Jonathan Coe
Jonathan Coe is the author of seven novels, including The Rotters’ Club and The Closed Circle. He recently received the Samuel Johnson prize for Like a Fiery Elephant, a biography of B.S. Johnson.
Buy Like a Fiery Elephant at Amazon
The Echoing Grove by Rosamond Lehmann (Virago, $15). The masterpiece of a writer who deserves a much wider international reputation than she has. A seemingly conventional love triangle made dizzying by labyrinthine narrative tactics and an overwhelming attention to physical and emotional detail.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Christie Malry’s Own Double-Entry by B.S. Johnson (New Directions, $16). Hard to choose a single novel by this great and neglected experimentalist, but this is perhaps the most accessible. Its story of an accountant’s one-man war against society also provides an insight into the terrorist mentality, which makes it topical. The bleak humor gives it enormous energy.
Mr. Mee by Andrew Crumey (Picador, $15). Like most of the other authors on this list, Crumey is criminally underrated. He writes in the mode of Borges, Kundera, and Pavic, and is almost in the same class. This gem is about a reclusive bibliophile who strays onto the Internet in search of 18th-century rarities and ends up lost in a sea of online porn. It’s warm and wise and funny.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Third Policeman
1982, Janine
The Fountains of Neptune
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Sarah Langan recommends 6 women-centric horror books
Feature The horror novelist recommends works by Stephen King, Gillian Flynn, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Keith O'Brien's 6 must-read books about significant moments in sports history
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Laura Hillenbrand, Jonathan Eig and more
By The Week US Published
-
Lauren Oyler's favorite collection of essays that will leave you deep in thought
Feature The author recommends works by Elif Batuman, Mark Greif, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rebecca Serle's 6 favorite books about interpersonal relationships
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by J.D. Salinger, Dolly Alderton, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Cristina Henríquez's 6 popular books with historical themes
Feature The novelist recommends works by Min Jin Lee, Kurt Vonnegut, and more
By The Week US Published