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>> The hot lit of the last year

by JULIET WATERS

Here are 10 noteworthy books reviewed last year, placed in no particular order, except for The Corrections, which really is #1.

1. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. It was an Oprah book. Then it wasn’t, after Franzen insulted her taste in books. Then it won the National Book Award, but Franzen was booed at the awards. Never has a book caused so much controversy. Thank God it was worth it. And it really was.

2. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro. Now in her 70s, Munro’s not getting older, she’s getting... well she couldn’t really get much better, but it’s awe inspiring that she’s as good as she’s ever been. The last story in the collection, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” is arguably one of the best short stories ever written. Also made the New York Times top five fiction picks of the year.

3. Hey Yeah Right Get a Life by Helen Simpson. Possibly the scariest book ever written, and it’s not even about ghosts, aliens, or serial killers. Just about the first few years of raising children. Don’t give this to anyone who’s pregnant. Give it to someone who has kids. It’ll make them feel less alone and insane. And give it to anyone whose biological clock is ticking a little too loudly. It will keep them quiet for a long time.

4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Often compared to Dorothy Parker, Sedaris is his own vicious circle. Neurotic as hell, but very funny, this book of essays about his family is good to read before going home for the holidays. Sedaris’ father compulsively eats rotten food and his brother makes Eminem look like a Backstreet Boy. But his sister Amy steals the show with brilliant eccentricity, or multiple personality disorder—it’s hard to tell. Either way, she’s hilarious.

5. Fraud by David Rakoff. His acidic social satire occasionally veers into guilty introspection. This is a good thing, because Rakoff can be very nasty. It’s no surprise that he’s the child of a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist. Ultimately, however, he’s a more thoughtful David Sedaris. Rakoff’s essays about having Hodgkins disease and hunting down the sperm he once donated are classics.

6. The Rainbow Singer by Simon Kerr. A timely novel about terrorism and adolescence. Very provocative, funny and heartbreaking, it tells the story of an Irish loyalist’s coming of age. Kerr is definitely a novelist to watch.

7. Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link. A highly original short story writer. Link combines, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, sex and the city, Nancy Drew and fairy tales with some excellent writing. Don’t waste time trying to shop for this, it isn’t available yet in Canada. Order it on-line through Amazon.com or directly from Small Beer Press.

8. This is Modern Art by Matthew Collings. Based on the Channel 4 series of the same name, Collings turns art criticism into a whole new animal. A humourous, endearing, interesting animal. Look for a new book about culture by Collings called, appropriately, Big Culture. He’ll no doubt have wrestled it down to size.

9. We Owe You Nothing-Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews, edited by Daniel Sinker. If this anthology had waited a year to come out, there’d probably be a long, unedited, interesting interview with Ken Hechtman. Punk Planet started thriving in the ‘90s, when Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll started getting a little too self-righteous. Contains interviews with the seminal minds of DIY music, art and politics, including Thurston Moore, Sleater-Kinney, Mordam Records, Steve Albini, Ted Leo, Voices in the Wilderness, Noam Chomsky, Negativland, Ruckus Society, Ian MacKaye and many more. Can’t find it in the stores? Order it on-line through Akashic press in New York City.

10. Life of Pi by Yann Martel. In this impressive marriage of The Jungle Book with Lord of the Flies, Martel imagines the harrowing coming-of-age tale of a boy who survives for over a year in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger. Richly deserved its QSPELL award. <<