Six of the best big, challenging reads

Jeff VanderMeer recently served as the 2016-2017 Trias Writer-in-Residence for Hobart-William Smith College. His latest novel is Borne, which Colson Whitehead called “a thorough marvel.” He is also the author of the NYT-bestselling Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation, Authority, and Acceptance), which won the Shirley Jackson Award and Nebula Award. One of VanderMeer's six favorite big, challenging reads, as shared at The Week magazine:

2666 by Roberto Bolaño

In this mysterious, deeply human novel, an epidemic of murders of women in a Mexican city unfolds alongside — among other threads — the exploits of some traveling philosophers. The book's myriad loose ends convey a sense of the vast confusion, absurdity, and horror of life.

Read about another entry on the list.

2666 appears on Kevin Barry's 6 favorite books list, Alex Clark's top ten list of long reads, and Gillian Orr's reading list of top unfinished novels; it was #1 in one tabulation of the critics' consensus book of the year for 2008.

--Marshal Zeringue