Buy<\/strong> on Amazon In<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The best ever! I adored If I Had Your Face<\/em> and I have been recommending it to everyone, everywhere. This is a slice of life novel that follows five women (four according to the blurb, but I felt the side character was well developed enough to be included as a main character) in contemporary Seoul. Cha takes us on a tour through salons where a woman with ample plastic surgery done on her body is pining for love, a mute hairstylist who is also a fangirl, her friend who wants to gift her a plastic surgery session, a childless woman who is pregnant and worried, and an orphan artist who is in a relationship (but not a good one). It is a joy to read a relatable novel that explores women\u2019s agency, patriarchy and beauty standards with such deftness. If I Had Your Face<\/em> is character-driven, so those who look for strict plot lines might be disappointed. As for me, I loved it and I will be thinking of these women for a long, long time.<\/p>\n Buy<\/strong> on Amazon In<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Susan\u2019s women and short stories surprised me page after page. Are sex maps a handy hack? Is the writer sex-chatting with a literary agent going to break her soul, or does she have a happy ending? What happens to the stylish dancing girls who flirted unapologetically and danced wearing sleeveless blouses? Is the woman who looks into censoring on social media doing okay, and does she have friends?<\/p>\n Buy<\/strong> on Amazon In<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you have a thing for poetic prose that sparkles with every sentence, there’s These, Our Bodies Possessed by Light<\/em> to add to your reading list. I really enjoyed peeping into the lives of three generations of women who hold the family together by white lies, love and secrets. Bhaskar has crafted each sentence with care, and the five women\u2014the adventurous grandmother, the docile mother, and the three girls\u2014have their own personalities that break against one another like waves, but also swirl together in peace.<\/p>\n Buy<\/strong> on Amazon In<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line<\/em> was one of the earliest novels I read in 2020. I went in with a skeptical heart wondering if it would be another tiresome Slumdog Millionaire<\/em> in a new bottle for the West but was pleasantly surprised with the excellent child narrator who, with his friends, is determined to solve the mystery of kids disappearing in his basti, a touch of whimsy, the stark class differences and the darker alleys of the unnamed city (that could be Delhi) where crime thrives. Definitely one of the best debut novels of 2020.<\/p>\n Buy<\/strong> on Amazon In<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Also read<\/em><\/strong>: Three debut novels to read in 2020<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Braised Pork<\/em> is a slow, quiet novel set in Beijing night life and Tibetan high plains. It begins with Jia Jia discovering her husband dead in a bathtub and unfolds through dreams and travels. I really enjoyed the read, and wish it was seen on more book lists this year because it really is one of the best debut novels of 2020. The book captures your attention with its art, magical realism, the places Jia Jia travels to, and the quietness, so loud that you cannot stop reading.<\/p>\n Buy<\/strong> on Amazon In<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Majumdar\u2019s debut has been everywhere\u2014social media, award lists, book lists\u2014and praised by many senior authors. It unfurls at break neck speed through the lives of Jivan, a Muslim girl who is jailed for a Facebook post, Lovely, a hijra and aspiring actor who might be able to save Jivan but at the cost of her career, and PT sir, a pawn in the bigger political game. You\u2019ll probably finish this in a single night.<\/p>\n Buy<\/strong> on Amazon In<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Days of Distraction<\/em> would probably be a good fit for you if you enjoyed Rooney\u2019s Normal People<\/em>. There\u2019s a lot of thinking, a lot of talking in the head. At the heart of the novel, a twenty something woman faces sexist microaggressions, a shaky relationship, and work problems in a racist society.<\/p>\n Buy<\/strong> on Amazon In<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n These are a few books I have my eyes on, and hopefully will read in the near future (whatever that means). They sound fantastic and I think I would love them, and they probably would\u2019ve been in this list if I had managed to read them\u2014Listing them here in case you would love to take a look too.<\/p>\n – How to Pronounce Knife<\/em> by Souvankham Thammavongsa (Everyone who read this short story collection LOVED it)<\/p>\n – The Lightness<\/em> by Emily Temple (Because i love the way Emily Temple writes, and also because of The Secret History<\/em> vibes)<\/p>\n – Pizza Girl<\/em> by Jean Kyuong Frazier (Been keeping this on my TBR list ever since Mathew Sciarappa<\/a><\/span> raved about it. said to be a perfect millennial novel)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 24 Delicious Book Covers of 2020 (Part 1)<\/a><\/span> Hooray! Time to list the best debut novels of 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6307,6312],"tags":[10183,232,9437,10169,6075,10182,10181,10178,10184,10180,10179],"thb-sponsors":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Luster](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/luster-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n2. If I Had Your Face<\/em> by Frances Cha<\/h3>\n
\n![\"If](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/if-i-had-your-face-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n3. The Women who Forgot to Invent Facebook<\/em> by Nisha Susan<\/h3>\n
![\"Best](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/nisha-susan_women-who-forgot-to-invent-facebook.jpg\")
<\/p>\n4. These, Our Bodies Possessed by Light<\/em> by Dharini Bhaskar<\/h3>\n
\n![\"These](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/these-our-bodies-posessed-by-light-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nAlso read<\/em><\/strong> : The five novels in the JCB prize shortlist that are worth your time<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n5. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line<\/em> by Deepa Anappara<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/djinn-patrol-on-the-purple-line-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n6. Braised Pork<\/em> by An Yu<\/h3>\n
\n![\"Review](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/braised-pork.jpg\")
<\/p>\n7. A Burning<\/em> by Megha Majumdar<\/h3>\n
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/a-burning.jpg\")
<\/p>\n8. Days of Distraction<\/em> by Alexandra Chang<\/h3>\n
\n![\"Days](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/days-of-distraction.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMore (Probable) Best Debut Novels of 2020<\/h2>\n
\nThe shiniest best debut novels of 2020. Read for loud women, families held together by white lies, open marriages, and women travelling. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n
\nIf you liked this post on Best Debut Novels of 2020, Pin it,<\/strong>
\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thebooksatchel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/best-debut-novels-of-2020.png\")
<\/p>\nYOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY<\/h5>\n
\nBest Books of 2020 (Part 1)<\/a><\/span>
\nShiniest Debuts of 2019<\/a><\/span>
\nDelicious Book Covers from India in 2020<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"