Words Heard 2019

While my last post was titled On Listening (as in, getting quiet and paying attention) the start of the holiday season seems a good time to share fiction that I actually listened to and loved this year.

We lived in the mountains when I first listened to audiobooks. The kids were young and I had less time for reading. There was the long drive to town to get groceries or just about anything else. At the time I saw listening as the next best thing to reading, a way to fit a book into my day and make time pass.

Then I heard Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses, and I was captivated by his choice of words, how each nestled seamlessly against the next and the cadence of the whole:

What he loved in horses was what he loved in men, the blood and the heat of the blood that ran through them. All his reverence and all his fondness and all the leanings of his life were for the ardent-hearted and they would always be so and would never be otherwise.

I was smitten, stunned really by the power in the language and the story. This shouldn’t have surprised me. I read aloud all the time to my kids and my students. I knew story spoken aloud could bring something unique, something extra. But I had not yet made it a habit to listen myself.

I began to consume audio books more often and for new reasons. Early favorites were Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen; The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski; and Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts.

Now, I listen every day, usually just before I fall asleep, and sometimes also when I clean or organize or eat lunch. Here are five favorites of the 22 I listened to this year. They all held my attention through good storytelling and beautiful language, and each surprised me in some way. The links will take you to an audio sample, but for those who prefer print, I’m sure these would also be great on the page.

Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller. I started with Circe and then went back for this one and loved it even more. A gorgeous love story woven into an ancient tale of war.

Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi. One of the reviews called this both epic and intimate. That seems right. The saga spans eight generations and two continents, but it is the characters who have stayed with me.

Testaments, by Margaret Atwood. I knew the follow-up to the Handmaid’s tale would be a worthy and important book. What surprised me was how addictive and satisfying I found the story.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman. It took me awhile to get to this one because audible was so sure I’d like it. (Just because I liked Olive Kitteridge and Ove, does not mean I’ll like Eleanor!) Only, it turns out I do. It’s a wonderful, unique story.

Fleishman is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner. You may want to wait until after holidays for this novel about divorcing with kids. The narrative takes some interesting turns, but what surprised me most was how deep it went. I suspected it was about wit and pop culture and experimental story structure. But it is a book about being human. I loved it.

I’m looking forward to sharing more fiction in my year end list! May you find peace, gratitude, and connection this Thanksgiving.