#121. "The Punch" by Noah Hawley

For most people, Noah Hawley is best known for his work on TV. Shows like Fargo and Legion find him exploring the limitless potential of what serialization can provide. With a colorful cast of characters, he's continually pushing boundaries and discovering something more sublime buried underneath. However, there's something more curious to be found in his fiction, notably the stripped-down gimmicks that focus instead on dysfunctional families. "The Punch" is a book that sounds like a very tired tale of a family coming to terms with devastating events. Even if that's true, Hawley has proven himself to be a great writer no matter where his page lies, and here he brings a colorful personality to characters each emotionally devoid of something inside. It's a series of character studies that are at times delightful and at others tragic. As a whole, "The Punch" lives up to its title by having the moments that resonate be painful, like a punch to the gut. It's a familiar story, but one so personal that it's difficult to not appreciate.

#120. "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire

Even in a world that's indebted to origin stories and recontextualizing classics, Gregory Maguire has a very unique perspective in mind. "Wicked" sounds like it would be a bit too novelty, giving The Wicked Witch/Elphaba from L. Frank Baum's masterpiece "The Wizard of Oz" a sympathetic backstory that turns her from villain to hero. The results have lead to a successful Broadway show adored by millions and an upcoming film. With that said, fans of the more mainstream takes may find a lot of difficulty in grappling with this version of the story. While it does plenty to add a dark, disturbing tone to the carefree world they once knew, the back half gets buried in a complicated mess of ideas that aren't nearly as successful, often removed or changed for later adaptations. As far as a concept goes, Maguire has released an impressive work. In terms of execution, it's much more difficult to praise.

#119. "Vineland" by Thomas Pynchon

In the pantheon of post-modernist literature, there are few authors as beguiling as Thomas Pynchon. With his World War II novel "Gravity's Rainbow," he defied the potential of what constituted literary prose. It was at times brilliant and other times juvenile, creating a world where intellects butted heads with idiots with some frequency. What was it all for? Nobody is entirely sure, and that's part of the fun for the anomaly of a reclusive author. If there's any fault with "Vineland," it's that it had to follow up such a behemoth of a novel. For those who lobbed tons of criticism against his previous work, there's a good chance that they will come away appreciating what he achieves here so much more. With that said, it's become considered a minor work by Pynchon and for good reason. It plays all the hits, finding the hippie movement growing old as a new conservative age comes. There's a lot of head-butting and music motifs. It's entertaining even if it doens't quite have the home run appeal fans would like.