The Top 5 contemporary books that I read in 2019

As I've done each December for the past 9 years, here's the first take on the best books of fiction (that I read) in 2019, staring with the Top 5 contemporary novels that I read this year. For the purposes of this list, "contemporary" means originally published in 2018 (especially for books I read early in the year) or 2019, for a relatively new book, available for the first time in English in 2018 or 2019. Sorry that I'm noting only 5 contemporary works this year, as most of my reading has been among the classics or should-be classics from the 19th and 20th centuries. More to come on those books in a future post, but here are my Top 5 contemporary novels, alphabetically by author:

Milkman, by Anna Burns (2018). Milkman is like no other novel I've come across, and to the extent that some of the key values of literary fiction are access to the consciousness of another, originality ("make it new"), and access to the experience of living in a time and place different from our own, Milkman is a classic and worthy of the accolades (Booker Prize) that have come its way.

Washington Black, by Esi Edguyan (2018). Washington Black is a startling book start to finish and evidence of a descriptive talent far above that of most other young writers today; it will be fun to see Edguyan's work develop and evolve.

All for Nothing, by Walter Kempowski (2006, published in English in 2018). All for Nothing has everything a reader of literary fiction could want or hope for in a book: historical veracity, family and human drama, fully rounded characters, crisp pacing, highly dramatic action, excellent writing line by line without excess or flourishes.

The Winter Soldier, by Daniel Mason (2018). Mason can't resist showing off his knowledge of medical history, languages, and other arcana, but he builds from these details a good story set during the first World War that centers on character and that establishes a milieu and historical setting that's  far from most American fiction, contemporary or otherwise. 

Normal People, by Sally Rooney (2019). Normal People is a credible and appealing novel in which the narrator is virtually invisible and the characters do all the work, dissecting every nuance of their feelings, longings, and regrets through much discussion and analysis.