The Accidentalby Ali Smith.  This is one of many suggestions from a contributor who shared a book list compiled by her fellow Barnard College alums. "The Accidentalis the dizzyingly entertaining, wickedly humorous story of a mysterious stranger whose sudden appearance during a family’s summer holiday transforms four variously unhappy people. Each of the Smarts–parents Eve and Michael, son Magnus, and the youngest, daughter Astrid–encounter Amber in his or her own solipsistic way, but somehow her presence allows them to se their lives (and their life together) in a new light. Smith’s exhilarating facility with language, her narrative freedom, and her chromatic wordplay propel the novel to its startling, wonderfully enigmatic conclusion. Ali Smith’s acclaimed novel won the prestigious Whitbread Award and was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, the Orange Prize, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize."

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. "A sweet, allegorical novel. Quick read." And: “The type of book I'll read and reread, it inspires one to waste no time in pursuing their dreams.”

Ancient Lightby John Banville.  "Gripping and wistful account of a long ago love affair in rural Ireland.  Gorgeous writing, if a tad pompous in places."

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. "A lovely novel set alternately in the Italian coast in the 1960s and Hollywood today... transitions between a beautiful young cast member of the Cleopatra movie who was involved with Richard Burton, a young hotelier in Italy, an American writer who summers in Italy and an American film producer and his assistant."

Beneath the Marble Sky by John Shors. "a love story of the building of the Taj Mahal.....most excellent read."

The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. From Amazon: "Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd who—from the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister—dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukú—a curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevere—and risk it all—in the name of love."

Brooklynby Coim Toibin.  This was on the 2012 New Fiction list. It was bumped up this year on the strength of additional enthusiastic reviews.  Eilis Lacey grew up in a small town in Ireland after World War II.  When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor her in America, she decides she must go, leaving behind her fragile mother and vivacious sister.  “I loved the tone and the voice of the narrator, the way the story was sparsely told and yet so full of life.  Toibin shows us so much about the time and experience of Irish immigrants in the years after World War II without telling us explicitly."  (Great interview with author here: BBC)

The Burgess Boysby Elizabeth Strout. By the author of Olive Kittredge, a top pick a couple of years ago. “Haunted by the freak accident that killed their father when they were children, Jim and Bob Burgess escaped from their Maine hometown of Shirley Falls for New York City as soon as they possibly could. Jim, a sleek, successful corporate lawyer, has belittled his bighearted brother their whole lives, and Bob, a Legal Aid attorney who idolizes Jim, has always taken it in stride. But their long-standing dynamic is upended when their sister, Susan—the Burgess sibling who stayed behind—urgently calls them home. Her lonely teenage son, Zach, has gotten himself into trouble, and Susan desperately needs their help. And so the Burgess brothers return to the landscape of their childhood, where the long-buried tensions that have shaped and shadowed their relationship begin to surface in unexpected ways that will change them forever. I have read and loved every novel by Elizabeth Strout and this newest one does not disappoint. As always, the author delivers rich character development and nuanced insight into complicated family dynamics. Also, a must-read for anyone from Maine.”

Circe by Madeline Miller. This is a tremendous tour de force by the Brown professor, Madeline Miller, who made her mark with The Song of Ulysses (2012). Circe is the retelling of the goddess' story and it's beautiful. The language, the imagery... all of it. Amazing. And, in telling the story of Circe, Miller really tells the universal and eternal story of all women. It's one of my favorite books ever.

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. "A charming, stroll through friendship, marriage and family. This book is like taking a bite off of a bitter sweet apple." From Amazon:  "Tracing the lives, loves, and aspirations of two couples who move between Vermont and Wisconsin, it is a work of quiet majesty, deep compassion, and powerful insight into the alchemy of friendship and marriage."  Cozy settings - academia and a summer place in Vermont.

Cry, The Beloved Country (Paperback) by Alan Paton. "I read and loved this before my South Africa trip. It is beautifully written and incredibly heartbreaking." It was first published in 1948 apartheid South Africa.

Cutting for Stone (Vintage) by Abraham Verghese. I am not sure I know anyone who didn’t love this book. It’s about identical twins born to a beautiful Indian nun in Ethiopia. (Yes, really.) She dies in childbirth, leaving them to be raised by one of the most wonderful couples I’ve ever encountered in literature. I'm not going to say how long it is … read it on the Kindle, as I did, and find out AFTER you’ve finished it. Comments: "Gorgeous writing style and story." "The book opened so many windows -- allowing a rare glimpse into Ethiopia, into surgery (NEVER thought I'd want to read all of that!), then crossing the pond with our protagonist to his life at a hospital in the Bronx."  "My goodness, I loved this book. Sweeping, yet intimate family saga of twin brothers born to a doctor and a nun-nurse and how their lives unfold. Stranger in a strange land, what is home, what is family -- all themes in this beautifully written book."

And the Dark Sacred Night by Julia Glass.  “Julia Glass tells a detailed story of an unemployed art historian and his quest to locate his unknown father. His journey forces him to reconnect with his former step-father who leads him to others who will know the answer.  Reader's of Glass's first novel, Three Junes, will recognize Lucinda, the mother of music critic who died of AIDS.  The story is a memorable tale about the youthful choices that steer destinies, the necessity of forgiveness, and the risks that we take to face the past.”

The Death of the Heart and The House in Paris. By Elizabeth Bowen. “Re-reviewed in the Post as must-reads & look delicious (in the Somerset Maugham-kind of tradition I think).”

Department of Speculation by Jenny Offil   “Written like a poem, this book of minimal words tells a complex tale of a marriage over a long period of time.  I loved the format and the fact that she eliminates every extraneous bit, leaving a perfectly told, rich account of family life.  Brilliant writing and an edgy style.” …  “Jenny Offill’s second novel charts the course of a marriage through curious, often shimmering fragments of prose. A writer lives in Brooklyn. A writer lives in Brooklyn and falls in love. A writer in Brooklyn marries and has a child. A married writer in Brooklyn lives, and then there are bedbugs. The novel is, at times, reminiscent of Renata Adler’s Speedboat with a less bitter edge. Seemingly significant information is doled out in inscrutable doses. Each fragment is satisfying or not, and exists unto itself but also, clearly, as part of something bigger. 'Dept. of Speculation' moves quickly, but it is also joyously demanding because you will want to keep trying to understand the why of each fragment and how it fits with the others.”

Disgraceby J.M. Coatzee. “Though not very long and quite an easy read, this book amazed me with all it accomplishes. Coatzee does gender and race in South Africa without ever mentioning the words, hardly hinting that he’s talking politics at all. In fact, the title could be ‘Desire,’ for all its focus on what the heart wants. I’ve wanted to read Coatzee since he won the Nobel in 2003, and I wasn’t disappointed. Yes, the book’s subjects involve the political, but what he’s really written is a suspenseful—This can’t be happening but it is!-- near-Biblical tale on the meaning of love—and parenting.”

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbury.  "Reading it now and while it took me a while to get into it, I am completely caught in its spell now. Set in Paris, it is about a combination of intriguing and surprising people who all live in a well-to-do apartment building in Paris. It’s a major life themes kind of book with lots of humor and kindness to offset some of the heavy stuff. " Same contributor, about a day later: "Okay I confess that I just read then end of the Hedgehog and it was really wonderful. One of the best books ever. Practically sobbing, but not in a miserably sad way. It was just beautiful and is one of those books that gathers steam." "A wonderful story about a child living in a crazy French apartment building and considering killing herself. I did love this book. Apparently child psychiatrists make it mandatory reading for their patients."

To the End of the Landby David Grossman. This title came from a book club of Barnard alums, one of whom shared their list in 2013.  "From one of Israel’s most acclaimed writers comes a novel of extraordinary power about family life—the greatest human drama—and the cost of war.  Ora, a middle-aged Israeli mother, is on the verge of celebrating her son Ofer’s release from army service when he returns to the front for a major offensive. In a fit of preemptive grief and magical thinking, she sets out for a hike in the Galilee, leaving no forwarding information for the ‘notifiers’ who might darken her door with the worst possible news. Recently estranged from her husband, Ilan, she drags along an unlikely companion: their former best friend and her former lover, Avram, once a brilliant artistic spirit."

Everything by Kevin Canty.  Another title from our 2013 list that was sent in by a member of a Barnard alumnae book club.  "In taut, exquisite prose, Kevin Canty explores the largest themes of life—work, love, death, destruction, rebirth—in the middle of the everyday. On the fifth of July, RL and June go down to the river with a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red to commemorate Taylor’s fiftieth and last birthday. Taylor was RL’s boyhood friend and June’s husband, but after eleven years, June, a childless hospice worker, finally declares she’s 'nobody’s widow anymore.' Anxious for a new beginning, June considers selling her beloved house. RL, a divorced empty-nester, faces a major change, too, when he agrees to lodge his college girlfriend, Betsy, while she undergoes chemotherapy. Caught between Betsy’s anguish and June’s hope, the cynical RL is brought face-to-face with his own sense of futility, and the longing to experience the kind of love that 'knocks you down.' Set in Montana, reflecting the beauty of its landscape and the independence of its people, this is a shimmering novel about unexpected redemption by a writer of deep empathy and prodigious talents."

Florida by Lauren Groff. Her imagination and writing style is impeccable.  The beginning starts strong, then it wanes. Her inability to fight her own pretentiousness comes close to ruining this excellent series of short stories.  If you took French and want to try and see if you still remember it, this is your book.

The Garden of Evening Mistsby Tan Twan Eng. "On a mountain above the clouds once lived a man who had been the gardener of the Emperor of Japan.... Eng's writing is poetic at times and full of beautiful imagery. The Malaysian settings of the Japanese garden and the tea estate are fully drawn and for the past few days my head has been filled with visions of lush jungle and a formal structured garden of rock and foreign plants - contrasting images that parallel life in a country controlled by outsiders, first by the British and then the invading Japanese during the war. Teoh Yun Ling is a retired judge who returns to the Cameron Highlands with aphasia - she will slowly forget how to speak and write and understand language. As a result, she starts to document her past and her story is told through her writing interspersed with episodes in the present day. The story unfolds slowly and while the book is character driven, the plot is generally compelling."

Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi. "Kweku Sai is dead. A renowned surgeon and failed husband, he succumbs suddenly at dawn outside his home in suburban Accra. The news of Kweku’s death sends a ripple around the world, bringing together the family he abandoned years before. Ghana Must Go is their story. Electric, exhilarating, beautifully crafted, Ghana Must Go is a testament to the transformative power of unconditional love, from a debut novelist of extraordinary talent."

The Girl Who Fell from the Skyby Heidi Durrow. "This novel tells the story of a girl, daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I. who miraculously survives a tragedy that claims the rest of her family. She moves in with her African-American grandmother and struggles to fit in with her light skin and blue eyes."  Chosen by Barbara Kingsolver as the winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice.

Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  I know, I know … I'm sure this isn't the first you've heard of this book, but too many of you loved it not to include as a top pick.  Some of your comments:  “The story begins with an explosion at the Metropolitan Museum that kills narrator Theo Decker's beloved mother and results in his unlikely possession of a Dutch masterwork called The Goldfinch. Shootouts, gangsters, pillowcases, storage lockers, and the black market for art all play parts in the ensuing life of the painting in Theo's care…”  “Wonderfully well-written book with great characters and an interesting plot that carries over many years.  It is the story of a young boy who ends up in possession of the Dutch Master painting The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius.  His desire to protect the painting and what is represents to him defines the choices he makes and the people he comes in contact with.  It is a long book and at times the writing seemed repetitious, but worth the effort.“ “Gripping novel, non-thriller page turner, fabulous writing that gives you the opportunity to google new vocabulary words every 10 pages or so...  I am ¾ thru…expect it may end somewhat predictably but don’t care. I am thoroughly enjoying the literary ride!”   “Well written, absorbing story. It's long but push through the one slow part and you will be glad. Good to read in one fell swoop.”   “Loving the goldfinch so much, went on to read her older The Secret History, which I did not like because the characters were mostly self-absorbed little rich kids and no one seemed to have the guts to stand up for what is right.”  “not exactly 'beach' read, long..is one of those books I think if written in pre kindle times would have been edited more! But...that said, did love the story and struggle of a boy becoming a man in a very messed up situation but a few admirable adult characters.”

Home by Marilynne Robinson "Gilead, Housekeeping, the Death of Adam--I've read pretty much everything she's written and held on to each word for dear life. I really enjoyed Home--it's easier though perhaps, in my opinion, not as profound as Gilead. Just won the Orange Prize in England. Its main character, Glory Boughton, is a marvelous creation."

Ideas of Heaven: A Ring of Stories by Joan Silber. "This delighted me with its clever links and layered meanings. It’s an inquiry into spiritual and sexual longing—how people use the two for similar ends—or not. The language is gorgeous and inspiring. My book club loved it.”  National Book Award Finalist.

The Imperfectionists: A Novel by Tom Rachman. I gather this book is like Olive Kitteridge – a bunch of stories loosely woven together. It’s gotten mixed reviews on Goodreads, but friends gave it raves: "I've been reviewing some of the books I read on Amazon and will be giving this one 5 stars once I think of a review that is worthy. Don’t read the summary on Amazon, just read the book!" and: "I raced through this book in a day, devouring the vignettes of characters who work for an American newspaper headquartered in Rome. Each chapter tells the story of a different employee at the paper. .. Between each chapter/character study is the ongoing back story of the paper's history and its founder, an American business man who leaves his wife and family in Atlanta to move to Rome and create the paper as a way to connect again with an old flame. There is nothing new about building a novel out of a series of connected short stories and the newspaper world creates a microcosm that works will with this technique. Rachman writes with a warmth and humor and an obvious affection for these ‘imperfect’ characters - his style elevates what could have been a fairly average book to something more substantial." (Ed: Just read that Brad Pitt acquired the movie rights.)

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  "A wonderfully creative premise - using flowers and what they stood for during victorian times as a means to express feelings for an orphan who grew up mostly in abusive foster homes - and a nicely woven together story, with some extreme moments. Overall an entertaining and at times heart wrenching read.”

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens.  From Amazon: College student Joe Talbert has the modest goal of completing a writing assignment for an English class. His task is to interview a stranger and write a brief biography of the person. With deadlines looming, Joe heads to a nearby nursing home to find a willing subject. There he meets Carl Iverson, and soon nothing in Joe's life is ever the same. Carl is a dying Vietnam veteran--and a convicted murderer. With only a few months to live, he has been medically paroled to a nursing home, after spending thirty years in prison for the crimes of rape and murder.  As Joe writes about Carl's life, especially Carl's valor in Vietnam, he cannot reconcile the heroism of the soldier with the despicable acts of the convict. Joe, along with his skeptical female neighbor, throws himself into uncovering the truth, but he is hamstrung in his efforts by having to deal with his dangerously dysfunctional mother, the guilt of leaving his autistic brother vulnerable, and a haunting childhood memory.  Thread by thread, Joe unravels the tapestry of Carl’s conviction. But as he and Lila dig deeper into the circumstances of the crime, the stakes grow higher. Will Joe discover the truth before it’s too late to escape the fallout?

The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk's. "Please give this a try, and don't listen to Virginia complaining that it is sad. By the Nobel Prize winner, and author of Snow, it is sad, but it is astonishing." (Ed: Yes, I did say it was too sad. Of course, I hadn’t actually READ it, just read ABOUT it.)  From Amazon:  It is 1975, a perfect spring in Istanbul. Kemal and Sibel, children of two prominent families, are about to become engaged. But when Kemal encounters Füsun, a beautiful shopgirl and a distant relation, he becomes enthralled. And once they violate the code of virginity, a rift begins to open between Kemal and the world of the Westernized Istanbul bourgeoisie. In his pursuit of Füsun over the next eight years, Kemal becomes a compulsive collector of objects that chronicle his lovelorn progress—amassing a museum that is both a map of a society and of his heart. Orhan Pamuk’s first novel since winning the Nobel Prize is a stirring exploration of the nature of romance.

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill. In case you (like me) have a vague sense you've heard of this book, it was made famous when Barack Obama told the New York Times Magazine he was reading it. "This is a good one. Haven't finished it yet, but like it so far."

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  "Not my usual kind of read because of its fanciful and magical nature but now one of my 'must reads.'   The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.   But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, they tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.  True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead."

Olive Kitteredge by Elizabeth Stout "My favorite fiction book this year. So many facets of one life with perspectives from many. Half way through the book I looked at the questions in the back and one asked if I liked the main character Olive at which point I thought ‘No, absolutely not!" but by the end of the book I really did like and appreciate her.’  "Great writing. It weaves subtle, sad, and at times shocking life stories in a Maine town."

The Other Side of You by Salley Vickers "This definitely goes into the ‘Books That Changed My Life’ column. I first heard of it from the Post’s Michael Dirda—always a trusted source!--though what I came away with exceeded his praise. Vickers is British, with a background in literature and psychotherapy. In this story, she examines a patient/therapist relationship, how their sharing changes each, while tying in Caravaggio’s life, as well as scripture—an unlikely addition to this most secular world—with thought-provoking and heartbreaking results. I adored this book, have the marked up hardcover to prove it, and did a fair amount of weeping. Yes, too heavy for the beach..."

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. “Sparse and powerful.” From Amazon:  We were going out stealing horses. That was what he said, standing at the door to the cabin where I was spending the summer with my father. I was fifteen. It was 1948 and one of the first days of July. Trond’s friend Jon often appeared at his doorstep with an adventure in mind for the two of them. But this morning was different. What began as a joy ride on “borrowed” horses ends with Jon falling into a strange trance of grief. Trond soon learns what befell Jon earlier that day—an incident that marks the beginning of a series of vital losses for both boys. Set in the easternmost region of Norway, Out Stealing Horsesbegins with an ending. Sixty-seven-year-old Trond has settled into a rustic cabin in an isolated area to live the rest of his life with a quiet deliberation. A meeting with his only neighbor, however, forces him to reflect on that fateful summer.

The Passage by Justin Cronin. From Amazon: "You don't have to be a fan of vampire fiction to be enthralled by The Passage, Justin Cronin's blazing new novel. Cronin is a remarkable storyteller (just ask adoring fans of his award-winning Mary and O'Neil), whose gorgeous writing brings depth and vitality to this ambitious epic about a virus that nearly destroys the world, and a six-year-old girl who holds the key to bringing it back."

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. "Almost 30 years since I last read this book and it was well worth the re-read. The classic quotes alone, such as "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." (Ch. 1, Lord Henry, to Basil.), make this re-read fun."

The Round Houseby Louise Erdrich. Lots of positive comments:  "Riveting and suspenseful, arguably the most accessible novel to date from the creator of Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and The Bingo Palace, Erdrich’s The Round House is a page-turning masterpiece of literary fiction—at once a powerful coming-of-age story, a mystery, and a tender, moving novel of family, history, and culture."  ...   "Modern day version of To Kill a Mockingbird. Very interesting story about life on an Indian reservation in the Southwest."

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. This book actually appeared on last year’s list. It was suggested by publishing industry friend and was published mid-summer. Everyone who read it seems to have loved it: “The writing was just beautiful. The plot reasonably straightforward, with some interesting twists, yet what made this book was the writing. A treat!” And: “I was so surprised when I realized the author was a man.” Another contributor: “chronicle of the life of a young woman in New York in the 1930's. The author writes the way we wish we all could - fabulous metaphors combined with graceful prose that tells the truth, even when it hurts. You won't see the plot twist coming toward the end of the book, either.”

Run by Ann Patchett. “It's a story about family -- who's in a family? Why? What are the boundaries and edges of what makes up a family? Stunning.”

Sacred Games by Vikram Seth. "One of the best books I’ve read in a LONG time. Completely got lost in it. Fell in love with one of the characters – it won’t take you 5 pages before you figure out who – and became mesmerized by the relationship btw India and Pakistan that the book traces. Maxing out around 900 pages, it is a commitment – not a beach fling – but you won’t regret it." From Wiki:  Sacred Games combines the ambition of a 19th-century social novel with a cops-and-Bhais detective thriller. (Bhai is a Hindi slang term for gangster.)

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. “Every sentence builds the story…The book becomes a mystery although for the first half it feels like a very straightforward narrative of Tony Weber remembering his school days, his boyhood friend, his first lover and then his marriage and fatherhood. There is much here about memory and the way we create and shape our own life story into something we can live with ourselves and present to others. In the second half of the book we are shown another side to this narrative and Tony and the reader has to reconsider what we thought of his version of the past. I would recommend reading this book without knowing a lot about the plot so that you can try to piece the story together along with Tony (which is why I'm writing very little about the plot here). There is a lot to think about with this book and I'm still lingering on the after effects.” And: “You will read this short compelling book twice in order to make ‘sense’ of it. A middle aged man looks back on what he thinks are his memories of a college romance, and sees things completely differently the second time around. Short, sweet, and thoughtful.” And: “an interesting reflection on the character's life and some mistakes he made along the way.”

So Brave, Young and Handsome: A Novel by Leif Enger. "Gorgeous, gorgeous writing by the author of Peace Like a River. A story about couple of fugitives, a lot of close escapes, and some fascinating secondary characters. A sympathetically written allegory similar in tone and feel to the movie ‘Oh Brother, Where Art Thou.’" (Ed: Peace Like a River is one of my all-time favorite books. Please read it if you haven't already!)

Songs without Words by Ann Packer. Follow-up novel by the author of Dive from Clausen's Pier (which I loved).  "Liz and Sarabeth were childhood neighbors in the suburbs of northern California, brought as close as sisters by the suicide of Sarabeth’s mother when the girls were just sixteen. In the decades that followed–through Liz’s marriage and the birth of her children, through Sarabeth’s attempts to make a happy life for herself despite the shadow cast by her mother’s act–their relationship remained a source of continuity and strength. But when Liz’s adolescent daughter enters dangerous waters that threaten to engulf the family, the fault lines in the women’s friendship are revealed, and both Liz and Sarabeth are forced to reexamine their most deeply held beliefs about their connection."

The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. Several of you mentioned this new release. From Amazon: “It is 1968. Lynnie, a young white woman with a developmental disability, and Homan, an African American deaf man, are locked away in an institution, the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, and have been left to languish, forgotten. Deeply in love, they escape, and find refuge in the farmhouse of Martha, a retired schoolteacher and widow. But the couple is not alone-Lynnie has just given birth to a baby girl.” Reviewers have used words like "enthralling" and "captivating."

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. "I read all bazillion pages in about four days (on vacation). I liked it (loved it even), but rather wish I'd known it was based on Hamlet."  "I would put it at the top of my list. Absolute favorite book of the last few years. It is one of those absorbing books where you can actually ignore everything around you and read. Perfect vacation book! Amazing character development and story line. I wish I could write or even just imagine like him."  From Amazon:  "Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm—and into Edgar's mother's affections.  Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires—spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward."

Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan.  “A spy novel told by a twenty-something MI-5 agent in the 1970s about coming into the service and her life as a young, independent woman.  The novel focuses on her mission, ‘Sweet Tooth’ and how she blurs the line between work and her personal personal life.  Give it a few chapters – it took me a while to get into, but once you are immersed in her world it is difficult to leave it until you’ve read the last page.”

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell. “Mitchell can take spit globules, gout, puss, blood letting, beatings, anal exploratories, overall bad hygiene, and organized rape and turn it into poetry. I'll admit that the idea of a historical novel set in a 1799 Dutch trading post off the coast of Japan didn't readily appeal to me. And the dialect of the first section (something like garbled cockney that Mitchell calls ‘bygonese’ in an interview in the back of the book) was a little difficult to process at first. Give it time and let yourself absorb Mitchell's deliberate language and vivid imagery. You are in the hands of a master storyteller. A Thousand Autumns pulls in elements of romance, action, political thriller and high seas adventure. His characters are varied and complex - even minor characters have multi-dimensions that add depth to the story. By the end of the book I was fully invested, cheering and mourning the various outcomes of each character's fate.”

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.“BEAUTIFULLY written, loved this book, although a bit tragic/dark like her other books.” "Almost as good as her first book of short stories.” “subtle prose masks rich, intricate family relations.”

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. Each chapter in this novel, which won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is told from a different character’s point of view –friends and associates of a music producer/former punk rocker. Contributor comments: "Smart, modern, and well-written book dealing with the aging of a generation of hip youngsters." … "This is a fun but thoughtful book about...well...about a whole bunch of people who all have some connection to each other, some more than others, all dealing with different stages of life, and we meet several of them over again as they age or in their past. Confused? You won't be. I never felt out of place or out of time in this book. Egan does a great job of quickly establishing where you are at and with which character and then you fall completely into their story."

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.  Winner of the Booker prize, a novel about Thomas Cromwell, the villain of "A Man for all Seasons" (but not of Wolf Hall). "Lovely tempo and atmospheric style of writing in an historical setting. Quite a successful combination." "Who knew one could feel sympathy towards Oliver Cromwell?  If you love the Tudor age and no detail is too much, this is the book for you.  The writing style bugged friends of mine, I think they found it pompous, but it didn't bother me.  I loved the book and enjoyed the different twist on an old and well-known storyline.”  (Ed: It is indeed brilliant, but like many readers, I was beyond annoyed by Mantel’s ambiguous use of the pronoun "he." A hint to increase your enjoyment: If she says "he," she generally means Cromwell.  She did better with this in the sequel.)

A Young Wife by Pam Lewis (Publishing insider recommendation – release date 6/14/2011) “About the Book: When fifteen-year-old Minke van Aisma travels to Amsterdam to care for the dying wife of an older, wealthy man named Sander DeVries, she has no idea what awaits her. Within hours of his wife's death, Sander proposes marriage, and within days the couple sets sail for the burgeoning oil fields of Argentina. But the future that seemed so bright takes a dark turn the morning their son, Zef, is kidnapped. Dire circumstances dictate that Sander immigrate to New York at once, leaving Minke little choice but to wait for their new baby's arrival, follow Sander to America, and abandon her firstborn. What follows is a triumphant turn-of-the-century saga of love, betrayal, and redemption that takes readers from the opulent life in Amsterdam during the 1900s to rough life on the Argentine coast to the impoverished life of a recent immigrant in New York.”