December 29, 2023
Happy Friday, travelers! My, does it feel good to write that again. :-)
From the slumbers of early January to the blooms of spring, summer’s heat waves in the cradle of books and fall’s canary-yellow fringes of leaves, this year was very, very kind to this reader.
I read 32 books in 2023, and these six are my top picks. I must say, there was only one book I read all year that I wished I hadn’t,1 and all the rest were very good (at a minimum). These top six are the ones that kept me locked in, that won out over sleep and the Internet every single time, that made me feel deeply, even shed a tear or two.2
Trespasses, by Louise Kennedy
Trespasses follows the journey of Cushla, a Catholic woman from Belfast who falls into a forbidden love in the midst of the Troubles.
It was a time of deep tension and immense division along religious lines, and a political oppression from the English Crown. Bombings were frequent, guerrilla warfare a way of life to protect belief and homeland, and in the midst of all these things, people had to continue on. The milk still had to be delivered. Children still had to get an education. The neighborhood pub was needed probably more than ever, a tap of stout flowing free.
Cushla’s story weaves in all these aspects of the Troubles conflict as loyalties come to a head—one of her students, Davy, has a close relative who is accused of a heinous crime that directly affects Cushla’s life.
I’ve wanted to read Irish literature for years, but my taste had to change first. In 2023, I found myself more drawn to literary fiction and works in translation than ever before. Trespasses is an amalgam of the two—technically written in English but Irish vernacular is not my mother tongue, so to read its pages felt like entering the world of these characters in a more profound way. I couldn’t come to it with scattered attention, because I’d have no clue what was going on. The way Kennedy sets her scenes before characters speak is unparalleled—sharp, direct, guttural. I’ve never read anything like it.
The Marriage Portrait, by Maggie O’Farrell
Lucrezia de Medici was a real person from the infamous Italian family known for an opulence that went depraved. She died from an illness in the 1560s, but it was rumored that there was no illness, truly. Instead, her husband murdered her. In The Marriage Portrait, O’Farrell brings this legend back to life and tells a story that is wholly Lucrezia’s. You’ll have to read until the very last page to find out if Lucrezia lives or dies…
This one burns oh so slowly. The tension is like fiery magma. You don’t know when it will explode, but you know it will and the next page could be the start or the last.
Circe, by Madeline Miller
Madeline Miller’s debut, The Song of Achilles, is one of my favorite books of all time and was the best book I read in 2022. Miller writes retellings of ancient Greek myths that shine from the page like spun gold. It goes without saying that I had high expectations of Circe.
If you haven’t heard of Circe before, she’s a minor goddess and witch, daughter of the sun god Helios. She is banished to the island of Aiaia, where the majority of the story takes place. A cast of characters from famous myths comes to Aiaia, but what makes this story great is her long journey to find unconditional love. The cherry on top is how Miller ties it all together in the very last sentence.
This one now lives alongside The Song of Achilles as one of my favorite books of all time.
Night Wherever We Go, by Tracey Rose Peyton
Night Wherever We Go is the story of six women enslaved on a struggling Texas plantation. Their enslavers are steps from financial ruin and plan to use their slave women for gain in more ways than one. The toil of these women extends from long, suffocatingly hot days in the fields to their innermost bodies in the dead of the night. Knowing from experience what is to come, they plan a silent defiance using the herbs of the woods. What unfolds is a daring story of rebellion.
I typically skip Civil War and Antebellum fiction because I don’t feel as drawn to American history and because of the immense heaviness this era has on me personally. More often than not, to read books like this feels like a little too much, but I know it’s a piece of remembrance I want to have. Night Wherever We Go was brutally honest in lyrical prose through characters who had the valor to believe they mattered. The end was a beautiful intermingling of generations. It still affects me to this day.
After this experience, if Tracey Rose Peyton’s name is on the cover, I’m reading it.
The Wind Knows My Name, by Isabel Allende
The Wind Knows My Name is my third traipse into Allende. I read A Long Petal of the Sea in 2021 and loved it. Violeta came next in 2022 and I enjoyed it, but just barely less than A Long Petal. I knew I wanted to read her newest release, but I didn’t exactly prioritize it. I knew I’d get to it eventually, and I did.
The Wind Knows My Name is definitely my favorite of the three. It was an absolute gift.
The main character of the saga is migration, particularly migration under duress. It starts with Samuel, a young Jewish boy in late 1930s Austria. After Kristallnacht, his mother sends him to England on one of the Kindertransports with the promise that they will be together again someday.
The story weaves in a mother and daughter fleeing the terrors of a madman in El Salvador, on foot through Guatemala, Mexico, and finally to the United States to seek asylum. The little girl, only nine years old and blind, has an unimaginable journey through the American legal system.
Along the way, an activist and a big-shot attorney work together to advance her case. Their bond grows over the long months, changing both of their lives forever.
Theirs stories intertwine along with other characters you will love. I was sad when it was over.
The Postcard, by Anne Berest
The Postcard is Anne Berest’s autobiographical novel, a blending of genre. True to its title, the story starts with a postcard her family receives in the mail dated long, long ago. And it is unsigned.
Berest goes back in time and generations to tell the stories of her own family during the Holocaust. Her grandmother was the sole survivor of their family, because she was smuggled to Free France in the trunk of a car by resisters. Berest’s great aunt and uncle were both sent as young people to “work for the Germans.” Noemie, Berest’s great aunt, was a writer and was working on a novel manuscript while imprisoned in a concentration camp.
The sender of the postcard is revealed at the end, and you’ll want to find out who it is. This one made me feel so deeply, and recognize the realness of how many stories we don’t have. Stories that were taken, their loss second only to the lives that held them and the families that mourn them.
Every book I read this year is saved in this list on Bookshop.
For those that come later and those who have been here since the beginning, here is every book post of 2023 on From the Aisle Seat:
The Inaugural Reading Challenge!
Reading Challenge Spring Update
An Abundance of Novels
Summer Reading
Uniquely Portable Magic
Storm in June
Thank you for everything. Know that every word I say here would not be the same without you. This was an amazing year for From the Aisle Seat, and you make this place beautiful.3
I’ll see you in the vibrant new year with more books and more travel, starting with Prague. <3
Until next time,
Sarah
If you ask, I will answer. But I won’t put it on blast.
The title to this post is from Rabbi Sharon Brous (in the context of talking about books) who gave a compelling, honest interview on Ezra Klein’s podcast in the wake of war.