Best fiction books of 2023

I haven’t been reading much fiction since the pandemic and this is something that I should remedy in 2024. Most of what I picked this year was good. The ones that stood out for me (in no particular order):

1. Age of Vice by – Deepti Kapur (blogged earlier)
2. I’m a Fan – Sheena Patel (blogged earlier)
3. Diwali in Muzaffarnagar – Tanuj Solanki : a collection of moving stories which surprised me with their depth. Do pick this up.
4. Lessons – Ian McEwan : I’ve probably read all of McEwan’s works. Lessons covers decades of post WWII Europe. Long read but probably not for everyone.
5. The Covenant of Water – Abraham Verghese: A friend and colleague recommended this and shared his copy with me. Was sceptical to begin with but this multi-generational saga set in Kerala was engrossing. Despite its flaws, the story will stay in my mind for a while.
6. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck. The last paragraph is something I’m never ever going to forget (Blogged earlier)
7. Tan Twan Eng’s Penang Trilogy. Thoroughly enjoyed all the three works. (Blogged earlier)
8. Unseen – Roy Jacobsen. The first of a trilogy. Set in a bleak and harsh island off the Norwegian mainland, a cool primer on what economic forces do to such societies during phases of transition.
9. Solenoid – Mircea Cartarescu. This was a really hard read. I didnt enjoy it. But the manner in which Communist Romania was evoked and the fact that I laboured through 794 pages of brilliance that frustrated me….

PS: Best Non Fiction of 2023 & Best Comics of 2023