As May (Older Americans Month) has just passed, I’ve been thinking about the many books being published that feature older protagonists. It’s been exciting to see this shift—possibly a result of the American population living longer, and hence, reading longer. The publishing industry must be paying attention as the number of Americans 65 and older is projected to rise from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050.
Whether you’re part of this population or not, I think you’ll enjoy these novels with some older, witty, and surprising characters:
One of SPL’s current Peak Picks, Enormous Wings, by Seattle author Laurie Frankel features a feisty septuagenarian who becomes miraculously (and distressingly) pregnant by a new “manfriend” she meets at her retirement village. Though this fantastical premise is slightly bizarre, there are serious themes running throughout the book regarding a woman’s autonomy over her own body. With a nod to Gabriel García Márquez’s short story “The Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” Frankel pulls off what might have been an unrealistic tale with a lovable cast and characteristic humor.
A lyrical debut novel by Sámi and Swedish author Tina Harnesk, The Secret of Snow, follows an eccentric 85-year-old coming to terms with a cancer diagnosis that she hides from her husband for fear they’ll end up in separate care facilities. With great wit, the author takes on themes such as the balance between modern life and Sámi culture, how confusing technology can be to the elderly, and the power of storytelling for the wounded.
No booklist about aging characters would be complete without mentioning a couple of mysteries. Two newer novels in the genre put a twist on a typical murder mystery:
The main character in British comedian Fergus Craig’s I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home is a recently released serial killer who ends up living in a community that includes retired police officers and government officials. When there’s a murder, all eyes turn to her. This novel has been labeled as “darkly comedic,” and the book heartily lives up to its reputation.
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Chinese-Indonesian author Jesse Sutanto is a heartwarming mystery that centers the narrative around community. Set in a tea shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the 60-year-old protagonist develops relationships with the four main suspects in a murder. Rich with descriptions of tea and food preparations, Kirkus calls this book, “Literary comfort food in the guise of a quirky whodunit.”
Lastly, I’ve included a novel whose aging protagonist is non-human. The creature at the heart of Canadian author Kendra Coulter’s The Tortoise’s Tale is over 100 years old. This beautifully rendered story (also a recent SPL Peak Pick) follows a tortoise that is living in captivity on a California estate beginning in the 1930s. Through the eyes of this elderly being, we watch generations of humans love, lose, and make choices that impact the lives of the creatures around them.
Let’s hope this trend of including characters of advancing age continues.
~posted by Tavi B.