My most recent reading month began rather spectacularly and then fizzled out by the end due to work. I read hardly anything in the last week of February and what I read the week before that was mostly fantasy/YA – this is the type of fare I tend to go for when work is intense and stressful.

In some ways I’m quite happy when I’m forced to read lighter, more entertaining stuff (forced in the sense that my brain is too tired to digest anything more serious) – I read less SFF these days, because there is so much else I want to get through, but I always enjoy it. This time around, it also proved rather enlightening. I think it’s fair to say, despite the wild generalisation, that genre literature tends to be more plot driven than contemporary literary fiction. I wonder if the literary disdain for plot is related to the fact that in science fiction, fantasy, horror and romance, plot is often (although not always) central.

Be that as it may, I’m generally not bothered by the lack of plot. I do feel strongly, however, that the ability to devise an engaging story line is a special skill, one that many otherwise wonderful writers struggle with. I have read a lot of modern, highly acclaimed fiction recently and have noticed that while the books are excellent at atmosphere and description, the plots are much less strong. I don’t mean the absence of plot as a conceptual or stylistic choice, I mean plots that just don’t quite work. I do therefore want to raise a glass to the genre writers who cannot afford luxuries like this and have to make the story work.* I have been reminded that a good plot is a special pleasure.

With this mini rant in mind, here’s what I read in February:

1. The Water Cure by Sophie Macintosh. Enter book one where atmosphere beats the plot. To be fair, the atmosphere is truly amazingly done: an isolated island, a lone family, the three sisters, the weird treatments. It is a quick and compelling read that explores gender, bodies and power in an eerie environment. It does not leave you with much, however, and you need to figure out for yourself what the events mean.

2. Ghost Wall by Sara Moss. Ghost Wall tackles many of the same themes as The Water Cure – patriarchy, the bodies of (young) women, the fear of the other. But while The Water Cure has a vaguely future-ish flavour, Ghost Wall is clearly set in the past (70s? England and in a way, the Iron Age). I liked it a lot: the young protagonist is wonderfully written and the prejudices and the abuse make perfect, if horrible, sense. It is a very short and tight book that you can read in one sitting. The only issue I have with it is the ending: it feels rushed and very deus ex machina to me, not really worthy of the rest. It feels like the writer didn’t not know how to end things – and that brings me back to my point about plots being difficult. I would still very much recommend the book, though.

3. Everything Under by Daisy Johnson. Yes, you guessed it – I admired the atmosphere, disliked the plot. Johnson’s book in fact provides a fascinating example for my thesis, as she resolves the plot issue by replacing it by fate. She borrows a plot the Greeks used a long time ago and turns it into a modern story. Except that it doesn’t work, at least for me. The concept of fate is stripped of its original context here and it’s difficult to make the story believable within the constraints of an ancient myth. It feels unnatural and contorted. Which is a pity, because Johnson is a talented writer and I would have gladly read a story about mothers and daughters and a muddy river, minus the Greeks.

4. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan. This is another interesting example, because although it’s a very new novel, it feels rather old fashioned. It is a story of a slave with a remarkable destiny that involves a flying machine, octopedes, the Arctic and Marrakesh. There is no literary snobbishness here, the structure borrows from classic adventure stories and it is – especially at the beginning – a very engaging read, effortlessly written. The second half of the book illustrates again, how difficult it is to do a good story convincingly. Towards the end, there are so many coincidences that one ceases to be amazed. There are elements that cannot quite decide if they are magic realism or not. All the balls that were thrown in the air need to come down again, but they are difficult to catch and need to be manipulated into the right position. I can absolutely see why many people love this book and despite my complaints, I like it, too. It is also only fair to admit that after all my trouble with the plot, I applaud the ending.

5. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. And in the opposite corner, we have Holly Black with her new Folk of the Air series. Admittedly, this YA story with fairies is not quite at the same literary level with the books above. It is, however, plotted with extreme precision and skill. While I did not appreciate some of the tropes it uses – I am about 25 years too old to be the target group -, it is very well done it its own genre. It is also interesting because it gets truly unpleasant in places and I still haven’t made up my mind about the way it approaches a couple of topics. The protagonist isn’t just said to have questionable morals, her morals could indeed do with a review. Despite (or maybe because of) that, it was an entirely compulsive read after about the first 50 pages.

6. The Black God’s Drums by P. Djeli Clark. This one is an interesting counterpoint to Washington Black, taking place in a fictional New Orleans, with the US history playing out a bit differently to our world (plus it includes some African gods). I enjoyed it a lot, despite its small size it’s a rollocking story and because it doesn’t cover that much ground, it stays focussed. It has a slightly steampunk feel with the special flavour of the South. It also gets bonus points because I was convinced the author was female – the voice of the young girl protagonist felt totally convincing.

7. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. Not all SFF writers are natural plotters and I have a feeling that Chokshi isn’t. She is great with characters and banter, however – at least she is in this book, as I disliked The Star-Touched Queen with a passion. Anyway, The Gilded Wolves feels kind of like Six of Crows taking place in the belle époque Paris and not being quite as dark. Chokshi relies a bit too heavily on puzzles and mystery to move her plot along, but it is a very entertaining story with enjoyable characters. At least if you’re into gorgeous, super smart, charming and of course damaged teenagers.

8. The Book of Humans by Adam Rutherford. This non-fiction work doesn’t fit very well into my plot-themed post. Or maybe it does, as Rutherford is a great storyteller. I absolutely loved A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived and wowed to read everything he has written. The Book of Humans isn’t quite as good, but it’s still wonderful. It looks at what makes humans different from other animals and it’s all rather fascinating. Plus you’ll learn many weird things about sex.

How was your February? Any literary favourites or disappointments?

*There are bad plots and – especially – cliches in genre writing too, of course, but they aren’t as easily forgiven.