Pile by the Bed reviews Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk’s 2014 magnum opus The Books of Jacob centering around a little known Jewish messianic sect in eighteenth century Eastern Europe.
Pile by the Bed reviews Harsh Times by Mario Vargas Llosa looking at the American inspired political unrest in Guatemala in the 1950s and 60s.
It was a tough choice but here are Pile by the Bed’s top 5 books of 2021 and five honourable mentions.
Pile by the Bed reviews Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, a great American novel rich with character, theme and resonance and shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Promise by Damon Galgut, winner of the 2021 Booker Prize, a vebally inventive novel dealing with the last thirty years of South African history.
Pile by the Bed reviews Devotion by Hannah Kent, a romance set against the story of the immigration of German religious communities to South Australia in the nineteenth century.
Pile by the Bed reviews Case Study by Graham Macrae Burnet a layered exploration of self and identity set in in 1960s London.
Pile by the Bed reviews Making Nice by Ferdinand Mount a very British satire looking at modern politics and public relations.
Pile byt the Bed reviews A Good Winter by Gigi Fenster – “a derk descent into a troubled mind” and winner of the 2020 Michael Gifkins Prize.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Wild Abandon by Emily Bitto a thematically rich coming of age story set in New York and rural America in 2011.
Pile by the Bed reviews What You Can See From Here by Mariana Leky – a small town tale full of odd characters and a fairytale feel.
Pile by the Bed reviews Miles Allinson’s second novel In Moonland, an exploration of the growth of cults in the 1970s and the integenerational consequences of trauma.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Curlew’s Eye by Karen Manton an Australian gothic tale set in the Northern Territory.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Union of Synchronised Swimmers by Cristina Sandu a novella comprised of six linked, almost poetic short stories.
Pile by the Bed reviews Godspeed by Nickolas Butler, the story of the construction of an exceptional building in an unforgiving landscape that digs deep into issues facing modern America and the American dream.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura, an uncomfortable character study of an obsessive, one-sided relationship.
Pile by the Bed reviews Foregone by American novelist Russell Banks in which truth and fiction converge with aspects of Banks’ own life in the fictional reflections of an ageing film maker.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Others by Mark Brandi, a story of vulnerability, abuse of power and resilience set deep in the Australian bush.
Pile by the Bed reviews and recommends Talk to Me by TC Boyle’s 18th novel, this one dealing compassionately and empathetically with issues of animal exploitation, experimentation and ethics.
Pile by the Bed reviews Black Buck by Mateo Askaripour a pointed, redemptive take down of the capitalist dream machine.
