and I weren't really clicking anyway. Unfortunately, the List has taken a shine to the lad.

A reclusive novelist named Bill Gray works endlessly on a novel which he chooses not to finish. Okay, so far, this is relatable. Although he hides from the world to keep his writing pure, and I just think it's icky out there. Bill agrees to be photographed by a New York photographer named Brita who is documenting other pretentious writers. Bill ends up accepting an opportunity from his former editor to publicly speak on the behalf of a Swiss writer held hostage in Beirut.

Well, you can see why Pynchon likes this, I'm sure the character of Bill Gray was heavily based on him. I do enjoy stories about writers, particularly when they are agonizing over unfinished works. There was a lot of ego in this novel, which is inevitable if you are going to capture these personalities realistically. I liked the connections and themes DeLillo explored here, but the ideas were delivered by unlikable windbags. It's interesting that this was published two years after the fatwa was issued on Salman Rushdie. I think it probably influenced DeLillo's gloomy take on where literature and free speech are going.

Can we take a break from boring white guys?

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

The title is derived from a series of Andy Warhol silkscreen prints depicting Mao Zedong.

UP NEXT: Time's Arrow by Martin Amis

835. Typical

Typical
Padgett Powell
1991

Around 210 pages

We only got two pages into this novel before the first n-word was dropped, so I knew this was going to be a grueling read, even if it's on the shorter side. 

Typical consists of 23 surreal short stories in a distinct Southern style that bore a disturbing resemblance to Faulkner (but less long winded). It was easily digestible by nature of its format, but when you solely feature extremely unlikable characters, it's still difficult to get through.

This is one of those obscure works that doesn't even have its own Wikipedia page. Rightfully so, there's nothing really new here.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Powell is currently a writing professor at the University of Florida.

UP NEXT: Mao II by Don DeLillo

834. Regeneration

Regeneration
Pat Barker
1991
Around 290 pages

Of course, war novels aren't fun to read, unless you are a middle-aged dad, but there's no denying the importance of these stories, so I won't complain about it. Too much.

The novel explores the experience of British army officers being treated for shell shock during World War I at Craiglockhart War Hospital in Edinburgh. The characters are based on historical individuals present at the hospital including poets, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, and psychiatrist W. H. R. Rivers, who pioneered treatments of post-traumatic stress disorder during and after World War I.

So heavy stuff, and I'm glad we got characters beyond the cookie cutter soldier types that usually populate wartime accounts like this. Naturally, the novel depicts graphic violence and upsetting scenes of death and destruction. Pat Barker was a little too much of a sentimental writer for me, but it's hard not to be sentimental when you are talking about wartime poets.

Moving, and encouraged me to do some background research on the real life characters here, who are certainly worthy of being memorialized in fiction. But not that much of a stand out writing wise.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a film in 1997.

UP NEXT: Typical by Don DeLillo

833. American Psycho

American Psycho
Brent Easton Ellis
1991
Around 400 pages

We now come to what is in my opinion the most repulsive novel on the List. Sure, we've had some previous heavy hitters in that category, but this story contains a scene so disturbing, that I still regularly think about it. So let's celebrate this great thinker, who came up with more bizarre ways to hurt women. For the sake of art, of course.

Set in late 1980s New York, American Psycho follows the life of Patrick Bateman. If you haven't read this repugnant novel, you've probably seen the less nauseating film version, and understand the plot of this thing, as complex as it is.

I think it's pretty clear that Brent Easton Ellis is using the exercise of writing to work out some very sick fantasies (fingers crossed they were fantasies). A cocaine fueled nightmare, and not worth talking about for another nanosecond.

RATING: -----

Interesting Facts:

Developed into a musical in 2013. 

Steinem was among those opposed to Ellis's book because of its portrayal of violence toward women.

UP NEXT: Regeneration by Pat Barker

832. Vineland

Vineland
Thomas Pynchon
1990
Around 480 pages

The signs of us being in a slump were apparent for awhile, but I was in denial. One of the worst novels I have ever read is looming ahead, and now we have to deal with yet another Pynchon. 

The story is set in California in 1984. Former hippie Zoyd Wheeler must dive through a window every year to keep receiving mental disability checks. Federal agent Brock Vond forces Zoyd and his 14-year-old daughter Prairie out of their house. They hide from Brock, and from Hector Zuñiga (a drug-enforcement federale from Zoyd's past, who Zoyd suspects is in cahoots with Brock) with old friends of Zoyd's, who recount to the mystified Prairie the story of Brock's motivation for what he has done.

Pynchon novels are always trippy nightmares chocked full of no longer relevant references that go on about 400 pages too long. This one does little to distinguish itself from its other self-satisfied peers. I guess the Star Trek allusions make this unique. Another one you just have power through.

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Received mixed reviews

UP NEXT: American Psycho by Brent Easton Ellis

831. Vertigo

Vertigo
W.G. Sebald
1990
Around 265 pages

It's always a little jarring when authors include photos in their works. It strikes me as something you would see in undergrad as a final project, but I recognize my snobby ways and want to change. That's what matters, right?

Unfortunately, this story has nothing to do with Kim Novak, and is instead a strangle collection of tales. We get a biography of Stendhal, a short glimpse at the life of Kafka, and a couple travelogues. So disjointed, but intentionally so.

I don't have too much to say about this one. Sebald didn't overstay his welcome, and I'm a Stendhal/Kafka fan girl, so all that worked. Other authors have captured the spirit of nostalgia better, but this was still decent. 

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Translated into English by Michael Hulse in partnership with Sebald.

UP NEXT: Vineland by Thomas Pynchon

830. Downriver

Downriver
Iain Sinclair
1991
Around 545 pages

At some point in my mind, I conflated Iain Sinclair and Iain Banks into one Mega Iain that I was a huge fan of. So I was surprised to find I didn't enjoy this, having loved the Culture series and Crow Road. I realized my mistake by about page 200, and swiftly exonerated Banks for Sinclair's crimes against reading.

Downriver is the story of London’s docklands during the rule of the Widow, an exaggerated version of Margaret Thatcher, because all our British novels will be dunking on her from now on. The novel takes place primarily in the East End. Our narrator is a local who works for a production company, sniffing out authentic docklands. It's a set of twelve stories taking place in the near future.

This is just one of those novels that is hard to click with unless you are overly familiar with London docklife in the 1990s. The humor didn't work for me, and 545 pages was way too much for me. I had bad Beckett flashbacks.

Sorry for lumping you with this guy, Banks. 

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Sinclair has a flat in Marine Court, the art-deco building modeled after an ocean liner in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex.

UP NEXT: Vertigo by W.G. Sebald

829. Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord

Senor Vivo and the Coca Lord
Louis de Bernieres
1991

Around 350 pages

I am surprised when the List novels have sexual scenes that are genuinely erotic. Around here, you're lucky if the participants aren't related, or if their kinks don't involve various forms of excrement. But I guess it's not so shocking that Louis de Bernieres is the one to break this cycle. He's a romantic guy, after all.

Set in an undisclosed South American country, the novel follows philosophy lecturer Dionisio Vivo who becomes the enemy of the ruthless coca lord El Jerarca after publicly criticizing the drug trade. El Jararca is most likely based on Pablo Escobar, and the country is likely Colombia, due to geographical and political hints and the fact that de Bernieres lived there. By not naming this invented country, he can form an amalgam that highlights the prominent issues of the entire continent. Also, it's probably a much safer choice for him personally.

I guess the sex scenes aren't what is most important here. But damn. Okay, I'm ready to move on. I appreciated de Bernieres' homage to magical realism. Obviously a depressing story but de Bernieres is a sentimental enough writer that I didn't leave completely hopeless. I can't get enough of this guy.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Second of his Latin American trilogy.

UP NEXT: Downriver by Iain Sinclair