All tagged good not great

IT – Stephen King

Despite its length, “IT” stands as one of Stephen King’s most unsettling and complex works, effectively weaving psychological and supernatural horror with real-world brutality. Although King has made a career out of exploring dark and unhinged themes, “IT” pushes those boundaries.

Severance – Ling Ma

The alternating timelines – one focused on a small group of Shen Fever refugees, and the other Candace’s experiences as the daughter of Chinese immigrants – allow Ma the runway to take her core themes in interesting directions, but it felt like the merging of two novels into one versus a cohesive narrative.

No Road Home – John Fram

“No Road Home” is a good read, but it’s not groundbreaking. Fans of religious-themed horror and dastardly families (think “Ready or Not”) will appreciate this more than most. Readers picking this up hoping for a queer-focused story, like “The Bright Lands,” may be let down. Shortcomings aside, I’d still give Fram another shot. 

Wandering Stars – Tommy Orange

Expectation: A study in modern Indigenous life in California told through interwoven stories.

Reality: A powerful but uneven exploration of Native American identity that falters a bit as both a sequel/prequel to “There There” but shines with a stellar audiobook narration.

The Vanishing Half – Brit Bennett

Expectation: A searing exploration of race and class told from the perspective of twin sisters who live on opposite ends of the color line. 

Reality: Structured to be palatable for the masses, it’s entertaining enough but far from the powerful story I expected given the near universal acclaim it has received.

The Women – Kristin Hannah

Expectation: A sweeping story of hardship and survival set against major conflicts of the Vietnam War.

Reality: Informative and engrossing, if a tad long, Kristin Hannah once again delivers an historical fiction epic but continued trauma dumping on the main character lessens her credibility. 

Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus

Expectation: A dramedy celebrating the life of a norm-busting female scientist in the 1950s and 1960s.

Reality: What was a expected but with the addition of a talking dog (bonus), but I was let down by how conveniently Garmus tied up the plots and how most characters remained two-dimensional.

In Memoriam – Alice Winn

Expectation: A gut-punch queer love story set within the backdrop of World War I trenches.

Reality: Stilted dialogue, a ping-pong narrative structure and an unbelievable connection between the two main characters made this rather disappointing.

Godspeed – Nickolas Butler

Expectation: A race around the clock thriller that taps into shared anxieties about control and opportunity from different experiences on the class spectrum.

Reality: Often ridiculous but frequently entertaining, the good outweighed the bad thanks to strong character development.

“The Glass Menagerie” and the Other Classics I Read This Year

My scope of what is deemed a “classic” has shifted over the years, and it has made diving into the back catalog of literature a lot more fun. Today, I view a classic as any novel published three decades ago that has developed a legacy. The classics I read this year - about 10 percent of my total reading - spanned the genres of science fiction, young adult and literary fiction by some authors well-known and lesser so.