This is not a “best books of 2024” column. Only one of the books I discuss below was released in 2024; one was composed 2,800 years ago. Rather, my purpose is to summarize a few of the score or so books that were most meaningful to me in 2024, hoping that I might inspire readers to take up and read some of these important works of literature and history. By “important,” I do not necessarily mean “great books.” Perhaps one or two of the books I read in 2024 will be forgotten in five or 10 years. Others will stand (or have already stood) the test of time. But they are important books for the truth claims they make, even if their relevance might be so rooted in a cultural context that their importance is more temporary than perennial.
Two of the three I have selected for this column are fiction. Important fiction serves at least two purposes: to entertain the reader and to make some truth claims. These claims may be political, moral, philosophical or theological. But the forms in which they are communicated are the settings, narrative arcs and dialogues of their characters. These fictional constructions challenge us to see the reality about ourselves in the story. They introduce claims of truth in different practices or voices than we have heard before. They may motivate us to hone, reconsider, or even reject ideas that we have believed are true (or false) before we encountered the story. Of course, if the entertainment value of the story fails, the reader will probably not reach the truth claims the author intends. Striking this balance is perhaps what makes a work of fiction important, or even great.
“The Iliad,” translated by Emily Wilson
I have no idea how many English translations of “The Iliad” are available. And my rudimentary knowledge of New Testament Greek is certainly not adequate to make judgments about the accuracy or fluency of classical Greek texts. So while I am not competent to make a comparison with other translations, I can say that Emily Wilson’s new translation of Homer’s epic is an unqualified delight from the first sentence (“Goddess, sing of the cataclysmic wrath of great Achilles”) to the last (“And so they held the funeral for the horse-lord Hector”). In between, Wilson has provided a highly readable, constantly entertaining translation. In addition, she has written two richly informative introductions: one about the place of the poem in world literature, and one discussing her approach to this translation. She also includes several maps and a highly informative appendix consisting of notes, genealogies and a glossary of terms.
Wilson explains in her introduction that “The Iliad” was communicated through oral tradition and is meant to be read aloud. Thus, the audio edition of her translation, narrated by Broadway legend Audra McDonald, is perfect to listen to either on its own or in conjunction with following the text on the page. “The Iliad” follows Wilson’s 2017 translation of “The Odyssey,” both published by W.W. Norton in handsome companion volumes. The Audible edition of “The Odyssey,” narrated by heralded actor Claire Danes, is as delightful as McDonald’s interpretation of “The Iliad.” Both Audible editions include a PDF file of maps, charts and genealogies.
“James,” by Percival Everett
Many critics consider Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry Finn” to be the greatest novel ever written by an American. Telling the story from the first-person point of view of its title character, Twain paints a vivid, sympathetic picture both of Huck and his friend Jim, an escaping slave. In 2024, American writer Percival Everett revisits this classic story of the contradictions in American political and social life; his novel “James” takes the basic narrative structure of Twain’s masterpiece, but retells the story through Jim’s voice. Like “Huckleberry Finn,” the novel “James” is at times laugh-out-loud funny and at times deeply sad and moving. But neither is ever dull. Everett’s novel certainly has some very strong points to make about race relations in both the mid-19th and early 21st centuries. But he does it in a way that is true to the basic story, and always entertaining. “James” won both the Kirkus Prize and National Book Award for 2024. It is a worthy companion to its predecessor.
“Augustine: Conversions to Confessions,” Robin Lane Fox
For several years, I have made a point of reading St. Augustine’s “Confessions” at least once every year. Every time I read it, I find some new insight that I had missed in earlier readings. But until this year, I had never read a biography of St. Augustine. (The fact that I have never completely read Peter Brown’s standard biography is an indictment of me, rather than Brown.) But in 2024, I took up Robin Lane Fox’s wonderful biography “Augustine: Conversions to Confessions,” first published in 2015. Fox writes as an historian of Western antiquity rather than a theologian or philosopher. His approach to St. Augustine aims for objectivity and candor about Augustine’s life rather than celebration of his philosophical and theological genius. But, of course, one cannot account for the former without expressing admiration for the latter.
Reading Fox’s biography introduced me to details about Augustine’s life that are either not available in “Confessions” or described so subtly there that I have managed to miss them. His account of the political and ecclesiastical climate of the great saint’s life and times is as fluent in its prose as it is detailed in its research. I especially came away with a greater appreciation for the role of St. Monica in Augustine’s formation, not just as a child and young man, but also in the development of his philosophical and religious thought. Similarly, Fox’s descriptions of Augustine’s son and close friends are enlightening and informative. I recommend Fox’s book as a companion to the “Confessions,” providing new details and rounding out others.
I read books for a living. So it is perhaps easier for me to take up new books (or old books anew) than many. But I urge the readers of this column to consider these books, which were highlights of my 2024 reading year.
Kenneth Craycraft is author of “Citizens Yet Strangers: Living Authentically Catholic in a Divided America” (Our Sunday Visitor, 2024).
