Christina Lynch's 3 favorite reads in 2023

I love historical fiction that makes a moment in time come alive, but also adds a lens to it—otherwise why read fiction?

The Marriage Portrait plunged me into the 16th century in Florence and Ferrara, and showed those familiar palaces to me through the lens of how powerful men manipulate women, and how women who seem to have no power in a society can still fight back. It also makes me see the famous Browning poem and all of the court portraits of the era in a new light.

I loved the highly layered details, and admired the way O’Farrell created nonstop dramatic tension in the novel. This is a super intense story that never lets up.

I met the author at a writers’ workshop and ordered the book out of solidarity, and then was happily blown away by the tight, smart prose, especially in the second of the two novellas, which is about a boy who finds a sailboat half buried in the sand and restores it.

I found the story spare and intensely moving. This book is like a secret treasure—a real find.

This is another short book (in terms of pages) that nevertheless packs a huge emotional punch. It made me laugh, cry, and all the feelings in between.

A collection of short stories, each one features characters who are longing, yearning, but also laughing, and using power in fresh and funny ways. The wordplay is fantastic. Loved this book so much.