Fiction Recommendations

This novel has been much-buzzed all year. It won the Orange prize and was a finalist for the 2011 National Book Award. Here at Bookshop, we like to think we called it. This book enthralled us so much when it was excerpted in the 2010 Best American Nonrequired Reading that we practically begged for a copy, and when we got one we were not disappointed.

Brockmeier’s novel links together a number of characters with a single dazzling premise: one morning, the world wakes up and discovers that pain has become visible. Headaches glow white, cuts shimmer, back pain flares and ebbs. Our pain can no longer be kept secret, and the effects of this phenomenon are startling and far-reaching. You must read this!

This is a unique and wonderful coming of age story. How do I describe the characters of this book? We watch two siblings recreate magic with a Rabbit they name God, we watch a best friend promise to witness unspeakable acts, and we watch the world stretch and break as war and terror become common day. This is a beautiful, magical story, well worth the read.

This is an excellent read for anyone who grew up in an artistic setting, has spent time around quirky people, or has experienced bizarre family drama. Wilson's novel is arressivly hilarious, often leaving you no choice but to read passages out loud to anyone nearby but it also deals with very serious family issues in a nuanced and deft manner.

This interlocking collection of short stories swept me up and firmly invaded my heart. Each story features women attempting to deal with serious experiences, and sheds light on the inner struggles that we don't always share and sometimes won't even admit to. There's humor here, lurking in the shadows of their hearts. Schappell moves you through their lives with ease, beauty and honesty.

Politics, sex, and the timeless struggle between the practicalities of daily living and the search for a greater truth drive this engrossing saga. Duffy takes the many contradictory records about the Empress Theodora and draws from all of them to create the story of an engaging survivor. A fine tale told with spicy elegance; you may be surprised where it takes you.

Victoria is a withdrawn young woman fresh out of foster care, who reveals her thoughts to the world only through the archaic use of flower meanings. Until the day a stranger hands her a tiger lily, and her solitude begins to crack open. Diffenbaugh's lovely clear-eyed prose unfolds a story of the small things that shape our lives and how we slowly learn the languages of others.

Stuck in a graphic novel rut? It happens to the best of us, and there’s one surefire way out: Grab the 2011 edition of the Best American Comics series, edited by a titan in the genre, Alison Bechdel (of Fun Home and Dykes to Watch Out For fame). This year’s installment features the art of Joe Sacco (Footnotes in Gaza) and Jeff Smith (Bone), as well as many up-and-comers you’ll want to know about.

Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, by circumstance, and by the love that grows between them. “Thompson’s first graphic novel in seven years is a lushly epic love story that’s both inspiring and heartbreaking, intertwined with parables from both Islam and Christianity. In addition to richly detailed story panels, the gorgeous Arabic ornamental calligraphy makes each page an individual work of art.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Reading a book by Lynda Barry always makes me want to write. Her work is a celebration of all things creative, and she has a way of yanking inspiration up from the deep places it often hides and forcing her readers to make something. Blabber, Blabber, Blabber is something of a greatest-hits album for Barry fans, and includes her early work as well as the comics that landed her on the map.