Books that captivate with their exquisite prose and unforgettable storytelling. Perfect for readers who appreciate the art of language.
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Rachel Joyce, 2012
384 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
August 2014
Fictional journeys serve as more than plot devices to move characters from place to place. They represent life passages—from sin to redemption or ignorance to knowledge. Harold Fry's journey is all that and more...but of course he doesn't know it.
In fact Harold doesn't mean to set out on a journey, at first: he simply intends to drop a letter off at the nearest postbox. But then he just keeps going.
An Unquenchable Thirst
Mary Johnson, 2013
525 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
April, 2013
Mary Johnson married at 21, following three years of intensive courtship and study to become an exemplary wife. Sadly, 20 years into the marriage, she divorced.
Years later, sitting with her second husband, Mary glances out a coffee shop window and catches sight of the beard and flowing robe of her first spouse: Jesus. It's Good Friday, and the now ex-nun watches her man shouldering a cross as he leads a procession through her New England town.
A Visit from the Goon Squad
Jennifer Egan, 2010
288 pp.
December 2010
This may be the best book I've read in several years, Egan gives a virtuosic performance, linking together a huge array of characters and bouncing back and forth from present to past to future. It. Is. Stunning.
If you're looking for straightforward narrative, this is not your book. Eagan gives us a series of chapters, each with characters we've met before...or will meet again, some in 2019. It's her ability to link disparate stories—yet maintain exquisite coherence—that makes Goon Squad such a feat. Here's from a New York Times review. It should give you an idea of the dizzying quality of Eagan's conception.
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Karen Joy Fowler, 2014
320 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
February, 2015
So much goes on in this remarkable book that it's hard to fit into a single genre. Is it a domestic drama? A coming-of-age story? A mystery? An expose of animal cruelty? A study in the neuropsychology? A tragicomedy or comic-tragedy? Yes, to all the above. However you classify it, Karen Joy Fowler's book is a terrific read.
At its heart is the story of separated siblings—"twin" sisters pulled apart at the age of five—and the fallout from that separation on Rosie Cooke, the remaining sister. Rose is human; her twin was a chimpanzee. One day Fern disappeared, and Rosie doesn't understand why.
We Are Not Ourselves
Matthew Thomas, 2014
640 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
February, 2015
The heroine of We Are Not Ourselves is tough and tough to like. But we're riveted by her character: her strength and clarity of mind and purpose fascinate us—so much so that Eileen Tumulty could well go down as one of modern fiction's most memorable heroines.
The 1950s finds Eileen growing up in the working class borough of Queens, New York. When she meets Ed Leary, a brilliant young research chemist, she marries him with the expectation that he will propel her into the well-heeled life she desires. But Ed has other ideas about the course of his life—ideas that don't involve upper-class pretensions.
We Are Pirates
Daniel Handler, 2015
288 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
February, 2015
A dark, quirky, and ultimately exuberant book, We Are Pirates combines elements of Lord of the Flies with Peter Pan's Lost Boys. In it, a band of troubled souls—three teens, an Alzheimer patient, and a Haitian care giver—model themselves after 18th-century pirates and set off to plunder San Francisco Bay.
They're intent on rebellion and on reclaiming the happiness they believe was stolen from them. But what starts out as a romantic pirate adventure goes inexplicably, horribly wrong.
When Will There Be Good News?
Kate Atkinson, 2008
400 pp.
November 2009
This is 3rd in the Jackson Brodie series—none of which are are typical of the genre. They're plot-driven like all detective novels, but Atkinson's are also rich in character development. Her pages are filled with the angst of orphaned characters—survivors of family tragedies—who feel alone on the planet and yearn for connection.
Atkinson provides the connection, stringing them together in a tightly knit world that overflows with coincidence, parallel events, and literary allusions. It's all accomplished with crackling wit and sharp insight.
The Whole World Over
Julia Glass, 2006
512 pp.
October 2007
I was feeling dejected—having just finished a number of books by well-known authors, none of which I could recommend. Then I picked up this beautiful book, and it may well be my recent favorite, along with Bel Canto.
Julia Glass (author of Three Junes, a 2002 National Book Award winner) populates this novel with a large cast of characters, each provided with a rich past and generous inner life.
Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel, 2009
640pp.
September 2010
Brilliant! How did she do it? Hilary Martel took a figure much maligned in history—and historical fiction—and transformed him into one of literature's most likeable characters. The results won her the Man Booker Prize (see impressive gold seal on cover).
Wolf Hall uses the eyes of Thomas Cromwell to recount the political upheaval —throughout England and all of Europe—wrought by Henry's desire for Anne Boleyn. It is Cromwell who ultimately devises the means for Henry's divorce, remarriage, and transference of title as Queen upon Anne.
The World Without You
Joshua Henkin
336 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
September 2012
Joshua Henkin writes novels with such stunning realism that his characters fairly jump off the page and lodge themselves in your consciousness. They're rich, complex, and remain with you long after you've closed the cover.
In The World Without You the author has created a family whose members, each in their peculiar way, remember and grieve for one of their own. This is a beautiful, poignant, and at times even funny read.
The Yellow Birds
Kevin Powers, 2012
226 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
December, 2012
"The war tried to kill us," reports the narrator in the opening lines of this powerful book on the Iraq war. For 21-year-old John Bartle, the events of that war prove so searing he cannot escape the memories.
Bartle is trapped, like coal mine canaries who, when set free, fly right back to their cages. Cages are all the birds know—they're held back by the memory of their only existence. So it is with Bartle.
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald
Therese Anne Fowler, 2013
384 pp.
Book Review by Molly Lundquist
August, 2013
She began as an appendage to her famous husband, his muse and his mainstay. Over time she evolved into a creative and productive soul in her own right.
This is the Zelda Fitzgerald we meet in Therese Fowler's mesmerizing fictional biography. Using prior research, diaries, and original letters, Fowler offers a sympathetic version—perhaps overly so—of Zelda's infamous rise and fall. And guess what? It was all Scott's fault.