Eek, I’ve had a rough summer and beginning of fall. Health issues have a way of spreading their fingers out and maliciously tainting the rest of life, including work life, social life, self-care, daily life, and everything in between. I’m finally feeling better. And I feel that, once again, I have learned my lesson to prioritize my health, before poor health causes everything else to snowball (and I hope I finally learned it this time!). The good news? I’ve had eons of time to read books over the past few months. In this blog post, I’ll share 2 novels I loved that also made me think.
That’s the best kind of book, in my opinion, because it accomplishes two things at once—entertainment and enlightenment. Let’s dive in!
2 Modern Novels I Loved That Also Made Me Think
Switzy by Emma Cline (2026)
This book is unique and insightful. It’s written from the perspective of an elderly man with dementia. I can’t recall ever encountering this perspective before!
The protagonist has regular memory lapses. As a result, he is often unaware of what is happening around him. This creates a unique puzzle for the reader, who must, like a detective, work out what’s going on. And what’s going on is from one perspective (the protagonist’s) fine and dandy, but from another perspective (the fly on the wall’s, aka the reader’s) unsettling, bordering on horrific. That’s because someone seems to be taking advantage of the protagonist and profiting off his inability to manage his affairs.
Emma Cline is the author of two other fabulous novels, The Guest (2024; see my blog post here) and The Girls (2017; see my blog post here), both of which I also recommend. Her writing style is smooth and enchanting . . . in a creepy way.
Discontent by Beatriz Serrano, translated by Mara Faye Lethem (translation published in 2025; first published in 2023)
The protagonist of this novel, a single working woman in Madrid, is cynical. She’s very funny, in a jaded way. The voice of this book is pitch-perfect. If you’re tired of sentimental novels, or workplace culture, this one is for you.
My friend Lenny recommended this book in a guest post on this blog, and I finally got around to it, on his recommendation. Definitely worth a read!
The major twist at the end is surprising and humorous—and either happy or tragic, I’m not sure which. Honestly, I was pretty upset by the ending, in a way that made me think about the purpose of work and life. And I’m still unsure about what the author intended for the reader to feel at the end. This novel is thought provoking all the way through, but the ending really hits one hard.
And since the book is short—less than 200 pages—you’ll get to the end quickly!
Bonus: 2 Classic Novels I Loved That Also Made Me Think
The Door by Magda Szabo, translated by Len Rix (translation published in 2015; first published in 1987)
This novel, set in Hungary, is a modern classic. In virtuosic writing, a story unfolds about a highly independent and opinionated elderly woman who works as a house cleaner for a writerly couple. The female writer and the housekeeper become close friends, but their relationship is constantly teetering on the edge. The more the writer tries to help the housekeeper, the worse things get.
This is a novel about the difficulties of compassionately caring for others. How much should you care for others, versus caring for yourself? This book is for you if you have ever wondered how much to respect someone’s wishes when you don’t agree with them.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (1962)
You may know horror writer Shirley Jackson from reading her short story “The Lottery” in school. You may have read her novel The Haunting of Hill House. But have you read her slim novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle?
I don’t want to tell you what this book is about. It’s too delicious to discover its secrets for yourself. Let me say this much: something very, very strange is going on. This book is about sisterly love. It’s also about murder and mayhem and money and mental health. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the writing—this is a masterpiece of haunting suspense.
What novels have you loved and thought about long after finishing them?
