Fiction

All the King’s Menby Robert Penn Warren. “An American classic. Just so, so good. Originally published in 1946, it won the Pulitzer Prize the following year and remains one of the best novels about politics ever written. It's the story of Willie Stark, a character loosely based on Louisiana Governor Huey Long. All The King's Men is set in swampy Louisiana back in the 1930s, but the dirty politics and back-room scheming will ring true to anybody who follows the ways of Washington in the 21st century.”

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. [Ed: Okay, I SWORE this was on the list last year. The review was all prepared, but somehow it isn't on the website. Maybe since I'm the only one who didn't like it, I sabotaged it subconsciously. Anyway, what follows is last year's review:] So many of you mentioned this, I felt compelled to include it - my comments at the end. “This was the most beautiful and moving book I have read in a long, long time. Set in Europe at the time of the WWII, it is a gorgeously written story that follows several different characters including a blind young French girl and a talented German orphan. These characters lived in my mind during the day and I could not wait to get back to them every night to see what would happen to them. This was a book that I could have easily devoured very quickly but I paced myself to extend the pleasure. That almost never happens. Enjoy!”....”I am still carrying in my heart the characters from that book. “....”A beautiful story about a teenage German boy and a teenage French girl who is blind during WWII. The subject matter is not typical of a "beach read," but it's well worth reading nonetheless. Some readers may be put off by the story jumping around in time, though.”....”So beautifully written- the character's stories are so moving and the story builds to gripping and tearful end.”....“Pulitzer Prize winner. Beautifully written. Nice when you can recommend a book to your mother, daughter's, husband, etc. “...."blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II."....“A great read, fascinating way of intertwining characters and time periods. The ending did leave me disappointed (I wanted more) but overall a really powerful, well written story.” [Editor: I thought Doerr’s descriptive prose was amazing, but I didn’t connect with the characters. Unlike others, I *could* put it down, quite easily, and found it kind of a slog.]

All the Old Knives by Olen Steinhauer. “Two CIA spies -- who happen to be ex-lovers -- meet up in California for a suspenseful dinner. They both bring secrets to the table, which unfold as each delicious-sounding course is served. Why did Henry, still a CIA spook in Vienna, travel all the way to California for this meal? Why did Cecilia quit the CIA and vanish from Henry's life, six years ago? And will both of them survive this meal? Suspenseful, easy read that really keeps you guessing until the last page.”

Alone in Berlinby Hans Fallada This is one of many suggestions this year from a contributor who shared a book list from her fellow Barnard alums. (All are marked “Barnard Book Club.”)Comments: “It’s Berlin, 1940, and the city is filled with fear. At the house on 55 Jablonski Strasse, its various occupants try to live under Nazi rule in their different ways: the bullying Hitler loyalists the Persickes, the retired judge Fromm and the unassuming couple Otto and Anna Quangel. Then the Quangels receive the news that their beloved son has been killed fighting in France. Shocked out of their quiet existence, they begin a silent campaign of defiance, and a deadly game of cat and mouse develops between the Quangels and the ambitious Gestapo inspector Escherich. When petty criminals Kluge and Borkhausen also become involved, deception, betrayal and murder ensue, tightening the noose around the Quangels' necks.”

Along the Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams. "I've loved all of Beatriz Williams books; they have the same cast of characters floating in and out of all of them, but I can never remember any of the back stories and they are not necessary to enjoy each book on its own. This novel centers on a troubled woman who buys an old Mercedes and becomes involved with the old woman who had previously owned it. The story goes back and forth between present day and the woman's past during WWII with a Nazi husband and a Jewish lover. Lots of twists and turns to the story - a fun, quick read."

America’s First Daughter, by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. "Excellent! It’s historical fiction, written from the POV of Thomas Jefferson’s daughter, Martha 'Patsy' Jefferson Randall. It begins with the family’s flight from the British after Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence and ends a few years after his death, when Patsy assumed the duties of first lady to bachelor Andrew Jackson. Filled with family drama, politics (of both the American and French Revolutions), romance and LOTS of kids (scary to think of life before birth control!), it also provides wonderful insight into Jefferson, the man, champion for liberty and the slaveholder. (Sally Hemmings is featured throughout the book, although the authors acknowledge literary license was employed to link together well-hidden facts.) Both fascinating and charming – I highly recommend!"

American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman. “Fantasy. It's the story of all the gods American immigrants brought with them and abandoned on our shores. Imagine meeting Thor, or Zeus, or any of the pagan gods. Gaiman insists they're here, among us, and tells a great tale. Another gorgeous writer.”

The American Heiress: A Novel by Daisy Goodwin.“Great beach read -- 1890's era, aristocracy, Newport, England... Downton Abbey-esque.” It falls apart a little at the end, but it’s sort of fun.

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield. "Fun easy read – Laura Bush story with a Midwest twist! High school tragedy, survival, falling in love to someone out of your element, questioning a marriage, repenting husband, finding religion, power, wealth, white house Read the 500 page book in four days. A real ego boost when you haven’t finished a book in a year. Very light, but not Danielle Steele." And, “am embarrassed, but whipped through American Wife and fully enjoyed the trash.”

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."

And Sons by David Gilbert. “I loved this book , A story within a story… three generations of waspy men, fathers and sons, set in Upper East Side NYC, It was so unexpectedly well written and funny and hauntingly familiar. I felt like all the characters, as flawed as they were, were people I knew in my life for better or for worse. It is also a page-turner with a very bizarre reveal at the end.”

Angelology by Danielle Trussoni. “A mix of fiction and biblical mythology, the book focuses on the Nephilim, human/angel hybrids created when god first created Earth and sent angelic Watchers to oversee humanity. The hybrids, beautiful, cruel creatures who live among humans, are dying of an unknown disease and attempting to discover the cure hidden in a convent. In turn, the convent houses a few nuns/angelologists who attempt to destroy the Nephilim before they ruin humanity. The book is reminiscent of a Dan Brown novel, however it feels like Trussoni got tired of writing by the end.”

Angle of Repose (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by Wallace Stegner. One of our contributors reminded me of this gem, saying “I'm not sure why a book set mostly in mining towns in the West during 1880s appealed to me, but it did. It is the best book I've read!” Crossing to Safety, also by Stegner, has appeared on our list previously, one of my all-time favorites, and I think a good "beach classic."

Anonymous Sourcesby Mary Louise Kelly. When this book was on the list in 2013, two contributors had mentioned it, and it hadn't even been published yet! It was a great read, and is of particular interest to this blog’s readers. “An intriguing thriller from a former NPR correspondent about a young reporter who must match wits with spies, assassins and a terrorist sleeper cell targeting the very heart of American power… Thom Carlyle had it all: the rowing trophies, the Oxbridge education, the glamorous girlfriend. But on a glorious summer evening in Harvard Square, Thom is murdered—pushed from the top of a Harvard bell tower. The New England Chronicle sends a beautiful, feisty, but troubled reporter named Alexandra James to investigate. It is the story of a lifetime. But it is not what it seems. Alex’s reporting takes her abroad, from the cobbled courtyards of Cambridge, England...to the inside of a network of nuclear terrorists...to the corridors of the CIA...and finally, to the terrorists’ target itself.”

The Anthologist: A Novel by Nicholson Baker. “The title and subject matter may sound dry (an obscure writer annoys his girlfriend and himself by failing to write the introduction to a poetry anthology), but the book is hilarious. It will also make you think about poetry, and it sent me running back to Amazon to buy some books by the authors that he most admires.”

Apparition & Late Fictions: A Novella and Stories by Thomas Lynch. “Beach reads because it is short story format: Love, memory, family, set in Ohio, from a great poet. High class beach reading.”

Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty. “Excellent mystery, thriller beach read. Once you start, you can't put down. I felt on the edge of my seat while reading - very taut and psychologically twisted. Lots of unexpected turns and don't want to say too much, but it delivers...”

Appointment in Samarraby John O'Hara. “One of the great novels of small-town American life, Appointment in Samarra is John O’Hara’s crowning achievement. In December 1930, just before Christmas, the Gibbsville, Pennsylvania, social circuit is electrified with parties and dances. At the center of the social elite stand Julian and Caroline English. But in one rash moment born inside a highball glass, Julian breaks with polite society and begins a rapid descent toward self-destruction. Brimming with wealth and privilege, jealousy and infidelity, O’Hara’s iconic first novel is an unflinching look at the dark side of the American dream—and a lasting testament to the keen social intelligence if a major American writer. (My husband and I read this along with two other couples and discussed over dinner and several bottles of wine. Lots of lively banhulter and interesting discussion followed).”

Arabesquesby Anton Shammas (Barnard Book Club).“Arabesques is a classic, complex novel of identity, memory, and history in the Middle East and points beyond. Anton Shammas chronicles his life as an Israeli Christian Arab, dramatizing the bitter clash of traditions in a village on the Galilee just after 1948 and his search for personal identity, which leads through Paris to its climax in Iowa City.Anton Shammas, the first Arab to write a novel in Hebrew, has given us a riveting look at a people we hear too little about: Palestinian Christians. Arabesques was chosen as one of the best books of 1988 by the editors of the New York Times Book Review.”

Arm Candy by Jill Kargman. “All of Jill Kargman’s books are hilarious but Arm Candy is the newest. It is full of great lines which will make you laugh out loud. The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefundwhich came out last year, also by Jill, is also fun read.”

Fiction

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