10 on a Theme: Messy
Stories about relational, mental, or physical messiness
Not to brag too much, but my spice drawer is laid out alphabetically with matching labels. At the different schools where I work, I keep binders on my desks filled with all the book labels I need, making it quick and easy to do my cataloging and processing work. I’m good at organizing kitchens, workspaces, and other people’s closets and belongings, but my bedroom and home library, the spaces I use the most, are always messier than I’d like.
I might not want much messiness at home or work, but I love encountering it in books. Whether the mess is emotional, relational, or physical, I’m intrigued. I want to know who caused the mess, what toll it’s taking, and how it might be cleaned up. Messy characters and writing that explores messy lives are entertaining, but they also remind me that no one is perfect or has it all together. My spice drawer might be a work of art, but that doesn’t mean everything else in my life is perfectly placed.
If you like messy stories as much as I do, you’ll find much to enjoy in this book list. From family dramas to compulsively readable nonfiction, there’s something about messy books I can’t get enough of. Here are ten of my top picks.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors: The messes at the heart of Blue Sisters are caused by addiction. The four Blue daughters were raised by an alcoholic father and an emotionally distant mother. When one of the sisters dies of a shocking overdose, the other three come together for the first time in a while, facing each other and their complicated relationships.
Avery is a recovering drug addict who's built a nice life for herself that she seems intent on destroying. Bonnie is a former boxer working as a bouncer and pining for her old trainer. The youngest sibling is Lucky, a model who's getting deeper and deeper into substance abuse in the wake of her sister's death. Blue Sisters is a tenderly crafted family saga about the messiness of alcohol, drugs, and secrets we shouldn't be keeping.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: I read Gone Girl shortly after its release in 2012. Before that, I’d only read a couple of mysteries or thrillers. I only picked up Gone Girl because it was getting so much hype. But, as I read it, I understood why.
The story follows Nick and Amy Dunne, a couple who look perfect on the outside. When Amy vanishes, Nick is the prime suspect, though he swears his innocence. As with any good thriller, nothing is quite as it seems. The Dunne’s relationship is incredibly messy, and reading about it made me realize how much I like stories that show behind-the-scenes glimpses of seemingly idyllic lives. We’ve all got our messes; some are just more obvious than others.
How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by K. C. Davis: The other books on this list focus on internal messiness, but How to Keep House While Drowning addresses the physical messes in our homes. What I appreciate most about K. C. Davis is her focus on people struggling with mental health. The messiness in our homes can often mimic the messiness in our heads, but according to Davis, messiness is morally neutral. Her book is full of brief thoughts about dealing with the messes we make, even when our minds are also cluttered. She breaks down cleaning and organizing into small, manageable tasks, which is great for building momentum.
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes Du Mez: Few topics are more controversial or divisive than religion and politics. Believers and voters cling tightly to what they believe to be true and often try to persuade others to join their side. But, unfortunately, religion and politics create messes when one fuels the other. Kristin Kobes Du Mez explores this in her brilliant book Jesus and John Wayne.
Du Mez unpacks decades of religious and political movements and shows how entangled evangelicalism and conservative politics have become. A mess inevitably follows when people begin loving power more than they love their God or fellow citizens. If you don’t understand how so many evangelicals could love a man as messy as Donald Trump, this book is a must-read.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: Shaker Heights, Ohio, was designed as a utopian paradise. The city was meticulously planned, and the impressive homes belong to the most successful residents, including Elena Richardson and her four children. Mia and her daughter Pearl are new to Shaker Heights and rent a house from Elena. The two families quickly become enmeshed, but the messiness of a controversial custody battle and Mia’s unexplained past cause ruptures that aren’t supposed to happen in Shaker Heights. If you like novels with large casts of characters and stories full of messy drama, you’ll love this well-written gem.
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson: This novel is a love story and a frank look at being a Black man in modern London. A man and woman meet and instantly feel a connection. They start as friends, but that blossoms into romance. As their relationship deepens, the man gets stuck in the messiness of his head. He witnesses violence against a fellow Black man, and it shakes him up. He's afraid of getting too close to someone else, fearful of more pain. Open Water beautifully explores the messiness of love and identity through lyrical prose. It's a short book, but you'll want to savor every word.
The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath by Leslie Jamison: I don’t drink alcohol. That’s true for several reasons, but chief among them is the knowledge that alcoholism has deeply hurt some of the people I love. The messes from addiction can be the most damaging because they affect everyone in the addict’s orbit. Decisions made decades before can still cause pain, even if the one who caused the pain tries to clean up the mess.
In The Recovering, Leslie Jamison explores her own messy relationship with alcohol while also discussing how substance abuse affected beloved writers such as Raymond Carver and David Foster Wallace. This brilliant, well-written book seamlessly blends memoir and criticism. The Recovering is one of those books that has continued speaking to me years after I’ve read it.
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: In Salvage the Bones, a poor Black family in Mississippi is trying to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina. Esch is a fourteen-year-old girl who’s pregnant and dealing with morning sickness. Her father isn’t around much, and her brothers are mostly left alone. This family is dealing with the messiness of addiction, a natural disaster, and no parental supervision. While many novels are about the wealthy and elite, Jesmyn Ward’s story of poverty in the rural South is a reminder that stories need to be told about all kinds of families and situations. Ward is one of the most gifted writers working today.
Same as It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo: This lengthy family drama is focused on Julia Ames, a middle-aged wife and mother. After a messy childhood, she finds her husband, and they build a life together, including two children. When her kids face turning points that are taking them further away from her, Julia reflects on her life and some of the choices she made that left a mess in their wake. Same as It Ever Was is a gripping look at how mistakes can leave their marks on us, even when they're forgiven.
She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement
by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey: A sentence about halfway through a thriller called The Eden Test by Adam Sternbergh struck me and stayed with me: “How weird that the person who transgresses has the freedom of being unburdened.” I thought about that idea concerning She Said and Harvey Weinstein’s crimes, which this book is about.
Many women were preyed upon by Weinstein; his abuse continued for years. Yet he still made money, had famous friends, and got thanked by Oscar winners. Weinstein made the messes, but his victims had to live in the filth. And yet, they told the truth. Kantor and Twohey pursued a story that involved people far more powerful than they were and gave survivors a chance at justice. She Said is a powerful book about women raising their voices.
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Have you read any of these titles? What other messy stories would you recommend? Thanks for reading!
I love your themes. Thanks for the reminder about How to Keep House
While Drowning. I really love that title.
Such a great variety here! I've read a few and see a couple I now want to move up my list. Have you reread Gone Girl, by chance? I don't reread very often, but I read that one around the same time as you and feel like I may need to revisit it!