I have a notoriously difficult time reviewing books.
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday asks me to list books that are SO good, they leave me speechless.
Here are some books that I really enjoyed and also can’t review.
When I try to write about them, I blubber incoherently about my feelings.
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
How am I to deconstruct a story about loss, addiction, and faith?
This book is largely a character study about asking big questions and reflecting on the past.
The ending made me emotional. I felt hollowed out without knowing why.
The Crying Book by Heather Christle
This book feels like a communal grieving exercise.
It asks, “How do we have hope when the world is so bad?”
I’ve been asking myself this for awhile.
It took me a long time to get here, but I’ve decided I like being alive.
Anyway, this book was cathartic.
Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller
I reread this recently and cried all over again.
It has a similar message to The Crying Book: life is hard and confusing and also precious and good.
In spite of everything, I feel hopeful and this book is partly responsible.
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich
I DON’T KNOW HOW TO TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK.
IT IS THE MOST PERFECTLY STRUCTURED MEMOIR I HAVE EVER READ.
I DON’T LIKE HOW CONFLICTED I NOW FEEL ABOUT TRUE CRIME AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM.
Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear…and Why by Jude Doyle
Jude Doyle went HARD for this book.
I am rarely on the edge of my seat for NONFICTION, so PROPS FOR THAT.
I agree with a lot of what this book said; the parts I disagreed with made me ask questions.
Solid, solid read.
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
After finishing this book, I admitted to my coworker, “You were right. The internet is bad.”
I’ve been an internet optimist for a while, overvaluing the community aspects and ignoring the grimmer parts.
This book is right, though: the internet is bad.
I also don’t know what I would do without it.
STOP MAKING ME RECONSIDER MY LIFE CHOICES.
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
I tried to classify this book’s genre for a friend and had a difficult time doing so.
It’s domestic fiction set in the very recent past…but it reads like a thriller.
This book is effortlessly unnerving. I was on edge the whole time.
Overall, as an experience, I’d recommend it.
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
This book explores the difficulty of breaking cycles of violence.
The ending made me cry.
I genuinely don’t know what else to say about it.
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
Don’t mind me, just channeling all of my climate change anxiety into overidentifying with WOLVES.
I have so many feelings about this book. Every time I see it at a bookstore, I am overwhelmed.
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
The end of this book is very fitting.
Doesn’t stop it from being devastating.
I kept groaning, “This is not what I wanted,” in the final paragraphs.
It’s rough and so well-done.
You’ll hate yourself (and, likely, the author) after reading it. Buy it at your local bookstore today!
As stated above, I AM UNABLE TO REVIEW THESE BOOKS.
THEY’RE JUST TOO GOOD.
If you’re EVER IN THE MOOD for something stressful and/or thought-provoking, pick up one of these.
Narrative Paradise 
Have you read any of Stephen Graham Jones’ other books? I liked ‘The Only Good Indians’ and ‘Mongrels’ but my favorite was actually his novella ‘Mapping the Interior.’ It was also devastating.
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I read part of Mongrels and have My Heart is a Chainsaw on my TBR. I haven’t heard about his novella! That sounds really interesting!
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I’m glad to see The Only Good Indians on here, I want to read that one!
My post!
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It’s so good and scary and devastating!
From your list, I’ve heard really good things about Children of Time! I really want to read that one!
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I found it fascinating that ‘Such a Fun Age’ is often described as satire but like…um, it’s basically white people nonsense. Specifically, I saw it as highlighting the not-hollywood but actual every day way that white saviourism shows up and how white people objectify Black people and think that’s what friendship is. Also, the toddler is SO GOOD. Like, when I babysat, I LOVED the absurd toddler age and that kid is so damn well written I CRIED at the end because she felt so real and the actual authentic relationship that doesn’t get to happen and how THIS IS A TRUE THING because of how it’s a white people thing to get so hung up on counting how many Black friends they have, they miss the entire effing point of like, authentic, meaningful relationships.
Also, the way the one Black friend is written so that the white lady never has to say ‘I have a Black friend’ but is basically constantly communicating ‘I have a Black friend.’ Honestly, I was SQUIRMING with how sharp this was. And yes, read like a thriller. The tension throughout was incredible.
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Two months removed, if I had to describe it, I’d say it’s damning and forces you to live in the discomfort. Also, like you said, not satire! This is just…how things work…in real life!
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