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| Zadie Smith |
The 25 Best Books of 2016
PART TWO
A collection of the best novels, non-fiction, and memoirs from the past year.
At a time when politics have dominated the national conversation in a way that can often feel overwhelming, the best books of 2016 so far have provided escapism and comfort. They've shown us that empathy is a great virtue, and that art can transcend the unhappiness of the everyday. These 25 books are all highly recommended.
By Maris Kreizman and Angela Ledgerwood
Dec 5, 2016
12. Seinfeldia by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
A little TV show about nothing became a cultural phenomenon that still inspires avid fandoms to this day. In Seinfeldia entertainment reporter Jennifer Keishin Armstrong not only goes behind the scenes of the making of Seinfeld to deliver some great insider stories, she also widens her lens to cover the people who love it. Packed with many delights and great trivia (if you want to know which suggestion from the writers made Julia Louis-Dreyfus burst into tears, you'll have to read the book), Seinfeldia is a smart, fun read by a writer who truly is the master of her domain. —MK
11. The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan
Just like its beautifully designed cover, The Association of Small Bombs is simple in premise, but it explodes in bursts of brilliant color. Karan Mahajan's masterful novel explores the aftermath of a small bomb detonation in the '90s in Delhi, and the many people whose lives it alters—from the families of victims to the bombers themselves. With great empathy and no lack of humor, Mahajan shows the multitudinous sides to the kind of story that we usually read a line or two about in a newspaper, or hear short mention of on television. —MK
10. Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Sweetbitter is the most delicious (sorry!) summer read. A former server at Union Square Cafe and Buvette, debut novelist Stephanie Danler writes sumptuously about her heroine's education in food and wine as she trains and works at a tony New York restaurant. But you don't need to be a foodie to love Sweetbitter because it's also a heartfelt novel about being a newcomer in a new city, about the dangers of being young and lonely and drunk and in love in New York. It's a grasping glimpse what happens behind the scenes where the rich people dine, but it's more sensual and poignant than you might expect. —MK
9. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
In any other circumstance, one might think Born a Crime is a dramatic title for a celebrity memoir, but in Noah's case there's nothing exaggerated about this claim. His very conception and birth was a criminal act—as the child of a black Xhosa mom and a white Swiss dad, he simply wasn't meant to exist in apartheid South Africa, where he was born. It's hard to imagine that the current host of The Daily show was kept mostly indoors in his early years to protect him from a government that could take him away at any moment. Noah's childhood stories are told with all the hilarity and intellect that characterizes his comedy, while illuminating a dark and brutal period in South Africa's history that must never be forgotten. —Angela Ledgerwood
8. Swing Time by Zadie Smith
In classic Smith style, her new novel is sweeping, packed with bold voices, and explores when and how our lives diverge from those we love. There's the fraught friendship between two biracial girls forged over their mutual love of dance, a celebrity pop star attempting to build an orphanage in an African village, and a grown up narrator asking herself, "How did I get here?" She thinks, "A truth was being revealed to me: That I had always tried to attach myself to the light of other people. That I had never had any light of my own. I experienced myself as a kind of shadow." This revelation about identity underpins the entire tale, as does Smith's concern with class and race. —AL
7. Victoria the Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird
Don't be fooled by the demure portrait of Victoria on the cover—here is a woman who reigned over a quarter of the world's population at the height of her rule. (She also bore nine children and survived eight assassination attempts.) In Baird's deft portrayal, Victoria lives, breathes, and struts before us in all her complexity, and so do her consorts, particularly her politically ambitious husband Prince Albert—and later her "Scottish stallion" and probable lover, John Brown. On a geopolitical level, Baird's sweeping historical portrait also illuminates just how interconnected the European royal families were during this time—Victoria's Belgian cousin, King Leopold II, perpetrated genocide in the Congo while her German nephew, Kaiser Wilhelm II, would go on to initiate World War I. Historical astuteness aside, the pages gallop along enhanced by titillating morsels of info—like a certain Prime Minister's predilection for whipping, in and out of the bedroom. —AL
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