Here at the start of the month, we’re inviting you to tell us about the novellas you’ve read since last November.
I have a special shelf of short books that I add to throughout the year. When at secondhand bookshops, charity shops, a Little Free Library, or the public library where I volunteer, I’m always thinking about my piles for November. But I do read novellas at other times of year, too. Forty-four of them between December 2023 and now, according to my Goodreads shelves (last year it was 46, so it seems like that’s par for the course). I often choose to review books of novella length for BookBrowse, Foreword and Shelf Awareness. I’ve read a real mixture, but predominantly literature in translation and autobiographical works.
My favourites of the ones I’ve already covered on the blog would probably be (nonfiction) Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti and (fiction) Aimez-vous Brahms by Françoise Sagan. My proudest achievements are: reading the short graphic novel Broderies by Marjane Satrapi in the original French at our Parisian Airbnb in December; and managing two rereads: Heartburn by Nora Ephron and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Of the short books I haven’t already reviewed here, I’ve chosen two gems, one fiction and one nonfiction, to spotlight in this post:
Fiction
Clear by Carys Davies
Clear depicts the Highland Clearances in microcosm though the experiences of one man, Ivar, the last resident of a remote Scottish island between Shetland and Norway. As in a play, there is a limited setting and cast. John is a minister sent by the landowner to remove Ivar, but an accident soon after his arrival leaves him beholden to Ivar for food and care. Mary, John’s wife, is concerned and sets off on the long journey from the mainland to rescue him. Davies writes vivid scenes and brings the island’s scenery to life. Flashbacks fill in the personal and cultural history, often via objects. The Norn language is another point of interest. The deceptively simple prose captures both the slow building of emotion and the moments that change everything. It seemed the trio were on course for tragedy, yet they are offered the grace of a happier ending.
In my book club, opinions differed slightly as to the central relationship and the conclusion, but we agreed that it was beautifully done, with so much conveyed in the concise length. This received our highest rating ever, in fact. I’d read Davies’ West and not appreciated it as much, although looking back I can see that it was very similar: one or a few character(s) embarked on unusual and intense journey(s); a plucky female character; a heavy sense of threat; and an improbably happy ending. It was the ending that seemed to come out of nowhere and wasn’t in keeping with the tone of the rest of the novella that made me mark West down. Here I found the writing cinematic and particularly enjoyed Mary as a strong character who escaped spinsterhood but even in marriage blazes her own trail and is clever and creative enough to imagine a new living situation. And although the ending is sudden and surprising, it nevertheless seems to arise naturally from what we know of the characters’ emotional development – but also sent me scurrying back to check whether there had been hints. One of my books of the year for sure. 
Nonfiction
A Termination by Honor Moore
Poet and memoirist Honor Moore’s A Termination is a fascinatingly discursive memoir that circles her 1969 abortion and contrasts societal mores across her lifetime.
During the spring in question, Moore was a 23-year-old drama school student. Her lover, L, was her professor. But she also had unwanted sex with a photographer. She did not know which man had impregnated her, but she did know she didn’t feel prepared to become a mother. She convinced a psychiatrist that doing so would destroy her mental health, and he referred her to an obstetrician for a hospital procedure. The termination was “my first autonomous decision,” Moore insists, a way of saying, “I want this life, not that life.”
Family and social factors put Moore’s experiences into perspective. The first doctor she saw refused Moore’s contraception request because she was unmarried. Her mother, however, bore nine children and declined to abort a pregnancy when advised to do so for medical reasons. Moore observes that she made her own decision almost 10 years before “the word choice replaced pro abortion.”
This concise work is composed of crystalline fragments. The stream of consciousness moves back and forth in time, incorporating occasional second- and third-person narration as well as highbrow art and literature references. Moore writes one scene as if it’s in a play and imagines alternative scenarios in which she has a son; though she is curious, she is not remorseful. The granular attention to women’s lives recalls Annie Ernaux, while the kaleidoscopic yet fluid approach is reminiscent of Sigrid Nunez’s work. It’s a stunning rendering of steps on her childfree path. 
Reprinted with permission from Shelf Awareness.
I currently have four novellas underway and plan to start some more this weekend. I have plenty to choose from!
Everyone’s getting in on the act: there’s an article on ‘short and sweet books’ in the November/December issue of Bookmarks magazine, for which I’m an associate editor; Goodreads sent around their usual e-mail linking to a list of 100 books under 250 or 200 pages to help readers meet their 2024 goal. Or maybe you’d like to join in with Wafer Thin Books’ November buddy read, the Ugandan novella Waiting by Goretti Kyomuhendo (2007).
Why not share some recent favourite novellas with us in a post of your own?
Bookish Beck = Rebecca Foster. American transplant to England. Freelance proofreader and book reviewer.
Bookish Beck 
I hated West so much that I haven’t been able to bring myself to try any Carys Davies since – but tbf the problems I had were probably quite specific to that novel.
I just finished Eva Baltasar’s Mammoth (thank you!). I actually thought it was the best-written of the trilogy, but was sorry it didn’t have more substance.
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Yes, the deus ex machina ending of West really made me cross. The ending of Clear is probably even more unlikely, but so lovely that somehow I couldn’t resent it.
You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it more than I did!
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Hi Rebecca
We are fans of Françoise Sagan. What a nice old copy you have got. And we have read Steinbeck as well. Thanks a lot for mentioning “Clear”. A novel we haven’t heard about but your review sounds interesting.
We had a look at “Termination”, well, the situation is typical for prudish and reactionary America.
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Clear is fantastic and I hope you will be able to read it.
We’re seeing more of these historical abortion stories come out now. They really put into perspective what a valuable medical right it has been for women and how perilous it is to outlaw it.
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I loved Clear and very much like the sound of A Termination. Anticipating a considerable expansion of my tbr list by the end of the month.
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A Termination reminded me a lot of Happening by Annie Ernaux.
I’m sure you’ll contribute to others’ TBR as well 😉
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I put Clear on my reading list.
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Hope you enjoy! I loved the Scottish island setting.
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I loved Clear (and Davies’ earlier The Mission House too). And I’m doing my best to get a novella or two under my belt. One already read: Pat Barker’s Blow your House Down. Reviews later!
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Brilliant! I’ve not read The Mission House but I think my library has a copy.
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👍
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Ohhh, I loved Blow Your House Down. Characters who weren’t often depicted on the page and such vibrant storytelling.
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My experience with Pat Barker is limited. That sounds like a good one!
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Clear is on my #NovNov reading list. A Termination looks really interesting – adding it to the list!
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Excellent!
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That’s a lot of novellas!
Alphabetical Diaries sound fun!
Here is my post: https://wordsandpeace.com/2024/11/01/novellas-in-november-my-year-2024-in-novellas/
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Thanks for joining in!
Alphabetical Diaries is so unusual and impressive. It’s unlike pretty much any other book I’ve read.
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Congrats on reading so many novellas!!
Like you, I now have a shelf dedicated to my novellas and all my short story collections. I also enjoy finding unusual ones or older ones in the local street libraries.
Clear is on my TBR which I have been saving for Reading Wales month. I have been very keen to get a copy of the Heti as well as I’ve enjoyed her previous work.
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I also have a short story shelf and do “Short Stories in September” — not an event so much as a personal challenge.
I always forget about Reading Wales month, though I do Reading Ireland each year (poor Wales!). I hope you’ll enjoy Clear when you get to it.
As you’ve enjoyed Heti’s work before, this one is a must. Her usual themes are all there, but the structure is so innovative.
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That’s a lovely lot of novellas! I thought I’d read Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These since last November but nope, March 2023! I am working through mine, one down, two on the go, haven’t reviewed any yet …
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I may well read the Keegan a third time after seeing the film next Wednesday.
Enjoy! We so appreciate your support, particularly on the nonfiction front.
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When I read a novella I tend to save it for November – that way I will have something for this event even if I don’t have time to read it in November! I don’t seem to read a lot of novellas without making a point of it, so it works out nicely.
I would love to read Clear!
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Yay, thank you for saving up your novellas!
I hope you can find it easily in Canada.
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I’ve pawed Clear in the library a couple of times but have yet to read his stuff. Both look good to me though.
Well you got me curious, so I checked my sheet and there are only 27 under 200 pages (taking out the poems and stories) in my log. (But I think you mentioned you are counting 150 and below this year. That wouldn’t have affected my count very much though, by the looks of them. Sone of those are older books that are really short novels and a couple are new translated books that are categorised as novels by their authors but, regardless, you are reading up a storm, almost twice what I’ve read. Well done! This year I was super focused on poetry (well, compared to last year) so I think my novella reading might have slipped a little in 2024, but I know they’ll bounce back into my stacks cuz it’s such a fab form.
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Carys Davies is a woman 🙂
My total over the past year would have included anything sub-200 pages. It’s only for this month that I’m aiming for <150, though there will be a few selections that are over that limit.
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Hahaha Y’know, I wondered that. Earlier this year Bill pointed out to me that I had arbitrarily assumed a particular NYT opinion writer to be female (spoiler: he’s not). I’ve had to watch a few videos to convince myself otherwise. This is what happens when you’ve got your face buried in type all the time and never look up!
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It’s a Welsh name some might not be familiar with.
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[…] Alphabetical Diaries: I like unusual books, whether in style or structure, so this should fit nicely: “Sheila Heti kept a record of her thoughts over a ten-year period, then arranged the sentences from A to Z. Passionate and reflective, joyful and despairing, these are her alphabetical diaries.” Ah, I remember who recommended that one: Rebecca @ Bookish Beck […]
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[…] had been on my radar from previous years, but after reading Kate and Rebecca’s reactions I’m very keen to get to it sooner rather than […]
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[…] book club selections: Clear by Carys Davies, Howards End by E.M. Forster, Strange Sally Diamond by Liz […]
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[…] Clear by Carys Davies: Depicts the Highland Clearances in microcosm though Ivar, last resident of a remote Scottish island between Shetland and Norway. John is a minister sent by the landowner to remove Ivar. Mary, John’s wife, journeys from the mainland to rescue him. Davies writes striking scenes that bring the island scenery to life. Her deceptively simple prose captures the slow building of emotion and moments that change everything. For a trio that seemed on course for tragedy, there is the grace of a happier ending. […]
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