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Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
A skillfully fictionalized retelling of the relationship between mega-architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the woman who was probably the love of the arrogant architect's life, Mamah Borthwick Cheney.
Keeper and Kid by Edward Hardy
Keeper and Kid seems to be about transformation, but is really about revelation. “Absolutely unforgettable” says January’s reviewer.
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Lahiri is cause for hope. She gives strength to those of us quietly waiting for the pomo moment, with its eponymously named characters, drawings, and blank pages, to pass, for she need not resort to their trickery.
The Road from La Cueva by Sheila Ortego
Ortego’s sharp eye and delicate tread make it a vibrant journey of discovery. The Road from La Cueva is slender, but engaging and entirely memorable.
Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock
Donald Ray Pollock is Cinderella. The bio in his debut collection tells that story. It says Pollack “dropped out of high school to work in a meatpacking plant and then spent over thirty years employed in a paper mill in southern Ohio.”
The Ghost by Robert Harris
For those expecting Harris’ usual brainy thriller, this might not be the book for you, but if you’re into crisp, clean writing by an author at peak performance, then by all means jump in.
Blind Fall by Christopher Rice
Here’s hoping that with Rice’s next effort, he won’t feel tempted by the call of the faddish thriller. Rice’s vision is true and his pen is strong, he doesn’t need some of the gimmicks he’s delivered to us here.
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You Must Be This Happy to Enter by Elizabeth Crane
Crane’s collection is sharp and hip and, adds January’s reviewer, really, really slant.
The View from Castle Rock by Alice Munro
When The View From Castle Rock appeared in hardcover back in 2006, it was rightly hailed by all the right folks, who said lots of nice things about a lifetime of steady, quiet accomplishment.
The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa
The Diving Pool explores the depth of our complicated, darker natures and doesn’t sanitize anything in the process.
David Golder, The Ball, Snow in Autumn, The Courilof Affair: An Everyman’s Library Original by Irène Némirovisky
These four early works explore the great conundrum of Irene Némirovsky’s work: her apparent disdain -- even revulsion -- for her fellow Jews.
Duma Key by Stephen King
Duma Key is a terrifying book about friendship and the random events that make life what it is. It is a slow and intense story that like a well-wrapped birthday present.
The Sound of Language by Amulya Malladi
Amulya Malladi has a finger on the contemporary cosmopolitan pulse. Together with a talent that is not slight, she weaves all these disparate things into stories that almost anyone will care about.
Effigy by Alissa York
Effigy was born when author York read a newspaper article about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and one of their infamous Canadian communities in Bountiful, B.C.
The Museum of Dr. Moses by Joyce Carol Oates
Throughout The Museum of Dr. Moses, Oates shows us the dark, awful things which can result from the rough collision of psyches, primarily between men and women. Predators abound and there are seldom any moments where characters have a complete sense of security.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is an epic in the truest sense and in its fat, endearing hero's chest beats a Homeric heart.
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