Two genre novels offer entertainment -- and plenty of wry social commentary

Maureen Corrigan

August 21, 2025 / 8:25 am

Last month, in a now-viral opinion piece called "When Novels Mattered," New York Times columnist David Brooks bemoaned what he sees as the increasing irrelevance of literary fiction to American life. Gone are the days when John Updike , Norman Mailer and Toni Morrison dominated bestseller lists; now, fantasy and genre fiction rule.

I'm not going to jump into the bear pit here, except to say that, perhaps, Brooks isn't reading the right stuff. Here's my recommendation for two genre novels that manage to be sly, wry and smart works of social commentary even as they entertain. Neither are in league with, say, Portnoy's Complaint or The Color Purple

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