A pre-apocalypse, the labyrinth, an Australian drought, the US gold rush from a new perspective and an ode to our relationship with trees form Pile by the Bed’s Top 5 reads for 2020, together with six just as interesting and engaging honourable mentions.
Pile by the Bed reviews Sara Sligar’s debut Take Me Apart, a book that is part mystery, part thriller, part exploration of the world of art.
Pile by the Bed reviews Reproduction the first novel by Canadian poet Ian Williams which explores human relationships and the intersect between biological and found families.
Pile by the Bed reviews Honeybee by Australian Author Craig Silvey, another complex but compassionate coming of age story from the author of Jasper Jones.
Pile by the Bed reviews Song of the Crocodile by Nardi Simpson, a book that follows the lives of multiple generations of an Aboriginal family living in rural NSW.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, by Clarissa Goenawan – a bittersweet tale involving a group young adult Japanese characters dealing with trauma.
Pile by the Bed reviews Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam a scary, tough, compassionate look at a small group of people dealing with the first few hours of a global catastrophe.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Burning Island by Jock Serong, set in the early days of the colonisation of Australia and sequel to 2018’s Preservation.
Pile by the Bed reviews Nothing Can Hurt You by Nicola Maye Goldberg, a series of connected short stories that revolve around the death of a young woman at the hands of her boyfriend.
Pile by the Bed reviews The Question of Love by Hugh Mackay – a novel built on the musical approach of variations on a theme.
Pile by the Bed reviews If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha, a book which explores the lives of a group of young women in present day Seoul and the influence of the celebrity industry on their choices.
Recommended
Pile by the Bed reviews Summerwater by Sarah Moss – a series of incisive linked stories set on a single, rainy day at a Scottish holiday camp.
Pile by the Bed reviews Kokomo by Victoria Hannan, the blistering and often raw debut that won the 2019 Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award.
Pile by the Bed reviews No Presetns Please by Jayant Kainini, a series of short stories set in Mumbai translated from Kannada.
Pile by the Bed reviews Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight a campus novel about obsession and poison.
Pile by the Bed reviews Peace Talks by Tim Finch a meditative story of love and loss.
Pile by the Bed reviews an evocative Australian debut set in Southern Tasmania – The Octopus and I by Erin Hortle.
Pile by the Bed reviews Elly by Maike Wetzel (translated from German by Lyn Marven) – a short, sharp, stark novel dealing with the aftermath of a child’s disapperance.
Pile by the Bed reviews Rise and Shine by Patrick Allington – an idiosyncratic post-apocalyptic tale that prompts readers to think differently about their world.
Pile by the Bed reviews Frying Plantain the debut novel by Zalika Reid-Benta, a series of short stories which follows the life of a young girl of Jamaican descent growing up in Canada.
