Summer Reading Recommendations–Literary Fiction

When I was working full-time, I used to look forward to vacation time to have a chance to catch up on reading. As a career woman, often under a lot of stress, I tended to turn toward lighter reading, primarily mysteries, but I missed the intensity and quality of writing that prevails in literary fiction. With that in mind, I thought I’d share with you some of the best literary fiction that I’ve read in the last year or so.

Island Beneath the Sea, A Novel  Isabel Allende, HarperCollins Publishers. The story of an African-American slave and her journey from Haiti to New Orleans, from slavery to freedom.

Still Alice  Lisa Genova, Simon and Schuster. The first person account of a Harvard professor’s descent into early stage dementia. Hard to believe it’s fictional. Genova first self-published this masterpiece, endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Bean Trees, A novel  Barbara Kingsolver,  HarperCollins Publishers. A story of poverty, love and friendship showcasing Kingslover’s delectable prose.

Mariette in Ecstasy  Ron Hansen, HarperCollins Publishers.  A tale of a young postulant’s apparent divine possession and religious ecstasy. Hansen employs some unique literary devices, offering some exquisite description.

The Grapes of Wrath  John Steinbeck, Penquin Publishing. Experience the plight of dust bowl refugees who migrate to California at the height of the depression.

The Sun Also Rises  Ernest Hemmingway, Simon and Schuster. If you read this as a teen like I did, you will want to revisit it–a novel of expatriates and the “Lost Generation.”

None of these recommendations is a light, mindless read but the quality of the prose is guaranteed to impact your own writing experience.

Writing and Zen: “Mariette in Ecstasy” A Book Review

Most every spiritual tradition invites us to cultivate the art of being fully aware in the present moment. So much creative inspiration can be culled by attentiveness to detail.

I’m currently reading “Mariette in Ecstasy” by Ron Hansen–the fictional story of a postulant in a contemplative religious order. The author, a Catholic deacon, has an incredible command of detail. Some of the critiques I read on Amazon.com noted that there seemed to be an ill-defined plot, but in my view, this book is an example of the most brilliant attention to detail and sensory description. It is like reading an epic poem.

If you are looking to experience metaphor at it’s best and experimental fiction that, to me, does seem to go somewhere, I suggest checking it out. The read itself invites exploration of one’s relationship to God in a very Catholic context and is a good example of character-driven literary fiction.

(I purchased this book on my Kindle and was not asked to review it.)