1. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
(13 Rave, 8 Positive, 1 Mixed, 1 Pan)
“Like every good historical novel I’ve ever read, the storyline of this one is as hokey as hell and completely transporting … to focus on scattered imperfections would be like focusing on the litter of New York City streets while ignoring the wonder of the city itself. Manhattan Beach is a big gorgeous tribute to New York City and its seaport. In drawing from the classic catalog of New York stories, Manhattan Beach also takes its place among them.”
–Maureen Corrigan (NPR)
Read an excerpt from Manhattan Beach here
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2. Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
(10 Rave, 1 Positive)
“The collection is that hallowed thing: an example of almost preposterous talent that also encapsulates something vital but previously diffuse about the moment … Machado reveals just how original, subversive, proud and joyful it can be to write from deep in the gut, even — especially — if the gut has been bruised.”
–Ellie Robins (The Los Angeles Times)
Read an excerpt from Her Body and Other Parties here
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3. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
(6 Rave, 1 Mixed)
“Reservoir 13 isn’t simply an iteration of the usual story, however: it’s a fascinating exploration of it. McGregor is a writer with extraordinary control, and he uses the power of the archetype as well as our genre expectations for his own purposes … an enthralling and brilliant investigation of disturbing elements embedded deeply in our story tradition.”
–Tessa Hadley (The Guardian)
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4. Fresh Complaint by Jeffrey Eugenides
(4 Rave, 3 Positive, 3 Mixed, 1 Pan)
“Line by line, paragraph by paragraph, Eugenides writes like a man who is enjoying himself. The feeling is contagious … Many of Eugenides’s short stories are about mental self-mutilation. He writes with elegiac wit about middle-class, mostly educated men and women whose lives have begun to grind them down.”
–Dwight Garner (The New York Times)
Read an interview with Jeffrey Eugenides here
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5. Sisters by Lily Tuck
(4 Rave, 2 Positive)
“In lieu of names or length, Tuck offers instead another minimalist masterpiece, a tight knot of a novel filled with intertextual puzzles, pathos, and happy rewards … It is through intertextual reveries that Tuck is able to pack so much heft into such a small package.”
–Eugenia Williamson (The Boston Globe)
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1. We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
(7 Rave, 1 Positive)
“We Were Eight Years in Power is more than a ‘loose memoir’; it’s Coates giving himself a deep read, and inviting us to join him in this look at his intellectual journey. And by showcasing a range of essays—some his strongest work, others deeply flawed—he asks his readers to consider him as a writer, nothing more and nothing less.”
–Jamelle Bouie (Slate)
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2. The Future is History by Masha Gessen
(4 Rave, 3 Positive, 1 Mixed)
“…a magisterial, panoramic overview of Russia under Putin … Gessen’s reconstruction of the ongoing saga of Russia’s reversion to vozhdizm makes for thrilling and necessary reading for those who seek to understand the path to suppression of individual freedoms, and who recognize that this path can be imposed on any nation that lacks the vigilance to avert it.”
–Liesl Schillinger (The Barnes & Noble Review)
Read an essay by Masha Gessen here
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3. Thanks, Obama by David Litt
(3 Rave, 4 Positive, 1 Mixed)
“Thanks, Obama distinguishes itself as a feat of thinking, not just telling. Litt’s years in the White House have given him insight into the political moment … Litt minted his star converting world affairs into jokes. The translation of satire back to sincerity is trickier to pull off, and lands with its own undeniable grace.”
–Katy Waldman (Slate)
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4. A Bold and Dangerous Family by Caroline Moorehead
(3 Rave, 2 Positive, 1 Mixed)
“Moorehead’s portrait of the Rosselli brothers is at once a political history of pre-second world war Italy, a beautiful literary portrait of two brave young men, and a gripping tale of intrigue, espionage and escape. There have been a number of fine books about the Rossellis…None, though, have been this well structured, this readable, this deeply involved in the material of their lives. I finished it impressed, breathless and enormously moved.”
–Alex Preston (The Guardian)
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5. Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig
(2 Rave, 2 Positive, 1 Mixed)
“…[a] stunning biography … Eig is far too precise of a biographer to draw conclusions based on conjecture. He lets the details of the story speak for themselves — and he has a lot of details, and a lot of stories. Ali is a big, fat, entertaining and illuminating read … What makes Eig’s book stand out is its broad scope, its detailed reportage and its lively, cinematic writing.”
–Laurie Hertzel (The Minneapolis Star Tribune)
**
Poetry Bonus
Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
(5 Rave)
“With piercing precision and striking formal variation, Smith grapples with America’s insidious past and present, pangs of desire (‘if love is a room / of broken glass, leave me to dance / until my feet are memory’), and an HIV-positive diagnosis … Smith’s powerhouse collection is lush with luminous imagery, slick rhythms, and shrewd nods to Lucille Clifton, Beyoncé, and Diana Ross. Incandescent, indispensable, and, yes, nothing short of a miracle.”
–Briana Shemroske (Booklist)
Read a poem from Don’t Call Us Dead here
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