monsterpussy asked: What was your fave fiction/non-fiction you read this year?

Fiction: A close one between Nicole Kraus’ Great House and Francis Spufford’s Red Plenty, but I think Red Plenty wins by a smidgen. It’s a fictionalised account of life in the USSR, and follows everyone from scientists to Gorbachev himself. The way Spufford uses historical facts and biographical details to build the story is amazing.

Non-fiction: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick, for its extremely rare insight into North Korea. Primarily based upon interviews with defectors now living in China or South Korea, the lives this book details are astonishing. Heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time.