The Believer Magazine has published its longlist for best fiction released in 2018 (the award also covers poetry and, for the first time, non-fiction).
I’ve always been interested in what the editors of The Believer Mag nominate given they consider works “they found to be the best written and most underappreciated”. The award, that features mostly small presses, is a cross between The Goldsmiths Prize and the newly established (into its second year) Republic of Consciousness Prize (RoC).
Of the 11 books (including 1 graphic novel) on the longlist I own nearly all of them (so clearly I have my finger on the pulse when it comes to underappreciated fiction) but I’ve only read two (is something underappreciated if you buy it and don’t read it?). I loved Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata but was less keen on A Short Film about Disappointment by Joshua Mattson (which I felt pissed it’s clever premise – a narrative, set in the future, told through film reviews – against the proverbial wall).
Of course all of this leads to the inevitable question: Will I read the other nine books given I own a chunk of them and I’ve been meaning to read novels like Shelley Jackson’s Riddance but have never found the time?
Yes.
But not all at once. Like the forthcoming RoC longlist (announced next week I think), I’ll pick at the nominees over a number of months. I might even find the time to write a few words about each book.
