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Need to read but suffering drought of commitment, so am taking the advice of Boone and going for short novels, which seem suited to these strange days.
No hard and fast rules on what constitutes short, but 200 pages at the VERY most.
What slim novels changed your life?
No hard and fast rules on what constitutes short, but 200 pages at the VERY most.
What slim novels changed your life?
Human Voices, Penelope Fitzgerald (200pp @4thEstateBooks)
Tentacle, Rita Indiana (132pp @andothertweets)
Jesus' Son, Denis Johnson (133pp @GrantaBooks)
Tentacle, Rita Indiana (132pp @andothertweets)
Jesus' Son, Denis Johnson (133pp @GrantaBooks)
Mrs Caliban, Rachel Ingalls (81pp Everyman)
Thousand Cranes, Yasunari Kawabata (101pp @PenguinClassics)
The Pork Butcher, David Hughes (123pp Constable)
Thousand Cranes, Yasunari Kawabata (101pp @PenguinClassics)
The Pork Butcher, David Hughes (123pp Constable)
A Feast of Snakes, Harry Crews (177pp @ScribnerBooks)
The Notebook, Agota Kristof (167pp @CBeditions)
The Girls of Slender Means, Muriel Spark (142pp @PenguinUKBooks)
The Notebook, Agota Kristof (167pp @CBeditions)
The Girls of Slender Means, Muriel Spark (142pp @PenguinUKBooks)
The Crazy Hunter, Kay Boyle (139pp @NewDirections)
The Road to the City, Natalia Ginzburg (68pp @arcadepub)
Dancing With Mermaids, Miles Gibson (175pp Paladin)
The Road to the City, Natalia Ginzburg (68pp @arcadepub)
Dancing With Mermaids, Miles Gibson (175pp Paladin)
In a Lonely Place, Dorothy B Hughes (198pp @nyrbclassics)
The Blue Room, Georges Simenon (155pp @PenguinClassics)
The End of the Affair, Graham Greene (160pp @vintagebooks)
The Blue Room, Georges Simenon (155pp @PenguinClassics)
The End of the Affair, Graham Greene (160pp @vintagebooks)
Other Voices Other Rooms, Truman Capote (173pp @PenguinClassics)
Party Going, Henry Green (163pp @nyrbclassics)
The Woodcutters, Thomas Bernhard (181pp @FaberBooks)
Party Going, Henry Green (163pp @nyrbclassics)
The Woodcutters, Thomas Bernhard (181pp @FaberBooks)
Utz, Bruce Chatwin (127pp @vintagebooks)
Sleepless Nights, Elizabeth Hardwick (128pp @nyrbclassics)
The Iliac Crest, Cristina Rivera Garza (132pp @andothertweets)
Sleepless Nights, Elizabeth Hardwick (128pp @nyrbclassics)
The Iliac Crest, Cristina Rivera Garza (132pp @andothertweets)
Great Granny Webster, Caroline Blackwood (108pp @nyrbclassics)
Comemadre, Roque Larraquy (129pp @Coffee_House_)
So Long See You Tomorrow, William Maxwell (135pp Harvill Press)
Comemadre, Roque Larraquy (129pp @Coffee_House_)
So Long See You Tomorrow, William Maxwell (135pp Harvill Press)
Fat City, Leonard Gardner (185pp @PushkinPress)
We Who Are About To, Joanna Russ (119pp @PenguinUKBooks)
Desperate Characters, Paula Fox (156pp Flamingo)
We Who Are About To, Joanna Russ (119pp @PenguinUKBooks)
Desperate Characters, Paula Fox (156pp Flamingo)
Kingdom Cons; Signs Preceding the End of the World; The Transmigration of Bodies
Yuri Herrera's three dark and magical borderland tales are small masterpieces at under 120pp each and all are available in Lisa Dillman's elegant translations from @andothertweets
Yuri Herrera's three dark and magical borderland tales are small masterpieces at under 120pp each and all are available in Lisa Dillman's elegant translations from @andothertweets
The Vet's Daughter, Barbara Comyns (159pp @ViragoBooks)
The Hawkline Monster, Richard Brautigan (142pp @picadorbooks)
Perversity, Francis Carco—and translated by THAT Jean Rhys! (120pp Black Lizard)
The Hawkline Monster, Richard Brautigan (142pp @picadorbooks)
Perversity, Francis Carco—and translated by THAT Jean Rhys! (120pp Black Lizard)
Three minor infractions of the rules:
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth Taylor (206pp @ViragoBooks)
After Claude, Iris Owens (206pp @nyrbclassics)
Brief Lives, Anita Brookner (217pp @PenguinUKBooks)
Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth Taylor (206pp @ViragoBooks)
After Claude, Iris Owens (206pp @nyrbclassics)
Brief Lives, Anita Brookner (217pp @PenguinUKBooks)
Three Penguin cheats (they were often very tightly typeset at >400 words per page):
The Small Back Room, Nigel Balchin (192ppl
Prelude to a Certain Midnight, Gerald Kersh (191pp)
The Victorian Chaise-Longue, Marghanita Laski (126pp)
The Small Back Room, Nigel Balchin (192ppl
Prelude to a Certain Midnight, Gerald Kersh (191pp)
The Victorian Chaise-Longue, Marghanita Laski (126pp)
The Beetle Leg, John Hawkes (159pp @NewDirections)
Suite For Barbara Loden, Nathalie Léger (123pp @LesFugitives)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Anita Loos (156pp @picadorbooks)
Suite For Barbara Loden, Nathalie Léger (123pp @LesFugitives)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Anita Loos (156pp @picadorbooks)
Three great recent short reads:
This is Pleasure, Mary Gaitskill (84pp @serpentstail)
Fever Dream, Samanta Schweblin (151pp @OneworldNews)
Ghost Wall, Sarah Moss (152pp @GrantaBooks)
This is Pleasure, Mary Gaitskill (84pp @serpentstail)
Fever Dream, Samanta Schweblin (151pp @OneworldNews)
Ghost Wall, Sarah Moss (152pp @GrantaBooks)
Three essential short reads from @nyrbclassics
A King Alone, Jean Giono (155pp)
Basic Black With Pearls, Helen Weinzweig (146pp)
My Face For The World To See, Alfred Hayes (131pp)
A King Alone, Jean Giono (155pp)
Basic Black With Pearls, Helen Weinzweig (146pp)
My Face For The World To See, Alfred Hayes (131pp)
Fup, Jim Dodge (89pp @canongatebooks)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson (146pp @PenguinClassics)
Cousin K, Yasmina Khadra (79pp @UnivNebPress)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson (146pp @PenguinClassics)
Cousin K, Yasmina Khadra (79pp @UnivNebPress)
Three quick French noir reads:
Fatale, Jean-Patrick Manchette (91pp @serpentstail)
The A26, Pascal Garnier (100pp @BelgraviaB)
The Pitards, Georges Simenon (136pp @PenguinUKBooks)
Fatale, Jean-Patrick Manchette (91pp @serpentstail)
The A26, Pascal Garnier (100pp @BelgraviaB)
The Pitards, Georges Simenon (136pp @PenguinUKBooks)
