Read and Appreciated in 2002
A Year’s Best List
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Books
The Impossible Bird, Patrick O’Leary
Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen in this novel, it changed.
The Melancholy of Anatomy, Shelley Jackson
The Fantasy Writer’s Assistant, Jeffrey Ford
Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang
My three favorite collections this year: an embarrassment of riches.
Fire Logic, Laurie Marks
Intelligent, beautifully written epic fantasy.
Atonement, Ian McEwan
My favorite of McEwan’s novels, it reminded me of two of my other favorite novels—Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle, and Sebastian Japrisot’s A Very Long Engagement.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (serial comic), Alan Moore
Of course, the British television series, “League of Gentlemen”, is also wonderful.
Box Office Poison (graphic novel), Alex Robinson
What is it? A big, fat epic graphic novel about writers, bookstore clerks, and academics—who cares about superheroes when you can read about academics and bookstore clerks?
One Hundred Demons, Lynda Barry
Lynda Barry is a god.
Niagara Falls, All Over Again, Elizabeth McCracken
A novel about two vaudevillians/comedians. Whip-smart, funny-sad narratorial voice. Better than Angela Carter’s Wise Children.
The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold
If you haven’t already read this, then you should.
The Fall of the Kings, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman
Kind of like the Unicorn Tapestries at The Cloisters: only with a lot more sex.
Pobby and Dingan, Ben Rice
I missed this when it first came out—it’s an extremely short novel about a girl whose invisible friends go missing.
Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
I keep giving this to my friends. Almost everyone complains about the ending. Consider yourself warned. (I got to the middle and wanted to stay there as long as possible.)
The Years of Rice and Salt, Kim Stanley Robinson
I’d love to see this made into a long-running animated television series. Or maybe produced by Masterpiece Theater, instead.
The Quick and the Dead, Joy Williams
Once I’d read the first few pages of this novel, I went out and bought all her other books.
The Scar, China Miéville
Really scary monsters. Hallucinatory prose. Don’t be put off by how much this book weighs. Rejoice!
Big If, Mark Costello
Worth it for the Secret Service Agent who places bets with his bookie on literary awards. Deft, funny, loopy writing.
