This week’s Top Ten Tuesday hosted by Broke and Bookish asks for ten authors whose work I read for the first time this year. At first I thought I would struggle to get to 10 but a quick look at my list of reviews and books read shows I had way more than 10. Some of them were Booker prize contenders, others were authors that I’ve heard about a lot through other bloggers. So here is my list of the best….
- Huraki Murakami: I’d been nervous about Murakami because of his use of magical realism but Norwegian Wood was recommended by a work colleague. Excellent choice that has given me the courage to read something else by this author.
- Barbara Pym: this is a name thats been on my radar screen for a long time based purely on the number of bloggers I see who enjoy her work. Some Tame Gazelle was a delightful introduction.
- Elizabeth Strout: I’m not entirely sure how I came across her and read My Name is Lucy Barton. It was certainly before she was shortlisted for the Booker. Some of her backlist has gone on my wishlist as a result.
- Anne Enright: Irish authors can sometimes overdo the misery but Enright hit just the right note with her Booker prize winning The Gathering
- Amelie Nothomb : A Belgian author recommended by a work colleague. Fear and Trembling is actually set in Japan which was her home for many years. A quirky novel about the cultural protocols in that country, particularly as they affect women.
- Graham Swift: I finally got around to reading his Booker prize winning novel Last Orders and was taken by his ability to create multi-layered characters.
- Yoko Ogawa: Another author whose quirky style kept me engaged when I read The Housekeeper and the Professor
And now for three authors that, were it not for the Booker Prize, I wouldn’t have discovered this year. They were all long listed or shortlisted.
- Ian McGuire: Superb story telling was on display in The North Water
- Wyl Menmuir: I read his novella The Many and was bowled over.It’s an atmospheric story that is also a bit of a puzzle.
- Madeleine Thien: If I say her novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing should have won the Booker prize, you’ll understand how much I rated this book.