Novellas in November is the time of year when I reflect on the novellas that I’ve read since the event last year, and plan my upcoming reads. I sort of re-discovered novellas this year, after not reading any in 2023. I’ve read 10, and have 2 clear favorites.
Rape: A Love Story, Joyce Carol Oates
Teena Maguire should not have tried to shortcut her way home that Fourth of July. Not after midnight, not through Rocky Point Park. Not the way she was dressed in a tank top, denim cutoffs, and high-heeled sandals. Not with her twelve-year-old daughter Bethie. Not with packs of local guys running loose on hormones, rage, and alcohol. A victim of gang rape, left for dead in the park boathouse, the once vivacious Teena can now only regret that she has survived. This is the story of Teena and Bethie, their assailants, and their unexpected, silent champion, a man who knows the meaning of justice. And love.
Rape: A Love Story shows one of the dark sides of humanity. It starts out horrific and only gets worse. But what I hated the most is that I know the darkness is reality, but I also thought the glimmer of justice is fiction.
Thornhedge, T. Kingfisher
There’s a princess trapped in a tower. This isn’t her story. Meet Toadling. On the day of her birth, she was stolen from her family by the fairies, but she grew up safe and loved in the warm waters of faerieland. Once an adult though, the fae ask a favor of Toadling: return to the human world and offer a blessing of protection to a newborn child. Simple, right? But nothing with fairies is ever simple.
Kingfisher puts a unique spin on this retelling of Sleeping Beauty in Thornhedge. The story is lush and detailed and the imagery is so vivid. I really don’t want to give anything away because it’s a wonderful experience to discover on your own the World created in this novella. Also – read the acknowledgments – it’s a bit lengthy but it gives some of the background behind the story.
The Others Novellas I Enjoyed …
The Crane Husband, Kelly Barnhill. A uniquely written book. This mythological retelling is dark, grim & fantastical and so beautifully written. The story of a mother who falls in love & brings home a crane and who neglects her children for the crane & for her art.
Untethered Sky, Fonda Lee. Untethered Sky follows Ester on her journey as she learns to become a ruhker – a select group of people who train to bond with giant roc so they can hunt manticores. In this book, the cruelties of life are ever present. Even with the satisfaction of doing what Ester wants to do in life, the harshness of this type of life, the isolation, and the meager crumbs of something akin to happiness is always being shown. The author does an amazing job of crafting this fantasy World and bringing us into it. For a novella, the story felt remarkably complete and the audiobook narration by Nikki Massoud is also excellent. In particular, the accented pronunciation of certain names further served to highlight the other-worldliness of the story.
Show Who Knows, Nnedi Okorafor. The World building is exceptional, and if you’ve read anything by Nnedi Okorafor before, you’ll recognize her lyrical, afrofuturistic vibe. I was invested in the story and the journey of the main character. It was different and unique as we learned a lot about the culture of the Osu-nu people and the complexities and brutalities of their World. The Salt trade and market was also interesting. The ending though is what I didn’t love, It seemed abrupt and I still don’t understand it. Still, I would recommend this book – the story was fascinating.
Liked these …
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children #9), Seanan McGuire. Not one of my favorites from the Wayward Children series, but it was OK. Overall, I’ve enjoyed reading all the books in the series, and will continue to do so.
Linghun, Ai Jiang. A unique premise about people who can’t let go of the dead, and so go to a place call “home” where if they get a house, they can see the spirit of their dead family member. It’s told from the perspective of several of the residents. Although it seemed like it dragged out a bit in some places, I enjoyed reading this one – and the ending.
The Aunt Who Wouldn’t Die, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay. Somlata was poor and married into what she thought was a rich family, only to realize they were living from selling off land, and they had no more to sell. Boshon, Somlata’s daughter, is living in a time when the culture has changed for women and she has more freedoms. It was interesting to see the comparisons between the two stories, but I also felt the book ended a bit abruptly.
Didn’t care for these …
Mammoth at the Gates (The Singing Hills Cycle #4), Nghi Vo. Boring, although very beautifully written, but also thankfully short.
The Mimicking of Known Successes, Malka Ann Older. The characters seemed flat and 1 dimensional, and I just didn’t care about the mystery. It’s almost like we jumped in the middle of a story, where a murder was committed and then it went on from there.
Any recommendations for novellas to add to my reading list?
