Three Great Books #42

Should you need a distraction.

The Sequel, by Jean Hanff Korelitz

I cheated a bit with this recommendation, because to fully enjoy “The Sequel” you should go back and read Korelitz’s “The Plot” first. To know too much about these books would take the fun out of reading them, so I’ll keep it short. “The Plot” is about Jacob Finch Bonner, who teaches writing at a mediocre MFA program and is short on inspiration for a second novel. One of his students, however, has a fantastic idea for a book plot, and when Jacob hears that the student has died, he uses it himself. Things are going swimmingly professionally (bestseller!) and personally (new girlfriend!) when he gets an anonymous email accusing him of theft. “The Sequel” picks up where “The Plot” leaves off, and is another literary cat-and-mouse game, with an absolute sociopath of a main character. Both books are darkly funny, twisty, and completely entertaining.

Zero Stars, Do Not Recommend, by M.J. Wassmer

This has one of the best first lines I’ve read in a while: “Dan Foster was on his fifth Miller Lite when the sun exploded.” Dan and his girlfriend, Mara, are at a new resort on a private island in the Bahamas when the sky goes dark, and the doomsday vibes descend. With limited food supplies, rapidly cooling weather, and no way off the island except a single six-seater plane, class warfare breaks out among the guests. This all sounds incredibly bleak, but while there is no shortage of violence (and some deaths), this is a really funny book. The self-appointed dictator of the resort is a honey-tongued multilevel-marketer, and Dan, who is in a dead-end job and doesn’t think he’s worthy of his girlfriend’s love, accidentally becomes a leader of the opposition. Might the end of the world be Dan’s last chance to step up and become the person he’s always wanted to be? An apocalyptic delight.

Conclave, by Robert Harris

At the beginning of this page-turner, the fictional pope dies, and by the end, there’s a new one. In between, the cardinals gather in the Vatican and go through several rounds of voting for the new head of the church, not without a great deal of interpersonal drama (men, amirite?). Lomeli, dean of the College of Cardinals, is in charge of the proceedings, and doesn’t aspire to be pope himself … or does he? Others are clearly campaigning without actually campaigning, including the progressive, amiable Bellini; old-school Tedesco; the calculating Canadian Tremblay; and Adeyemi, who would be the first Black pope but has some problematic views. And then — surprise! — a cardinal named Benítez, who was secretly given his title by the former pope, shows up. The conflict and intrigue ratchet up with each successive ballot, as Lomeli tries to keep the process on track while sifting through signs that some of the candidates aren’t as they seem to be — not even the one who eventually becomes pope.