Owen鈥檚 Year in Books

What did you read this year?

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2023

23,433

pages read

books read

Owen

The Private Lives of Trees by Alejandro Zambra

Shortest Book

pages

Longest Book

834

pages

Average book length in 2023

308

pages

Most Shelved

1,938,682

people also shelved

Least Shelved

450

people also shelved

Owen鈥檚 average rating for 2023

3.4

Highest Rated on 欧宝娱乐

4.56 average

Owen鈥檚 first review of the year

it was ok

Catherine Lacey鈥檚鈥楤iography of X鈥� is the story of a fictional, controversial artist known only as 鈥榅鈥�, structured as a novel written by her widow, the fictional journalist C.M Lucca. Lucca seeks to learn more about her wife鈥檚 life, re-examining the events they lived through together, the stories she knows, and the enormous gaps in her knowledge. Through this project, Lucca will come to question the nature of the relationship that she and her wif Catherine Lacey鈥檚鈥楤iography of X鈥� is the story of a fictional, controversial artist known only as 鈥榅鈥�, structured as a novel written by her widow, the fictional journalist C.M Lucca. Lucca seeks to learn more about her wife鈥檚 life, re-examining the events they lived through together, the stories she knows, and the enormous gaps in her knowledge. Through this project, Lucca will come to question the nature of the relationship that she and her wife had, and how much truth there is in the things she thought she knew.

Early on in the novel, it is established that this is an alternate history - the world of the novel is not our world. In this history, the United States are very much not United, divided into Northern and Southern territories and ruled by two very distinct governments; the Vietnam war is referenced as a potential conflict that thankfully never materialised; and, less dramatically, musician and producer Brian Eno is, in this world, Brianna Eno. Lacey鈥檚 world building is intricate and impressive, weaving real-world and fictional events to create a believable history. In this sense it is reminiscent of last year鈥檚 Booker Prize longlisted 鈥楥ase Study鈥�, in which the lines between truth and fiction are intentionally blurred. While this mostly works, and is generally effective, it sometimes feels a little unnatural - the in-world author tells us things that an in-world audience would surely know, which slightly breaks the immersion. This is explained away by noting that the government have tried to cover up the truth, but this explanation fails to be totally convincing. Nitpicking aside, this is a clever device and Lacey pulls it off well.

With this in place, the central premise of 鈥榳ho is X?鈥� can be explored - and I had more issues with this aspect of the novel. While the fictional X certainly lived a noteworthy and eventful life, the storytelling never becomes completely engaging or interesting, and I鈥檓 not convinced I鈥檇 have read a biography of X had she been a real person. Told through various interviews conducted by X鈥檚 widow, we learn about X from the people she interacted with throughout her life, and the various names and personas she created for herself. We learn about X鈥檚 history as a novelist, publisher, music producer and performance artist, though the stories start to feel all too similar and slightly bland. The series of stories about X鈥檚 life in the art world never really seems to go anywhere - Lacey is clearly interested in examining the limits of art and what can be counted as art, but the repetitive stories mean the book drags and it doesn鈥檛 provide much in the way of interesting insight, and the central mystery fails to be particularly compelling.

Thanks to Granta and Netgalley for the e-ARC! ...more

翱奥贰狈鈥橲 2023 BOOKS

it was amazing

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

All Your Children, Scattered by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse

The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier

it was amazing

it was amazing

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

it was amazing

Corey Fah Does Social Mobility by Isabel Waidner

The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa by Stephen Buoro

it was amazing

I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home by Lorrie Moore

it was amazing

All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

A Spell of Good Things by Ay峄嵦€ba虂mi Ade虂ba虂y峄嵦€

really liked it

it was amazing

It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over by Anne de Marcken

The Most Secret Memory of Men by Mohamed Mbougar Sarr

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

it was amazing

Owen鈥檚 last review of the year

really liked it

'It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over' is one of the most unique books I've read in a while, truly original and brilliantly weird. It opens in some kind of land of the dead (or undead), with our protagonist revealing that her arm has fallen off. It's an opening that immediately establishes the very deadpan humour that the novel does so well - lines like "since he lost his penis he's Mr Wisdom" had me instantly falling in love with de Marcken's wit ...more

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