Sigrid Nunez on Claire Keegan, 'Fat Ham,' and the Book That Has the Best Opening Line

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."

Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com’s books column, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you’re on the hunt for a book to console you, move you profoundly, or make you laugh, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series, who, like you (since you’re here), love books. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.

Sigrid Nunez’s last book, What Are You Going Through, was a national bestseller and made its way atop many “Best of 2020” book lists. Now, she’s back with her ninth novel, The Vulnerables (Riverhead Books)—out on November 7. The story takes place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and follows an unnamed narrator and an unlikely companion she meets while housesitting for a friend, a parrot named Eureka.

Nunez, a New York-born and -based writer, attended Barnard College and later received her MFA from Columbia University. She then went on to work as an editorial assistant at The New York Review of Books. One of her most popular novels is 2018’s The Friend, for which she won the National Book Award for Fiction. Find your next favorite read with her book recommendations below.

The book that...

...made me weep uncontrollably:

“Uncontrollably” is an exaggeration, but recently I was moved to tears by Claire Keegan’s novella Foster.

...I’d pass on to a kid:

To any kid, I’d pass on The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm, a boxed set of two volumes, beautifully translated by Lore Segal and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Like all fairy tales, these are about morality and survival. They are also a wonderful way to inspire and develop a young reader’s imagination.

...made me laugh out loud:

Happy-Go-Lucky by the reliably hilarious David Sedaris.

...I’d like turned into a TV show:

The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune, by Alexander Stille. It’s about a psychoanalytic institute that birthed a secret society that grew into a radical cult. Among the group’s hundreds of believers were several celebrated artists and writers such as Jackson Pollack and Richard Price. Set on Manhattan’s Upper West Side during the seventies (the commune’s peak years), it would make a terrific miniseries.

...I last bought:

Kairos, a novel, by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann. I’ve read several of her earlier books and am a huge fan.

...has the best opening line:

“I don’t believe in God, but I miss Him.” From Nothing to Be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes.

...makes me feel seen:

Every book that does a good job of exploring the human condition makes me feel seen.

...features the coolest book jacket:

I just saw the cover for James Ijames’ Fat Ham and it is very cool indeed.

...everyone should read:

Everyone should read what they want to read, whatever makes them feel happy, hopeful, inspired, or wise.

...I could only have discovered at Left Bank Books:

A signed first edition copy of Alice Munro’s The Moons of Jupiter.

Bonus question: If I could live in any library or bookstore in the world, it would be:

The main branch of the New York Public Library, housed in the landmark Stephen A. Schwartzman Building, with its glorious Rose Main Reading Room and priceless collections of manuscripts and archival materials, including those of two of my most favorite authors, Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf.

Foster

The Juniper Tree and Other Tales from Grimm

Happy-Go-Lucky

The Sullivanians

Kairos

Nothing to Be Frightened Of

Fat Ham

The Moons of Jupiter

You Might Also Like

• The 15 Best Organic And Clean Shampoos For Any And All Hair Types

• 100 Gifts That Are $50 Or Under (And Look Way More Expensive Than They Actually Are)