Favorite Reads of 2023
January 8, 2023 | Dara Marie | @thornfield_lane
A week into 2024, I want to reflect on the previous year–particularly the books I read. 2023 was a bit of a whirlwind. The spring was my most intensive semester of college, leaving me little time for pleasure reading or writing. I fell into a reading slump for several months, no doubt from mental burnout. A few titles and friends have returned me to literature’s wonderful world and I intend to stay.
Even with such a rocky reading year, I found a few books I will continue to return to as the years continue. Here’s a quick look at them:
Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea by Rita Chang-Eppig
Released in May 2023, I found this on a Barnes and Noble display while looking for something to bring to the beach. I hadn’t read much recently and hoped vacation could change that. The striking colors and silhouetted face gracing the cover first drew my attention. The dust jacket synopsis solidified my interest.
The story follows Shek Yeung who, after her husband dies in battle, makes a shaky alliance with his second-in-command to maintain her status as co-captain of the fleet. Her position and title as the most feared pirate queen in 19th-century China are questioned when she falls pregnant while bounty hunters narrow in.
I hunched over the open chapter beneath an umbrella while the sea crashed in front of me. The shore’s beauty was only surpassed by Eppig’s prose. Her descriptions are poignant–each sentence intentionally placed. Shek Yeung is a compelling protagonist with an equally rich past and future to explore. I was enthralled from start to finish.
I took to TikTok after the final chapter left me sucker-punched with the catharsis only achieved through great literature. With it being so new, not many BookTok accounts had picked it up. I clicked on one lady’s video and read through the caption’s summarization of her disappointment: she said she had expected a swashbuckling adventure only to get a deeply intimate character portrayal. Even now, I don’t understand why she’s complaining. That was the whole reason I bought the book and what I loved about it. To be clear, there are battles and ambushes, but the focus remains on Shek Yeung’s inner struggle to maintain her composure while her environment unravels. It’s intimate and emotional.
With this being Rita Chang-Eppig’s first published novel, I eagerly await her next release.
If you enjoy historical fiction or deep character studies, check it out. Then visit my social medias (@thornfield_lane) and let me know what you think!
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
This had been on my TBR list for several years. It being among my sister-in-law’s favorite books and TV shows was the final push for me to secure a copy.
Because I had to commute to school last year, I utilized audiobooks to pass the time. Very quickly, I was glad I chose to physically read this instead of listening. Atwood utilizes style to create a vivid atmosphere of subtle, inner strength against oppressive odds that would have been lost on me had I only experienced it audibly. The narrative frequently jumps between the past and present to create a juxtaposed snapshot of a not-too-futuristic society. It’s bold, intimate, and feels all too likely. It is a deeply important work that seems more relevant now than when it was originally written in 1985. For as long as I considered reading it, I am glad I waited until I was ready– it is quite heavy in parts and requires a lot of the reader.
I was less impressed with its 2020 sequel, The Testaments because Handmaids is perfect as it stands. The open ending allows personal interpretation. I don’t intend to return to the sequel but would willingly return to the pages of The Handmaid’s Tale to catch things I’m sure I missed the first time.
This was my first introduction to Margaret Atwood, and she is now among my favorite authors. I read multiple of her works last year and plan on continuing this in 2024.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
The 1961 film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn has been among my favorites for years, but I only recently learned it was a novella. I loved the narrative perhaps a bit more.
To my delight, it is through the first-person eyes of Holly’s neighbor–who remains unnamed–reflecting on the brief time he lived across from her. Through this, the reader can seamlessly place themselves in the narrator’s position. They’re left snatching at pieces of the eccentric socialite as she struts across the narrative. The fragments we receive are deeply heartfelt and create a puzzle of emotional baggage. Lovers of ‘happily ever after’ will have to stick to the film because Capote disregards Hollywood’s standard of closure. To read this story is to leave with unanswered questions about a character no one can ever truly know.
I love the complexity of the character and the plot’s realism. I look forward to returning to both the film and page to continue breaking down the ever-enthralling Holly Golightly.
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R.Carey
This was a reread for me, but I still had to include it on this list. I originally read it in high school and have wanted to return to it for years. It was even better the second time.
The book takes place in England twenty years after the breakout of a fungal bacteria that turns its victims into zombies (or ‘hungries’ as they’re called). It follows a teacher, a scientist, and two soldiers who must escort a young girl across the country after their military base falls. As the journey becomes more treacherous, the characters’ true selves are revealed and no one is quite as they seem.
I usually wouldn’t imagine myself loving a zombie novel, but this is on another level. The bacterial backdrop is based on real-world science that is well displayed. Each character is distinct in their philosophies and motives, and is deeply flawed, leading to an engaging group dynamic. The zombies are the context, not the content. Character-driven, graphic, suspenseful: it’s a novel that demands to be read quickly.
Even if you’re not a huge science fiction reader, I recommend you try this one.
Mathilda by Mary Shelley
Despite my deep love for Mary Shelley, I had only read Frankenstein until 2023. This novella was assigned reading for my college course on Romanticism and I adored it so much that I wrote my senior thesis on it.
Written in first person as a letter, the character Mathilda explains her life of solitude: she spent her childhood as an orphan with a wild imagination until reuniting with her estranged father at the age of sixteen. His incestuous desires for her led to fatal consequences. I won’t sugarcoat it: the story is heavy and quite shocking. But Shelley’s prose are beautiful and her detailing of the human psyche is well beyond her time.
While copies of her work are hard to find beyond Frankenstein, this story reminded me that I need to read more of her writing. With my love for The Girl with all the Gifts, I’m eager to read Shelly’s apocalyptic novel, The Last Man.
What were your favorite reads of 2023? I'd love to hear from you! You can connect with me through thornfield.lane@gmail.com or on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter: @thornfield_lane.
