In our many years of reading, we’ve actually come across a rare handful of short books that are so densely packed with character development and large story arcs that it feels like we’ve read not 200 or 300 pages, but a rich 600- to 800 page tome. Often the book has packed such a punch that we’ve taken over a month to finish a mere 200 pages – we had to pause to take a breath every few pages. This is a roundup of some of these literary marvels that will leave you wondering how such short books can say so much.
1. This Other Eden by Paul Harding
2. Heaven and Hell by Jón Kalman Stefánsson
3. The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman by Angela Carter
4. Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice
5. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
6. The Hair-Carpet Weavers by Andreas Eschbach
7. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin
