Well yes, friends! The day comes when all the “best of 2023” lists pale, despite the title of the entry, before the proverbial independence, modesty and good taste of the ULAD reviewers. Because we are not looking at the list of guests at the critic’s wedding. (no, Babelia and El Cultural, we are not saying that you do that) and because we do not intend to give a lecture by saying what is the best that has been published in 2023 (damn, there are a gazillion new things and we will have read 0.0001%!). This alone is, nothing more and nothing less, the best thing we have read in 2023.
We cannot give way to the list without first remembering what for us has been the worst news that 2023 could have left us: the death, in the month of August, of our colleague Emilio. The reviews that he left scheduled and that we have been publishing in recent months give an idea of what for Emilio were his best readings of the year.
Without further ado, here is our opinion
Koldo’s verdict (for now):
John’s sentence:
Oriol’s word:
- Best novel: The submissive by Fyodor M. Dostoevsky.
- Other highly reclaimable novels: The key de Junichiro Tanizaki, The ladies’ prize but Gyula Krúdy, The Walker de Natsume Soseki, Background sea by Patricia Highsmith, Strength de Meša Selimović, Estio de Edith Wharton, midnight cowboy by James Leo Herlihy and Beasts by Joyce Carol Oates.
- Best Anthologies: Flying Plane by JG Ballard, The sign of the times de Oda Sakunosakue, Vital space by James Alan McPherson and The company of wolves by Angela Carter.
- Extravagant, curious and intense reading experiences: Modulorama from VV.AA., The statue that trembles by Tamara Romero, The bottle by Luis Gusmán, The Unicorn by Javier Tomeo y Three Cenobite Rites the Helen Baku.
- Mischief that seems to have been written for me: Cromosoma Splatter from VV.AA., Leatherette by Alba Lucero and El sheriff Goodman contra Pinhead… de Takeshi García-Ashirogi.
- Classic that has aged quite well: The student from Salamanca by José de Espronceda (I also highly recommend his comic adaptation titled Montemar).
- Classic that hasn’t dazzled me: Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus.
- No big surprises in nonfiction, though The art of being right by Arthur Schopenhauer had its grace and substance.
Francis’ sentence:
Things must not have gone very well when I had to revisit my reviews to be able to compose this list. So
- Memories that prevail without excessive effort, that is, VERY GOOD: Construction Material by Eider Rodríguez, or how to deal well, literary, with loss, and Les voltes del món by Tuli Márquez, let’s see if the publishing world finds out about the talent of this man and it is translated into Spanish.
- Too many essays that have been left half-done or that have given me the impression that they do not connect deeply with reality, so I will not mention them. Reality does not make it easy, changing every now and then.
- Some musical biography that has more narrative pulse than much narrative, like Bobby Gillespie in A Kid from the Neighborhood or Jarvis Cocker in Good Pop Bad Pop
- Strange reunion twice with Houellebecq, of whom A few months of my life has shown me a surprising fragile and victimist attitude. Curious that his approach to himself has made him blur his sharp vision of society.
- And let’s see if things improve. In other words, the totems are right or the eternal promises are consolidated. Now please.
In a year of quite few reads (once again), there have fortunately been some good or very good ones:
Resolution (appealable) of Carlos
- Novel Podium: The suicides, de Antonio Di Benedetto (gold), Correction, by Thomas Bernhard (silver, review in a few days), The blind ants, by Ramiro Pinilla (bronze)
- Classics and Theater: not much, and not to celebrate it too much: Aeneid, of Virgil, and The four-quarter opera, the Bertolt Brecht
- Science: The ten keys to reality, the Frank Wilczek
- Music and cultural world: Bulbanchaby Jacobo Rivero
- History: The great cat massacre and other episodes in the history of French cultureRobert Darnton
- Trips: Sixty weeks in the tropics, by Antonio Escohotado
- Military literature: equal No news at the front, by Erich Maria Remarque, and The battle of the Ebro, by Jorge M. Reverte
- Thought/Sociology: The great theater of the world, Philip Blom
- Until: 20 tons, by Luis Izquierdo-Mosso
Marc’s opinion:
- Book of the year: «A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
- Essay of the year: “Survival of the richest” by Douglas Rushkoff
- Great consolidations in narrative: Xavier Mas Craviotto, for “The skin of the world”
- Discoveries of the year (authors): Byung-Chul Han with “The Expulsion of the Different”
- More books will drop by: Clarice Lispector, Siri Hustvedt, Amor Towles, Paul Auster
- Resolutions for 2024: more poetry, continue with more essays and rediscover narrative after a year without great readings
Source: https://unlibroaldia.blogspot.com/2023/12/2023-en-libros-el-unico-veredicto-que.html
