On Demon Copperhead and other books in 2022

 117 books read in 2022.

If you’re only going to read two books in 2023:

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Demon Copperhead is Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield retold as an American tragedy. Rural poverty, the failure of the foster care system, opiod abuse and addiction, the brutality and casual indifference the coal industry imposes on both its workers and the environment are themes that echo through this book.  

By turns, harrowing and humorous, Demon Copperhead, lays bare America’s shame. It is one of the finest and most powerful novels to emerge in years and establishes Kingsolver among the top rank of Amercan novelists.

I know more than most about the (computer) game industry.  I’ve seen how the sausage is made.  It is either a grandly creative effort by a team of individuals with a common vision or a cynical undertaking when old code is dressed up in new clothes — deja vu all over again.

Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow sees the industry with clarity and affection. It’s a delightful book. 

If you’re looking for new authors in 2023, here’s two:

Ruth Ware is a mystery writer.  She says she learned to plot from Agatha Christie and that Daphne du Maurier’s books “are my go-to for how to writer character.” That’s an impressive pedigree which emerges in every page of these tautly written mysteries.

Brit Mick Herron has a bit of fun at John le Carre’s expense in his Slough House novels.  His central character, Jackson Lamb, is a down-at-the-heels George Smiley. He is rude and crude, an unbathed alcoholic who retains all the skills of a master spy. In a delicious twist, Gary Oldman, who played Smiley in the movies, plays Jackson Lamb in the ApplePlus tv series, Slow Horses, which is based on Herron’s novels. The humor doesn’t interefere, in the least, with the fact that when all is read and done this is an engaging espionage series. 

Authors I’m really high on, and think you should be too:

Becky Chambers: I finished her Wayfarer series in 2022. It is science ficiton at its best. Her Monk and Robot novellas (there are two) are harder to characterize.  Sci fi because, well, there’s a robot, but there’s a deft touch of fantasy too.  Chamber’s books are filled with empathy and joy that’s all too rare in books today. She makes me laugh. She makes me cry. And she gives hope for the future. 

S.A.Cosby: Is first book, My Darkest Prayer, was re-issued in 2022.  The novel is clunky at times. Cosby is clearly trying to find his voice.  He channels Walter Mosley in a couple of scenes. There’s nothing wrong with that, Mosley is a superb writer.  Cosby does find his voice in his two most recent novels, Blacktop Wasteland and Razorblade Tears. I eagerly await his fourth book. Cosby has given to new life to southern noir.

Jordan Harper:  Harper’s The Last King of California was issued in Great Britain, but not America. I’m not sure why, but the diligent reader can track down a copy. It’s well worth the effort. The Last KIng of California reminds me a little of The Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell, and that’s high praise. Harper has new book coming out early this year.  

Two graphic publications that I really liked: 

Monstress by Marjorie Liu & Sana Takeda collects the first 18 comic books from this epic fantasy published by Image Comics. The artwork is lush. The storytelling tight.  

Ducks, Two Years in the Oil Sands, Kate Beaton. Ducks is NOT a graphic novel. It is a graphic memoir that demonstrates how the use of text and art can rise above text alone. Beaton experienced a gap year of sorts.  In an effort to pay for college, she spent two years working at the oil sands of Fort McMurray, in Alberta, Canada. To say she did not have a good time is an understatement. Sexual harrassment and environmental despoilation are the overriding themes in this coming-of-age memoir.

A few thoughts on non-fiction:

I recommend Jon Meacham’s Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle, Covered With Night by Nicole Eustace and Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne.  Three impressive works of history that provide insight into the nation and people we are today.

Path Lit by Lightning, The Life of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss is both a splendid biography of an American sports great and a heartbreaking history of the ill treatment of indigenous people.

My favorite non-fiction book from 2022 was Play All Night! Duane Allman and the Journey to  Fillmore East by Bob Beatty. My takeaways: the band was always meant to be heard live, the band’s sound could never be fully captured in the studio, the album recorded live at the Fillmore East was the cornerstone of the band’s success and despite Duane Allman’s untimely death — only days after Fillmore East went gold — his vision for the band endured for decades.

Books I liked:

Termination Shock, Neal Stephenson

Winter Work, Dan Fesperman

French Braid, Anne Tyler

City on Fire, Don Winslow

Our Missing Hearts, Celeste Ng

Shrines of Gaiety, Kate Atkinson

Spear, Nicola Griffith 

Fairy Tale, Stephen King

Heat 2, Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner

Books that didn’t quite work for me by authors I’ve liked in the past:

You Have a Friend in 10A, Maggie Shipstead

Lucy by the Sea, Elizabeth Strout

The Passenger, Cormac McCarthy

Anthem, Noah Hawley

The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell

The Candy House, Jennifer Egan

Now, on to the list: