Fiction

This book was hand-selected by Barbara Kingsolver for the Bellwether Prize. Not that there was any doubt about Kingsolver’s literary suaveness, but her eye for literary prowess is now cemented. Mudbound, Hillary Jordan’s debut novel, is set in the Mississippi Delta right after World War II. When two soldiers, one black and one white, return home after the war, they form an unlikely friendship that sets their families and their town into a powerful tailspin that leaves no one untouched. Beautifully written and impossible to put down, this tale will become the book that gets passed on to friends. —SMC

This book is a surprisingly wonderful read. Narrated by Enzo, a family’s dog, we watch as one family is thrown up against loyalty, loss, love, and the difficulty of holding on when everything around you is seemingly disintegrating. I, too, was skeptical about a dog as the story’s protagonist, but wisdom, honesty, and true soul are what end up emerging in this heart-rending character. As much as this book is about the process of dying and the changes that come, it is also about how strength comes in all shapes and forms. For fans of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night, here is your next read. —SMC

This is an exquisitely formed story about love, murder, and racial tensions between small-town whites and Native Americans in a neighboring Ojibwe reservation. The Plague of Doves is one of my favorite novels from Louise Erdrich because it captures common themes and ideas with uncommon insight and beauty. This book is a must-read. —M.M.

They say that good writing immerses us into the Who, What, Where, and Why without our being totally aware: a story takes seed in the voice of a character and suddenly their world is also somehow our own. Colson Whitehead, finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, manages such immersion within the first few pages of his new novel, Sag Harbor. Suddenly we are no longer ourselves but quickly are living the confusing and entirely desperate life of Benji. The year is 1985, and Benji, son of a lawyer and doctor, is one of the only African-Americans at an elite prep school in Manhattan. Through his eyes, we reinvent ourselves again and again, at Jewish bar mitzvahs to roller-disco’s first dances, trying to find a social group that accepts us. Life is funny but also heart-breakingly poignant in this coming-of-age novel that explores racial and class identity, and the quest for self-realization. In a telescopic view that lets us see from the inside out, we glimpse a universe that we ordinarily might not see. It’s a beautiful read. —SMC

For all those who enjoy a pint now and again, this is the perfect “children’s book for grown-ups” for you. I know, a little weird, but what else would we expect from a flamboyant and comic genius like Robbins? You’ll find all sorts of suds culture within, a beer fairy, and a small child who may be spunky but can still be hurt when the dark side of beer makes her uncle ignore her. This is a bubbly story that you should enjoy at room temp. —Nici