Wherein We Elect Our Favourite Novels of 2019

This is a great year! Torn between Ducks, Newburyport and Nickel Boys.

Breasts and Eggs is on my list; I’ve heard great things.

I liked Girl, Woman, Other; it is a fun read but kind of…slight?

I do not think the Lying Life of adults is great, although parts of it are v good.

write in for animalia by jean baptiste del amo

Whitehead by default.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I think this is the first year where I've read (or finished) nothing. I did start The Topeka School, having enjoyed Lerner's previous two novels, but I couldn't get into it.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

damn this closed fast. black leopard, red wolf was the only of these i've read but it made enough of a mark on me that i would've thrown it a vote

I can't remember whether I remembered to vote in this! Would have voted Lying Lives so if I DIDN'T vote then that's the unofficial winner.

Topeka School had its moments but didn't live up to 10:04 or Atocha Station for me, felt too much like Lerner taking a big windup and delivering his Big Book

write in vote for nell zink's 'doxology'

are we going to get to vote on 2020 and 2021?

write in vote for nell zink's 'doxology'

Same for me. Haven't read any of the others.

I do have a couple of these that I picked up in charity shops but haven't read tehm
Have the Jeanette Winterson which I will eventually read , when i get through ordering books from teh interlibrary loan system at too great a speed.

Oh yeah, had teh Marlon James but took it back when I realised i wasn't going to get through both that and A short History of 7 Killings at teh same time within a month. I'm still slowly reading that several months later alongside about 10 other things at the same time.
Well, will eventually get through things and then get onto other things.

Oh my god reading both James books simultaneously might actually kill you! 7 Killings is the better book imo. They both sprawl, but BL,RW felt unfocused at times to me and the characters a little less vivid; though I'm looking forward to reading the sequel as the world is definitely enchanting. After reading it I picked up a copy of Maryse Condé's Segu but haven't started it yet, which might be up your alley too

Co-sign rob’s take on Marlon James. BL RW is good, but I’m ambivalent about committing to two tome-sized sequels. On the other hand, I couldn’t get enough of BHo7K.

I’d like to see these polls keep up at the same pace, going right into future years, with entirely speculative options.