2011 in Books Not Published in 2011 (Part 1) “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005). The first of quite a few books I read this year in tandem with watching their respective film adaptations, “Never Let Me Go” is a prime example of how and why science fiction and so-called literary fiction aren’t mutually exclusive. This novel by a perennial Booker favorite depicts a vaguely recognizable past retrofitted with advances in biogenetics as it deals with questions of identity and humanity and finding love in an emotionally cold climate.  “Winter’s Bone” by Daniel Woodrell (2006). Debra Granik may well have a nascent proclivity for film projects with the word “bone” in their titles, but it’s really no wonder why the “Down to the Bone” director dug up this “bone” from relative obscurity and made it into one of the best relatively obscure films of last year. This quiet story of a girl down on her luck in the wintry slopes of the Ozarks is an uncompromising look at the exigencies of finding (familial) love in a hopeless place.  “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” by Charles Yu (2010). With his nonexistent canine sidekick, his clinically depressed personal digital assistant, and his daddy issues constantly in tow, time machine repairman Charles Yu attempts to navigate the future meta-science-fictional Minor Universe 31 in this dizzyingly crafty novel written by present-day, happily-married-with-two-kids Charles Yu. Naturally, along the way the fictional Charles Yu stumbles upon a guide book titled “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe.” Don’t panic: “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe,” the novel, is genuinely respectful of the legacy of the great Douglas Adams, even as its protagonist seems intent on seeking an answer other than 42 to life, the universe, and everything.  “Room” by Emma Donoghue (2010). The narrator is a boy named Jack. He’s only five years old, but he already has an idea of negative integers. There is, however, a lot of things he doesn’t yet understand as clearly as other kids of his age already do. Jack has seen nothing of the world beyond Room, where he and his beloved Ma are kept captive by a heartless man they call Old Nick. Inspired by the famous Fritzl abduction case, “Room” reverberates with alternating currents of domestic peril and universal concern.  “True Grit” by Charles Portis (1968). Just as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is the story of socialite Jay Gatsby eloquently told by his friend, Nick Carraway, “True Grit” is the story of marshal Rooster Cogburn told by the older and wiser voice of his teenage companion, Mattie Ross. True, but only partly; “True Grit” is as much Cogburn’s tale of heroism as it is Mattie’s bildungsroman. And like “The Great Gatsby,” “True Grit” is a Great American Novel. True, wholly. Next: 2011 in Books Not Published in 2011 (Part 2)

2011 in Books Not Published in 2011 (Part 1)

“Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro (2005). The first of quite a few books I read this year in tandem with watching their respective film adaptations, “Never Let Me Go” is a prime example of how and why science fiction and so-called literary fiction aren’t mutually exclusive. This novel by a perennial Booker favorite depicts a vaguely recognizable past retrofitted with advances in biogenetics as it deals with questions of identity and humanity and finding love in an emotionally cold climate. 

“Winter’s Bone” by Daniel Woodrell (2006). Debra Granik may well have a nascent proclivity for film projects with the word “bone” in their titles, but it’s really no wonder why the “Down to the Bone” director dug up this “bone” from relative obscurity and made it into one of the best relatively obscure films of last year. This quiet story of a girl down on her luck in the wintry slopes of the Ozarks is an uncompromising look at the exigencies of finding (familial) love in a hopeless place. 

“How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe” by Charles Yu (2010). With his nonexistent canine sidekick, his clinically depressed personal digital assistant, and his daddy issues constantly in tow, time machine repairman Charles Yu attempts to navigate the future meta-science-fictional Minor Universe 31 in this dizzyingly crafty novel written by present-day, happily-married-with-two-kids Charles Yu. Naturally, along the way the fictional Charles Yu stumbles upon a guide book titled “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe.” Don’t panic: “How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe,” the novel, is genuinely respectful of the legacy of the great Douglas Adams, even as its protagonist seems intent on seeking an answer other than 42 to life, the universe, and everything. 

“Room” by Emma Donoghue (2010). The narrator is a boy named Jack. He’s only five years old, but he already has an idea of negative integers. There is, however, a lot of things he doesn’t yet understand as clearly as other kids of his age already do. Jack has seen nothing of the world beyond Room, where he and his beloved Ma are kept captive by a heartless man they call Old Nick. Inspired by the famous Fritzl abduction case, “Room” reverberates with alternating currents of domestic peril and universal concern. 

“True Grit” by Charles Portis (1968). Just as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is the story of socialite Jay Gatsby eloquently told by his friend, Nick Carraway, “True Grit” is the story of marshal Rooster Cogburn told by the older and wiser voice of his teenage companion, Mattie Ross. True, but only partly; “True Grit” is as much Cogburn’s tale of heroism as it is Mattie’s bildungsroman. And like “The Great Gatsby,” “True Grit” is a Great American Novel. True, wholly.

Next: 2011 in Books Not Published in 2011 (Part 2)

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  1. chefgoldblum said: ay! ba’t film tie-in yung mga front cover? LOLOL. #judger GREAT LIST AS ALWAYS PAPA
  2. aldrin posted this

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