This is an impossible task. The best I can do with any confidence is group them into three categories:
Worked for me: Olive Kitteridge, Cassandra at the Wedding, Passing, Border Crossing
Ambivalent: Convenience Store Woman
Didn’t do it for me: The High Window, Der Erinnerungsfälscher
But I don’t want to be a party pooper, so I suppose:
1. Olive Kitteridge
2. Cassandra at the Wedding
3. Passing
4. Border Crossing
5. Convenience Store Woman
6. The High Window
7. Der Erinnerungsfälscher
I didn’t know what to do with Border Crossing in particular, which I read several years ago and remember very little about, except that I liked it very much. I am not sure where (between 1–4) I would have put it if I had participated in that round. I’m ranking it fourth because it clearly didn't make a lasting impression, but that could be purely down to my memory. Feel free to remove it from my ranking if I was supposed to include only books I read with the group.
I have a soft spot for Olive Kitteridge. Objectively, I can see that some of the others might be better novels, but I followed my heart for the purposes of my ranking. Despite loving the book, I didn’t particularly enjoy discussing it with the group. (Because I was at odds with so many in the group? Because the book's structure doesn’t lend itself to a cohesive discussion? Because I was rereading it? Probably a mixture of the three.)
I don't think I would have read any of the ones that were new to me without ‘Leo liest’. So thanks! :-)
