Here are a few titles I’ve gathered from my ongoing hunt for good books, including novels to anticipate in 2019, more Lucia Berlin stories, and the 2017 Prix Goncourt winner.
Category: New Books
Five fiction finalists: the daring ones?
The National Book Awards released their 2018 finalists. I've listed here those for fiction with brief descriptions. Also, reasons why I've lost my thrill for this annual event.
On the November road
Lou Berney, the award-winning author of "The Long and Faraway Gone," has released a new crime novel that takes place during the days following President Kennedy’s assassination. It's intelligent and gripping.
Finalists to talk about – and read
The Man Booker 2018 Longlist has produced a baker's dozen of novels readers can get excited about. Finally, they're back to what we want and expect.
It all starts with something simple.
Victor del Arbol's new novel "A Million Drops" is an intoxicating page-turner that knits together the crimes of darkly motivated characters. Spanning 1933 to 2002, it follows the lives of Soviet Gulag survivor Elias Gil and his children.
Living the Russian language
Laura Esther Wolfson's collected essays tell the story of her life as a translator and interpreter. They are as creative and memorable as the book's title, "For Single Mothers Working as Train Conductors."
The beast in the west
"West" is a slim, first novel written with such beautiful, captivating prose it makes a memorable impression on one's reading life. Truly a one-of-kind story.
Get a grip and lighten up
Sloane Crosley's “Look Alive Out There” showcases this talented humorist’s ability to embrace unpredictability with wit and whimsy. The 16 new essays vary in topic and enrich us with laughter and insight.
The evolution of Dr. Francine Burk
Audrey Schulman’s new novel “Theory of Bastards” tells the story of a compelling research celebrity, the bonobos she’s observing and a catastrophic technology breakdown. An innovative story that slowly builds into an absorbing reading experience.
The art of restitution and deception
Mark Sarvas’s novel "Memento Park" tells the story of a Hungarian painting that was traded to the Nazis during World War II in exchange for freedom, and of its return to the rightful owner.
Jon McGregor’s superb “Reservoir 13”
Truly a unique novel, one of the best I’ve read in a long time. How and why a teen-aged girl disappears becomes secondary to the impact on the nearby English village.
The eyes of a Texas Ranger
"Bluebird Bluebird" is Attica Locke's exciting new crime novel, the first of a proposed trilogy.
Top five fiction books in 2017
I cross referenced several 2017 best fiction lists. Here are the results.
Getting to know Ross Macdonald
“It’s All One Case: The Illustrated Ross Macdonald Archives” by Paul Nelson and Kevin Avery is this year’s Christmas present to myself.
The power of love and conscience
If you’re looking for a novel to get lost in or for a holiday gift, here’s a recommendation: “Paris in the Present Tense” by Mark Helprin.
