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Best Book of 1982: A Boy’s Own Story
O Thiam Chin
‘It didn’t occur to me that reading and being a reader was two very distinct things, one an act and a skill, and the other a role and a persona’
O Thiam Chin’s best book of 1982.
Best Book of 1982: Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
Eleanor Chandler
‘While the terrible pain of speech is made clear, this book ultimately reminds us that we must not be silenced.’
Best Book of 1991: Mao II by Don DeLillo
Colin Barrett
‘The ultimate goal of each act of art, each work of terror, is to demolish the old, incumbent reality, and create a new one.’
Best Book of 1996: The Lost Lunar Baedeker
Natalie Eilbert
‘Mina Loy has been a preferred voice in my head, echoing with a signature delirious chant as a kind of primordial poetry mother.’
Best Book of 2000: The Moral Obligation to be Intelligent
Will Boast
Will Boast on why Lionel Trilling’s The Moral Obligation to be Intelligent is the best book of 2000.
Best Book of 2001: Natural Goodness
Julian Baggini
Julian Baggini on why Philippa Foot’s Natural Goodness is the best book of 2001.
Best Book of 2006: The Re-Emergence of Global Finance
Oliver Bullough
Oliver Bullough on why Gary Burn's The Re-Emergence of Global Finance is the best book of 2006.
Best Book of 2008: The Alphabet
Rae Armantrout
Rae Armantrout on why Ron Silliman's The Alphabet is the best book of 2008.
Best Book of 2008: To the End of the Land, by David Grossman
Lily Dunn
‘David Grossman is a writer who speaks to the heart, and this is his masterpiece.’
Best Book of 2009: William Vollmann’s Imperial
Sam Byers
Sam Byers on why William Vollmann’s Imperial is the best book of 2009
Best Book of 2011: Kingdom Animalia
Nell Boeschenstein
‘As the title suggests, this is a book about the family of animals, the family of man, and the family of family.’
Best Story of 1965: ‘Everything That Rises Must Converge’
Aimee Bender
Aimee Bender on why Flannery O’Connor's ‘Everything That Rises Must Converge’ is the best story of 1965.
