I am, I must confess, a sucker for an adroit turn of plot. I probably have been ever since my 11-year-old jaw dropped as I read that the beautiful comb Jim sold his gold watch to buy was rendered useless as a Christmas gift for his beloved wife because she, all unbeknownst to him, had sold her long, thick hair to purchase – a chain for his treasured watch. Thanks, O. Henry, I think I needed those goosebumps!
I have, however, not been so terribly impressed with those sudden revelations of true heritage that resulted in happy reversals of fortune for formerly hapless or downtrodden characters (a la Henry Fielding’s “Tom Jones” and, if I’m remembering correctly, some Dickensian protagonist or another). Nevertheless, there have been a couple of novels that have utterly flabbergasted me with plot twists midway through or near the end that cast everything read up to that point in a blazing new light.
It’s a little difficult to discuss here while avoiding spoilers, which truly skilled book reviewers manage to do all the time, but in the spirit of recommending some riveting reads, I’ll offer Ian McEwan’s sweeping 2001 novel “Atonement” as a prime example. While we know from the title that somebody somewhere has to be making amends for something pretty bad, how that plays out over the course of a lifetime in what The Economist hailed as “a work of astonishing depth and humanity” both widened my eyes and filled them with tears. The 2007 movie version, while beautifully filmed, could not begin to accomplish the same thing, as A.O. Scott so succinctly pointed out in a New York Times review that compared the two: “Mr. McEwan’s prose pulls you in immediately and drags you through an intricate, unsettling story, releasing you in a shaken, wrung-out state. The film, after a tantalizing start, sputters to a halt in a welter of grandiose imagery and hurtling montage.”
Another, more recent novel that made me gasp in shock was Bay Area author Karen Joy Fowler’s “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves,” a 2013 novel with a gut-wrenching “reveal” that is rendered all the more palpable because, even though it seems fantastical, it was inspired by a real series of events. One of its chief virtues is the compelling, wry and often quite funny voice of its narrator Rosemary, a troubled young woman who spends the bulk of the novel rehashing and musing about her highly unusual upbringing and wondering about two of her missing siblings. A finalist for the prestigious Man Booker Prize in 2014, it has drawn quite a lot of chatter on the internet, so if you want to read it, do avoid rooting around on the web beforehand.
Let the rumblings begin: Litquake, that inspired extravaganza of book and author-related happenings that has spread out over multiple Bay Area venues every fall since 1999, is ramping up again. From Oct. 5 through Oct. 21, some 50 events, many free of charge, will be bringing readers and writers together at locations as diverse as Grace Cathedral, the Make-Out Room, the San Francisco Botanical Gardens, Marines’ Memorial Theatre and many more. As is customary, the festival closes out with a booze-infused Lit Crawl from 5 to 9 p.m. on closing night, this time in the Mission District with more than 40 pubs, clubs and other hosting sites participating. You can iron out your own game plan by checking out all the events on Litquake.org, but here are three juicy offerings that caught my eye. On Oct. 10, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the City Lights bookstore, Justin Torres, author of the phenomenal first novel “We the Animals” (so good I read it twice!) will be featured in conversation with author Jonathan Escoffery about his new, highly experimental novel “Blackouts,” which comes out from Farrar, Straus and Giroux on that date and has already landed on the long list for the National Book Award. The event is free, with a suggested $5-$10 donation, and you can preregister on the Litquake website. On Oct. 13, from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Verdi Club, the Porchlight Storytelling series returns to Litquake with six authors holding forth, without notes, on the special theme “Tricks Up My Sleeve: Invisible Magic.” The big draw, for my money, is my all-time favorite “Jeopardy! champion, Oakland’s Amy Schneider, whose memoir, “In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life,” comes out from Simon & Schuster’s Avid Reader Press on Oct. 3. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, at 2424 Mariposa St. On Oct. 18, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., award-winning novelist and short story writer Jonathan Lethem (“Motherless Brooklyn” “The Fortress of Solitude,” etc., etc.) will be discussing his new “Brooklyn Crime Novel,” coming out from Ecco on Oct. 3. The event is co-sponsored by the Boxcar Theatre and City Lights, where you will receive a black envelope guiding you to the secret location after you show proof of your $10 preregistration fee. We’re not sure what all the hush-hush is about, but cocktails, beginning at 7 p.m., will be involved.
In the running: Since we already mentioned Justin Torres’ “Blackout,” it is appropriate to name the other nine fiction writers who have emerged from a list of nearly 500 submitted by their publishers to land on the National Book Awards long list: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of “Chain-Gang All Stars” (Pantheon Books/Penguin Random House); Aaliya Bilal, author of “Temple Folk” (Simon & Schuster); Eliot Duncan, author of “Ponyboy” (W.W. Norton & Company); Paul Harding, author of “This Other Eden” (W.W. Norton & Company); Tania James, author of “Loot” (Knopf/Penguin Random House); Jayne Anne Phillips, author of “Night Watch” (Knopf/Penguin Random House); Mona Susan Power, author of “A Council of Dolls” (Mariner Books/HarperCollins Publishers); Hanna Pylväinen, author of “The End of Drum-Time” (Henry Holt & Company/Macmillan Publishers); and LaToya Watkins, author of “Holler, Child” (Tiny Reparations Books/Penguin Random House). Five finalists emerge on Oct. 3, with the winner announced Nov. 15.
Censuring the censors: The American Library Association, observing Oct. 1 through Oct. 7 as this year’s Banned Books Week, has released its list of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2022, and since there were five volumes that drew the exact same number of challenges across the country, the list has been expanded to 13. As it is every year, the chief reasons cited for the challenges are LGBTQ and/or sexually explicit content. At the top of the list, facing 151 cries for removal from shelves, is Maia Kobabe’s “Gender Queer.” Following it, in descending order: George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” with 86 protests; the recurrent listee “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, 73; Mike Curato’s “Flamer,” 62; John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” and Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” which both drew 55; Jonathan Evison’s “Lawn Boy,” 54; another recurring book, Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” 52; Ashley Hope Perez’s “Out of Darkness,” 50; and Sarah J. Maas’ “A Court of Mist and Fury,” Ellen Hopkins’ “Crank,” Jesse Andrews’ “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” and Juno Dawson’s “This Book Is Gay,” which all drew 48 challenges.
Meanwhile, San Francisco-based Arion Press, which specializes in hand-printed and beautifully illustrated books in limited editions, has announced its final exhibition for 2023 will be “(un)BANNED,” opening Oct. 14 and running through Dec. 15. Ten local artists have been commissioned to present “a diverse array of works celebrating the power of books to expand imaginations, open paths to empathy and act as bulwarks against fear and misunderstanding.” The artists, including Maia Kobabe, the cartoonist and writer who produced this year’s most challenged book, “Gender Queer,” will be present at the opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at the gallery, 1802 Hays St., in the Presidio. Drinks and light refreshments will be served; find more information at arionpress.com.
Hooked on Books is a monthly column by Sue Gilmore on current literary buzz and can’t-miss upcoming book events. Look for it here every last Thursday of the month.