Books that captivate with their exquisite prose and unforgettable storytelling. Perfect for readers who appreciate the art of language.
Half of a Yellow Sun
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2006
528 pp.
December 2008
This is a favorite book—an all time favorite, the kind that makes you stand in awe of the stunning power of literature.
Adichie has converted a tragic global event—the secession from Nigeria of ill-fated Biafra (1967-70)—into a rich, complex human drama, one that makes readers care deeply for the characters and their fates.
Out Stealing Horses
Per Petterson, 2003; English trans., 2005
250 pp.
November 2008
An elegy for a beloved father and youthful innocence, this story uses parallel time-frames, then and now—in which an older man comes face-to-face with events of his childhood.
Nearing his 70's, Trond Sander has retreated to an isolated Norwegian cottage only to find that his neighbor, another solitary soul, belonged to his long-ago childhood—the summer of 1948 which Trond and his father spent in a remote village near the Swedish border. Now haunted by memories both beautiful and painful, Trond comes to see that he is more his father's son than he had realized.
Matrimony
Joshua Henkin, 2007
291 pp.
October 2008
My friend Eddie once said (we were on the cusp of middle age) that we run from our roots while young, only to run back to them as we mature. I think that's a lot of what this very fine book explores.
The story's main characters meet in college—all three determined to put family influences behind them, create their own identities, and set their own life paths.
Nineteen Minutes
Jodi Picoult
464 pp.
September 2008
I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with Picoult's book, but it contained enough that's very good to recommend it as a LitPick.
Part of what's disappointing is the gimmicky cliff-hangers. Picoult is too good a writer to fall back on chintzy tricks—though I admit she kept me turning pages till 3 a.m.
The Human Stain
Philip Roth, 2000
384 pp.
August 2008
On page 4, the protagonist of Roth's novel, a classics professor, asks his students:
You know how European literature begins?... With a quarrel. All of European literature springs from a fight.... Agamemnon, King of men, and great Achilles. And what are they quarreling about these two violent, mighty souls? It's as basic as a barroom brawl. They are quarreling over a woman.