Bear by Marian Engel (1976)Ī slim novel about a woman who makes love to a big bear. (Whether that's a cathartic experience or a coping mechanism is up to the reader to discover.) But beneath the cutting dialogue lies a story about the gap between what we say and how we actually feel. How does one handle family trauma? For Vivian, an accomplished lawyer, she jokes about it over drinks, constantly, with friends. At times scathing and at others moving, this is probably the contemporary novel I revisit most. Washington is one of today's best writers when it comes to the textures of communication. This slacker novel splits its time - and its central characters, Benson and Mike - between Houston and Osaka as a long-distance relationship deteriorates before finding its footing again. Three years later, the rest of Kochai's inventive collection, which excavates the emotional side effects of the war in Afghanistan, has the same stunning, darkly comedic effect. I remember reading 'Playing Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain' and wondering how a story about a kid losing his mind playing a video game made it into The New Yorker. The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories by Jamil Jan Kochai (2022)

Below, he recommends six other books that are both funny and ambitious. Kevin Nguyen is the features editor at The Verge and the author of New Waves, a novel, now out in paperback, about friendship, grief, and the internet.

Bear by marian engel movie