Hooray! Time to list the best debut novels of 2020 from my reading list. You will find artists in open marriages, girl friendships in Seoul and child detectives determined to crack a mystery.
Best Debut Novels of 2020
1. Luster by Raven Leilani
Luster is a masterpiece and there is no other word that can aptly describe it. I checked twice after finishing the read whether it was a debut novel because Leilani’s power over the pen is spectacular. Luster follows a black woman and artist, who has made some not-so-wise sexual decisions in her past. She is soon unemployed and finds herself tangled in the lives of a suburban white couple in an open marriage, and their adopted black child. I gulped this down and my good-books-parched-throat never felt better. Highly recommended.
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2. If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
The best ever! I adored If I Had Your Face and I have been recommending it to everyone, everywhere. This is a slice of life novel that follows five women (four according to the blurb, but I felt the side character was well developed enough to be included as a main character) in contemporary Seoul. Cha takes us on a tour through salons where a woman with ample plastic surgery done on her body is pining for love, a mute hairstylist who is also a fangirl, her friend who wants to gift her a plastic surgery session, a childless woman who is pregnant and worried, and an orphan artist who is in a relationship (but not a good one). It is a joy to read a relatable novel that explores women’s agency, patriarchy and beauty standards with such deftness. If I Had Your Face is character-driven, so those who look for strict plot lines might be disappointed. As for me, I loved it and I will be thinking of these women for a long, long time.
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3. The Women who Forgot to Invent Facebook by Nisha Susan
Susan’s women and short stories surprised me page after page. Are sex maps a handy hack? Is the writer sex-chatting with a literary agent going to break her soul, or does she have a happy ending? What happens to the stylish dancing girls who flirted unapologetically and danced wearing sleeveless blouses? Is the woman who looks into censoring on social media doing okay, and does she have friends?
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4. These, Our Bodies Possessed by Light by Dharini Bhaskar
If you have a thing for poetic prose that sparkles with every sentence, there’s These, Our Bodies Possessed by Light to add to your reading list. I really enjoyed peeping into the lives of three generations of women who hold the family together by white lies, love and secrets. Bhaskar has crafted each sentence with care, and the five women—the adventurous grandmother, the docile mother, and the three girls—have their own personalities that break against one another like waves, but also swirl together in peace.
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Also read : The five novels in the JCB prize shortlist that are worth your time
5. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line was one of the earliest novels I read in 2020. I went in with a skeptical heart wondering if it would be another tiresome Slumdog Millionaire in a new bottle for the West but was pleasantly surprised with the excellent child narrator who, with his friends, is determined to solve the mystery of kids disappearing in his basti, a touch of whimsy, the stark class differences and the darker alleys of the unnamed city (that could be Delhi) where crime thrives. Definitely one of the best debut novels of 2020.
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Also read: Three debut novels to read in 2020
6. Braised Pork by An Yu
Braised Pork is a slow, quiet novel set in Beijing night life and Tibetan high plains. It begins with Jia Jia discovering her husband dead in a bathtub and unfolds through dreams and travels. I really enjoyed the read, and wish it was seen on more book lists this year because it really is one of the best debut novels of 2020. The book captures your attention with its art, magical realism, the places Jia Jia travels to, and the quietness, so loud that you cannot stop reading.
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7. A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Majumdar’s debut has been everywhere—social media, award lists, book lists—and praised by many senior authors. It unfurls at break neck speed through the lives of Jivan, a Muslim girl who is jailed for a Facebook post, Lovely, a hijra and aspiring actor who might be able to save Jivan but at the cost of her career, and PT sir, a pawn in the bigger political game. You’ll probably finish this in a single night.
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8. Days of Distraction by Alexandra Chang
Days of Distraction would probably be a good fit for you if you enjoyed Rooney’s Normal People. There’s a lot of thinking, a lot of talking in the head. At the heart of the novel, a twenty something woman faces sexist microaggressions, a shaky relationship, and work problems in a racist society.
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More (Probable) Best Debut Novels of 2020
These are a few books I have my eyes on, and hopefully will read in the near future (whatever that means). They sound fantastic and I think I would love them, and they probably would’ve been in this list if I had managed to read them—Listing them here in case you would love to take a look too.
– How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa (Everyone who read this short story collection LOVED it)
– The Lightness by Emily Temple (Because i love the way Emily Temple writes, and also because of The Secret History vibes)
– Pizza Girl by Jean Kyuong Frazier (Been keeping this on my TBR list ever since Mathew Sciarappa raved about it. said to be a perfect millennial novel)
The shiniest best debut novels of 2020. Read for loud women, families held together by white lies, open marriages, and women travelling. Click To Tweet
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