I relocated recently and seized the opportunity [the necessity] of purging book shelves, always a difficult challenge for an avid reader/reviewer. I wean regularly anyway, like spring cleaning, to make room for what’s next and also to share with readers by donating to the local library bookshop. I save only those I believe I will reread or share with friends, or, in truth, because my life would feel incomplete without favorites close at hand.
While painstakingly editing the lineup, I came across BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MUSEUM [1995] Kate Atkinson’s wonderful debut novel, and when I scanned the first pages I was captivated all over again. In this debut are signs of the subsequent existential examinations and human evolution othat make CASE HISTORIES and LIFE AFTER LIFE the gems they are. I matched this first novel with Robb Foreman Dew’s lesser-known DALE LOVES SOPHIE TO DEATH [1981] which won the National Book Award, and Marilynne Robinson’s extraordinary HOUSEKEEPING [1980] and suddenly I had a pile of fine firsts to revisit.
If I were more scrupulously organized in my shelving beyond alphabetical, fiction vs non-fiction, etc, I would have a first novels shelf, as there are many to exalt, including, of course, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee, for decades a first and only.
Did you know THE BLUEST EYE [1970] by the great Toni Morrison was her debut novel and may have single handedly revolutionized publishing in America? [I recommend the documentaries THE PIECES I AM and more recently TURN EVERY PAGE to learn more about her fascinating journey and about, Robert Gottlieb, her editor, arguably the most important editor of the 20th century, and still.]
Talk about groundbreaking, I keep a well-worn hardcover copy of INVISIBLE MAN [1952] by Ralph Ellison, and GOODBYE COLUMBUS [1960] by Philip Roth, who has a shelf all his own.
Add in another personal favorite, THE EDIBLE WOMAN [1969] by Margaret Atwood [an original mass market paperback, impossible for aging eyes to read.] Atwood, by the way, was cited in a compendium of early prose and poetry by successful writers titled FIRST WORDS for a story she wrote at age sixteen – startling in its emotional maturity and command of the language – which might explain why she’s formidable.
We could go way back to FRANKENSTEIN [1818] by Mary Shelley, THE PICKWICK PAPERS [1856] by Charles Dickens, and THE TIME MACHINE [1895] by H. G. Wells, to recognize emerging talent among writers who became exemplars of the craft. Knowing how difficult it is to write a great novel, it’s surprising how many came out of the starting gate with a gallop.
Back to the 20th century, Ishiguro’s A PALE VIEW OF HILLS [1982] marked an incredible new voice, and, in the same year, THE WOMEN OF BREWSTER PLACE by Gloria Naylor, connected individual stories into a larger story, like puzzle pieces, and expanded the canon of voices of color. And then Amy Tan published her first, THE JOY LUCK CLUB [1989], breaking new ground and becoming another industry phenomenon.
In the interest of honoring the late great Martin Amis, I never read his first novel, THE RACHEL PAPERS [1973] but I plan to.
By 1999, when WAITING by Ha Jin was published, no one was surprised a debut novel could be both award-worthy and commercially successful. WHITE TEETH [2000] by Zadie Smith, who has become both esteemed novelist and essayist, cemented post-modern fiction, in which perspective prevails over plot and time is not necessarily linear.
And, when we talk about commercial success, THE KITE RUNNER [2003] by Khaled Hosseini wowed us all and introduced yet another voice and a powerful sense of place.
I’ll refrain from introducing debut story collections to the mix, but I have to mention Jhumpa Lahiri’s INTERPRETER OF MALADIES [1989] which won the Pulitzer prize and maintains an honored spot on my shelf. [FYI, her newest collection, ROMAN STORIES, comes out in October.]
When you look at the list of notable first fictions [there are many more, of course] it’s no surprise Tess Gunty’s THE RABBIT HUTCH [2022] got our attention, and won the National Book award. She may join the impressive list of novelists who have evolved to greatness. And, who knows where the next spectacular debut will come from?
For now, you may want to catch up on what you’ve missed, or reconnect with these wonderful voices and stories. If not on your shelves, or a friend’s, they are hopefully at your public library or a used book store, or online at sites like Thrift Books. There’s always new fiction to discover, but what came before is a harbinger of what’s to come.
Happy reading.