Out with the old and in with the new! But before we do that, lets toast the Best Literature of 2004. Everyone has their picks. Here are ours!
1. Aloft
By Chang-Rae Lee - Follows an upper-middle class airplane enthusiast during a difficult time in his family.
2. Cloud Atlas
by David Mitchell - Six separate narratives woven together in a literary puzzle. Shortlisted for the 2004 Booker Prize.3. The Darling
By Russell Banks - A political radical and member of the Weather Underground flees America to West Africa, where she and her Liberian husband become friends and colleagues of Charles Taylor.4. The In-Between World of Vikram Lall
By M.G.Vassanji - Explores Kenyan society through five decades of political upheaval and tension.5. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
By Susanna Clarke - An historical novel of England in the early 1800s, except with magicians.6. The Line of Beauty
By Alan Hollinghurst - Nick Guest finds his life dramatically altered when he takes up residence with conservative Parliament member, Gerald Feddens, his wealthy wife and two children.7. The Master
by Colm Toibin - A fictionalized story of the life of Henry James.8. The Plot Against America
By Philip Roth - An alternate American history in which a Nazi-sympathizing Charles Lindbergh becomes President of the United States.9. Runaway: Stories
By Alice Munro - Munro's 12th book containing eight stories with women in various life phases as central characters.10. Snow
By Orphan Pamuk - A middle-aged poet returns to Istanbul after years of political exile.