The best books I read in 2021

If you are putting together a reading list and want recommendations that cover magic, history and darker territory, these are the books that stood out most in 2021. Several of them introduced me to authors I now count among my favourites. Perfectly Preventable Deaths and Precious Catastrophe by Deirdre Sullivan What I loved: the Irish setting, the realistic and witty dialogue, and the dark atmosphere. Everyone in Ballyfran has a secret, and that is what binds them together. Fifteen-year-old twins Madeline and Catlin move to a new life in Ballyfran, a strange isolated town where, for the last sixty years, teenage girls have gone missing in the surrounding mountains. Dark and otherworldly, this is an enthralling story about the bond between sisters and the sacrifices we make for those we care about most. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin What I loved: the immersive world-building, intense characters, and a pacy, adventurous story. This is the way the world ends. Again. Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilisation’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years, or centuries. Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter. Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor What I loved: the intriguing and unusual story, and the way the reader is dropped straight into the action. The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa — a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past. Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. She walks alone, except for her fox companion, searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers. But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion? Reputation by Lex Croucher What I loved: the parties, the friendship discussions and the incredible jokes. A classic romcom with a Regency-era twist, for fans of Mean Girls and Bridgerton. Abandoned by her parents in favour of a sea view, middle-class Georgiana Ellers has moved to a new town to live with her dreary aunt and uncle. At a particularly dull dinner party, she meets the enigmatic Frances Campbell, a wealthy socialite and enchanting member of the in-crowd. Through Frances and her friends, Georgiana is introduced to a new world of wild parties, drunken debauchery, mysterious young men with strangely alluring hands, and the sparkling upper echelons of Regency society. But high society isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and the price of entry might be more than Georgiana is willing to pay. Luster by Raven Leilani What I loved: the addictive writing and the chaos. Edie is just trying to survive. She’s messing up in her dead-end admin job in her all-white office, is sleeping with all the wrong men, and has failed at the only thing that meant anything to her: painting. No one seems to care that she doesn’t really know what she’s doing with her life beyond looking for her next hook-up. And then she meets Eric, a white, middle-aged archivist with a suburban family, including a wife who has sort-of-agreed to an open marriage and an adopted black daughter who doesn’t have a single person in her life who can show her how to do her hair. As if navigating the constantly shifting landscape of sexual and racial politics as a young black woman wasn’t already hard enough, with nowhere else left to go, Edie finds herself falling head-first into Eric’s home and family. Razor sharp, provocatively page-turning and surprisingly tender, Luster is a painfully funny debut about what it means to be young now. The Vegetarian by Han Kang What I loved: the quiet but intense writing and the surprising story. Before the nightmare, Yeong-hye and her husband lived an ordinary life. But when splintering, blood-soaked images start haunting her thoughts, Yeong-hye decides to purge her mind and renounce eating meat. In a country where societal mores are strictly obeyed, Yeong-hye’s decision to embrace a more “plant-like” existence is a shocking act of subversion. And as her passive rebellion manifests in ever more extreme and frightening forms, scandal, abuse and estrangement begin to send Yeong-hye spiralling deep into the spaces of her fantasy. In a complete metamorphosis of both mind and body, her now dangerous endeavour will take Yeong-hye — impossibly, ecstatically, tragically — far from her once-known self altogether. In the Dreamhouse by Carmen Maria Machado What I loved: the innovative storytelling, the discussions of abusive relationships and the literary references. For years Carmen Maria Machado has struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this extraordinarily candid and radically inventive memoir, Machado tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, using a series of narrative tropes — including classic horror themes — to create an entirely unique piece of work which is destined to become an instant classic. Salt Slow by Julia Armfield What I loved: the mixed settings and dark twists. This collection of stories is about women and their experiences in society, about bodies and the bodily, mapping the skin and bones of its characters through their experiences of isolation, obsession and love. Throughout the collection, women become insects, men turn to stone, a city becomes insomniac and bodies are picked apart to make up better ones. The mundane worlds of schools and seaside towns are invaded and transformed by the physical, creating a landscape which is constantly shifting to hold on to the bodies of its inhabitants. Blending the mythic and the fantastic, the collection considers characters in motion — turning away, turning back or simply turning into something new. Wranglestone by Darren Charlton What I loved: the setting, the zombies, the community of characters and the sweet love story. Winter was the only season every Lake-Lander feared. In a post-apocalyptic America, a community survives in a national park, surrounded by water that keeps the Dead at bay. But when winter comes, there’s nothing to stop them from crossing the ice. Then homebody Peter puts the camp in danger by naively allowing a stranger to come ashore, and he’s forced to leave the community of Wranglestone. Now he must help rancher Cooper, the boy he’s always watched from afar, herd the Dead from their shores before the lake freezes over. But as love blossoms, a dark discovery reveals the sanctuary’s secret past — one that forces the pair to question everything they’ve ever known. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice What I loved: the insight into the community and the beautiful writing. With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavour to restore order while grappling with a grave decision.