Last Thursday I hosted the last virtual literary salon of the year and it felt like crossing a finish line of sorts after planning, promoting, researching, and facilitating 23 events over the past 12 months. This is the most events I have ever held since I launched Le Salon in 2020!
Thinking back over the books we read and met to discuss there are some clear winners: those that participants enjoyed and plots with interesting and complex ideas to be explored. There were also some obvious novels that divided participants… And, honestly, some that were unanimously panned!
I’m spilling the tea on the book winners, losers, and which ones I wish more people had taken a chance on. All of them memorable in their own way!
Clear Winners: The books that captivated participants
We kicked off the year talking about Yellowface by R.F. Kuang in January, a book that had caught the attention of readers and critics alike. This novel takes aim at the publishing industry and I have previously mentioned that questions raised during the discussion of Yellowface echoed throughout 2024. This was a book that had a big PR push behind it and folks were eager to read it. While it wasn’t unanimously loved by participants, it made for a compelling discussion.
It warmed by Gothic-lovin’ heart to be able to host on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. My major paper during my master’s degree focussed on Frankenstein (and Wuthering Heights), so I was thrilled so many people signed up to nerd out with me over this incredible novel. One of my favourite parts was hearing from participants who had never read the novel before and found it so different from the cultural image/interpretation of the Creature. Fun fact: my first ever virtual literary salon in 2020 was on Frankenstein!
At the last minute, I ended up swapping out the classic novel I had planned for November. This month is a bit tricky to plan for as we’re past people’s excitement for a Halloween read and American Thanksgiving often falls on a salon night. Eager for a lighter hearted read, I put Baroness Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel on the schedule and it became one of my most well-attended events of the year! I thoroughly enjoyed diving into the pulp aspect of the story and the layers of history (when the story is set versus when Orczy wrote it). A lot of laughs were had!
The penultimate modern novel on the Le Salon schedule was The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. An instant New York Times bestseller and included on Obama’s summer reading list, this cover was everywhere. I was intrigued by the premise that had a dual-mystery: the present-day disappearance of 13-year-old Barbara Van Laar and the disappearance of her brother 14 years earlier. The alternating POV chapters and the slow tightening of all the story threads made this a five-star read for me! Although it did divide participants: some found it too long or certain plot points too obvious.
Missed Opportunities: These books deserve more attention
There were a handful of novels that were on the schedule that I wish more people had taken a chance on. These books combine memorable stories, characters, and had so many interesting layers that were a delight to pull apart in a discussion with others. I hope, someday, that my recommendations of lesser-known titles will be as popular as Reese's book club picks!
I still find myself still thinking about the haunting story of Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm. Translated from its original Swedish, this novel follows Rafa as she takes a job as a maid at a secluded mountain resort where there are no guests. For one single night there is a party which results in one of the young maids disappearing. With rich and uncanny descriptions, this novel reflects the lessons society teaches young women and how threatening it can feel as girls come-of-age in a patriarchal world (yes, I wrote that to relfect the dual meaning in the novel too!).
I was shocked that there wasn’t more interest in June’s virtual literary salon on The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. The Netflix adaptation had just launched in April and I thought it would spur interest in the original material. If you haven’t read this novel, I highly recommend it! It is a dark, dramatic plot that confuses our sense of morality (should we root for Ripley?) and participants tackled big themes like obsession, jealousy, and justice.
At every virtual literary salon, I present readers with the author’s biography and context for the novel we’re discussing. This adds new layers to everyone’s understanding and we all have the same background info to begin the discussion. This was particularly important with The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff. Set in rural India, everyone in the town believes Geeta killed her husband so they give her a wide berth, making her an outcast. But when other women want to get rid of their no-good husbands, Geeta finds herself involved in their schemes. This was another five-star read for me: it was frustrating, feminist, and darkly funny.
Do You Remember Being Born? by Sean Michaels was a book put on my radar after hearing the author speak at the Ottawa Writer’s Festival. If you’re an avid reader, or have seen the memes online, you’ll know there is a lot of criticism (rightly so) about how some men write female characters. Refreshingly, Michaels gives us a profile of an artist, a mother, a woman who isn’t perfect. The plot follows 75-year-old Marian Ffarmer, a celebrated poet, who is tasked with writing a poem with AI in just a week. Adding to this: Michaels trained AI on the works by American poet Marianne Moore to create sections in his novel. Participants talked about the relevant topic of art and artificial intelligence, but it is the sympathy and complexity Michaels brings to Ffarmer that made it unforgettable for me.
The Lowlights: What I would have read instead
I’ve developed a bit of a theory when it comes to novels on the schedule that miss the mark: ‘bad’ novels make for great discussions!
Without a doubt the novel that was the least popular—by participation numbers and sentiment during the discussion—was Alice Hoffman’s The Invisible Hour. A retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (which we had discussed in January in preparation for Hoffman’s), The Invisible Hour lacked enough rationale—from character motivations to how time travel is possible—to create a cohesive story. But, boy, did we have fun walking through the plot holes and discussing what would have made the story work! To mirror Hawthorne’s classic novel with a modern retelling, I wish I had selected Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese instead.
And lastly, The Grace Year by Kim Liggett checked a lot of boxes to grab my attention for the Le Salon schedule: award winning female author, feminist dystopian story, popular title/cover on TikTok. Many participants felt that the first third of this novel was compelling, even anxiety inducing, but that various plot points became frustrating as they read on. This novel is constantly compared to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale, and I would suggest just reading that.
Now I have another 12 months stretching out in front of me that need planning! The January novels are already open for registration and I am excited to see what titles and authors catch reader’s attentions in 2025. Will you be adding any of the above titles to your TBR list in the New Year? If you attended one of my events this past year, thank you! What were your highlights?