My Top Ten New York Review Books of All Time

I discovered the New York Review Books a few years ago, possibly just before I'd started university and since then, I have been addicted to exploring them and reading the many books that I thought I would've missed out on. From historical fiction to historical non-fiction, from abstract novels to literary criticism, there is a wide range of books to read in the series that you could hardly ever get bored as a reader.

These books are considered masterpieces of the genre, some are widely known and some are lesser known and obscure. The feeling of discovering a lesser known classic of genre fiction that you absolutely love is a feeling I would say that is close to reaching nirvana. I have always been fascinated with the way in which the NYRB chooses the books they are going to publish and how they choose what is going into a certain series or not. There are so many books to count of theirs that I don't think I could ever read them all. They are still publishing more and more classics and so, I'm going to have a lot to read over the coming years!

What we are going to do is have a look at the ten best New York Review Books I've read and examine what they're about and why I love them so much. Hopefully, I can inspire you to have a look through the extensive and impressive catalogue of NYRB and come out with your own top ten list someday. They are incredible books - you will definitely find something you enjoy in there. So, without further introductions, let us get started on my top ten for this list...

My Top Ten New York Review Books of All Time

10. The Fox in the Attic by Richard Hughes

This book has all the atmosphere of a proper war-time novel but then again, it reads like it was written by someone who lived it. In this book I found not only heart-wrenching emotion but there was also a massive influence of power politics on the novel. How various people came into power sort of shakes the very experience of the book and the terrifying portrait worded of one Adolf Hitler is enough to strike fear into your heart and send shivers straight into your soul. I'm not going to lie, the descriptions of Hitler really made me shudder - they are hyper-realistic.

9. The Storyteller Essays by Walter Benjamin

Now, I know Walter Benjamin to be a pretty good philosopher that I've studied somewhat sporadically throughout my higher education. But, with this book it was different. The initial reason I picked this up isn't because it was a NYRB or because it was written by Benjamin. The reason I first lifted this book is because it was all about storytellers and how stories are told, why they're told and our fascination with them. I love to read things of that nature and, with Walter Benjamin, he brings his own philosophical studies into it and it becomes something even more beautiful. It is something even more full of thought and human comprehension.

8. Novels in Three Lines by Felix Feneon

Some are upsetting, some are satirical and some are out of this world. Feneon's book had me feeling so many different emotions at once. It is what it says, the stories are three lines each and there are many of them throughout the book. I thought that Feneon was doing an experiment in compression. I thought it was something like 'oh let's see if you really need to describe a sofa in a whole damn paragraph Proust...' and instead, Feneon would evoke the same emotion from three lines that was the entire story. Inspiring generations of flash fiction writers and many people who compress their works, Feneon proves that there is a lot to be done when it comes to shortening the length but heightening the feeling. He did it absolutely perfectly.

7. The Other by Thomas Tryon

I had heard about this through social media and it scared the hell out of me. I read it and all I could think all the way through was 'what the hell am I reading? What is even going on?' This book is about two brothers where one of them is strange to say the least. It's one of those books you don't read at night because it's kind of sickening, kind of frightening and kind of creepy. It just gives you weird shuddery vibes all over.

6. The Tenants of Moonbloom by EL Wallant

This book was a lot more interesting than it sounds. First of all, you have Norman - a man who has a job to do for his brother Irwin. Irwin wants him to go around to the apartments Irwin owns and collect rent, listen to their needs etc. Norman does just this and meets some interesting characters. There's a musician and there's an old couple, there's some criminal characters and a man I think is based on James Baldwin. It's a pretty great book with many personalities. I really couldn't believe how good it was when I read it.

5. A Handbook on Hanging by Charles Duff

When I first heard of this book I thought that the title couldn't be literal. I couldn't be an actual handbook on the pros and arguments on hanging people. But no, it is. Alas, it is a book about hanging people and also mentions some other forms of execution sporadically. One thing I really enjoyed about this book though was the way in which the structure helps you read it. You get little subheadings that break up the book in the margin. I don't know whether you just want to sit there and flat out read a book about hanging in about three hours. I did.

4. A Way of Life, Like Any Other by Darcy O'Brien

This book is about a child of two Hollywood has-beens. The parents break up and the mother goes into this weird meltdown and meets a European guy who takes her for a ride. The father, on the other hand, seems to be doing okay but the son doesn't really see him much. The mother is the one the protagonist is most worried about because after the relationship with the new guy begins, the mother and son move into his very small and cramped studio. It is apparent that the mother is suffering greatly and yet, this turbulent love affair only seems to be making things worse.

3. Morte D'Urban by JF Powers

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. I had owned it for a long time and I have no idea why I'd been putting it off for so long because it was amazing. It stars a priest who is delegated a place far away from his own home to go and do-up. But, there are many other things going on in the book - there are people losing faith, money troubles in the church, people suspecting people of blasphemy. I think JF Powers' book is supposed to be satirical of the church and state in America but yet, it seems to be outwardly funny. I loved the writing style, it was completely immersive.

2. We Think the World of You by JR Ackerley

This book was not what I expected at all. I thought it was going to be about the adventures of two friends in a feuding family. Yes, it was that but I didn't expect the dog to get dragged into it. When the protagonist goes to visit his friend's family, he gets fobbed off and insulted. His friend, Johnny, is in jail and they refuse to let them speak to each other and don't tell him when to visit. However, our protagonist develops a close relationship to Johnny's dog. Helping the dog out of the grasp of Johnny's abusive parent seems to be the right thing to do as Johnny's father is said to have been beating the dog. It's one of those rare beautiful novels which is actually really existential and deep.

1. When the World Spoke French by Marc Fumaroli

This was brilliant and to date, it is my favourite New York Review Book. It is all about the way in which people corresponded in French and what they wrote about. The lives of famous French people and people who simply spoke French. You get letters from people like Voltaire and you get to know not only the private information, but the popular topics of philosophy, ideas about religion, views on politics and law, money and property, from back in that day. It is one of the most fascinating things you could read and I am so glad this book even exists at all. It is a wonder.