G.K. Belliveau's 3 favorite reads in 2023

American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer was an incredible feat of writing.

Bird and Sherwin constructed a narrative so powerfully that it read like a novel. This is so hard to do when tackling such an iconic life as Oppenheimer’s. From the very beginning we are introduced to this “wonder-kid” who speaks multiple languages and is quite simply a genius, awkward, out of sorts, bullied… and who eventually not only finds a path forward but actually hacks the path single-handedly into the atomic future and his own mythmaking status.

And that is the fundamental pleasure of this epic and incredibly well-researched biography, we watch the boy genius grow up with all the foibles, quirks, magnificence, worshipers and haters that such genius intellects collect along their strange journey through life’s messy roadways.

The drama of a young academic so boldly creating a theoretical physics department by himself; the stunning relationships forged with the greatest physicists in the Western world; the leadership and folly of Los Alamos; the child-like fascination of brilliant minds working to solve the atomic problem… which ultimately leads to the greatest destructive force ever created by man; the horror and rebellions, the attacks by his jealous accusers – all of this is brilliantly captured in wonderous detail, well-constructed plot arcs that build amazing characterization of all the major and minor characters of Oppenheimer’s age.

 This is a National Book Award must read. This is a biography for every shelf.

Ishiguro is a master at combining both amazing world-building and dynamic and controlled prose. The Buried Giant is a master class in both! But that’s what one expects by a Nobel Prize winning author of The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. But let’s be specific in our praise.

First, let’s take a closer look at the world-building. When a writer chooses a world to populate, he/she steps into the “known/new” dilemma. This is the conundrum of what is out there, what would be derivative, what would be cliché or such a well-trodden path that to use it would ruin my career – and all of this juxtaposed to: what is something new I can say? Well, Ishiguro decides on Arthurian Legend.

That choice alone is so daunting for most writers that they don’t even consider it. Ishiguro not only considers it, dives deep into it, and by doing so… elevates it all to something profound. The world is so steeped in historical research, so steeped in conflicts and feuds of that time (Anglo vs Saxon) – his world so well mapped and thought out that the reader is immersed In Medias Res that all we need do is observe, collect, and enjoy.

Secondly, the prose – as any reader of his work will understand – is delightfully subtle, incredibly controlled, an ultra-fine brush used in such minute and delightful ways. What do I mean? Ishiguro uses minimalism as a technique to capture the fantastical, and by doing so grounds it into the real, the concrete.

In one magnificent stroke he couples the mundanity and sadness, the terror of what Malcom Gladwell called “A World Lit Only by Fire” with a spell-induced mist, a terrifying dragon, and a cunning Saxon who is a wonderfully, dare I say brilliantly constructed. These are both known AND new elements, and when combined on Ishiguro’s palate…. They create a story filled with sadness, love, hope, and tragedy.

This is a must read for all fantasy readers, but most importantly all readers who delight in great storytelling and amazing craft. 

Lavalle’s The Changeling is everything the hype says it is.

It is a dark fairy tale (really horror) told in such compelling prose that one cannot stop reading. Cryptic in its approach (for to choose another way to tell it would be cliché), Lavelle’s carefully told story combines all the genre’s elements – supernatural, thriller, panic-inducing moments, and deeply felt and deeply resonating psychologically complex characters and ideas.

It is hard to create such a sustained and intense story arc, one filled with mystery and “what happens next.” Any observant reader understands the referential nature of the yarn from the very beginning: a dream-plagued Apollo, the main character, must find meaning in a world where supernatural events continually try to separate those things he holds dear: his books, his wife, and his newly born child.

This is a terror tour de force, and it will keep reading and leaving the lights on late into the night.