2009 gave us much in the way of contemporary literature. Here are reviews of the ten best books of the year.
1. 'The Blue Notebook' by James Levine
© Spiegel & Grau
July 2009
The story of Batuk, a precocious 15-year-old girl from rural India who was sold into sexual slavery by her father when she was nine, told in her own words as recorded in her journal.
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The story of Batuk, a precocious 15-year-old girl from rural India who was sold into sexual slavery by her father when she was nine, told in her own words as recorded in her journal.
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2. 'Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays' by Zadie Smith
© Penguin Press
November 2009
Zadie Smith's collection of mostly previously published essays is divided into five sections - Reading, Being, Seeing, Feeling, and Remembering - and includes an eclectic array of topics.
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Zadie Smith's collection of mostly previously published essays is divided into five sections - Reading, Being, Seeing, Feeling, and Remembering - and includes an eclectic array of topics.
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3. 'The Children’s Book' by A.S. Byatt
© Knopf
October 2009
A.S. Byatt exhibits extensive research in this expansive novel that follows two artistic British families from Victorian England through to the end of World War II.
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A.S. Byatt exhibits extensive research in this expansive novel that follows two artistic British families from Victorian England through to the end of World War II.
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4. 'Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned' by Wells Tower
© Farrar, Straus and Giroux
March 2009
In his outstanding debut story collection, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned, Wells Tower captures a variety of experience that is as far-ranging as it is close to home. These stories of Viking marauders, teenage girls, and fractured families are violent and tender. They're stories told with the kind of honesty that makes us see our worst selves in the best possible light.
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In his outstanding debut story collection, Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned, Wells Tower captures a variety of experience that is as far-ranging as it is close to home. These stories of Viking marauders, teenage girls, and fractured families are violent and tender. They're stories told with the kind of honesty that makes us see our worst selves in the best possible light.
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5. 'Her Fearful Symmetry' by Audrey Niffenegger
© Scribner
September 2009
The author of The Time Traveler's Wife is back wih her second novel, a supernatural tale about twins who inheret their aunt's apartment near a London cemetary.
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The author of The Time Traveler's Wife is back wih her second novel, a supernatural tale about twins who inheret their aunt's apartment near a London cemetary.
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6. 'Homer & Langley' by E.L. Doctorow
© Random
September 2009
E.L. Doctorow's new novel, set in New York City after World War I, traces the lives of the Homer and Langley Collyer, two famous New York hermits remembered for their bizzare, obsessive-compulsive trajectories.
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E.L. Doctorow's new novel, set in New York City after World War I, traces the lives of the Homer and Langley Collyer, two famous New York hermits remembered for their bizzare, obsessive-compulsive trajectories.
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7. 'Juliet, Naked' by Nick Hornby
© Penguin
September 2009
A woman leaves her rock and roll obsessed husband, striking up a relationship with the object of his obsession. Nick Hornby's latest novel explores the nature of love and meaning in life with the backdrop of popular music that High Fidelity fans will relish.
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A woman leaves her rock and roll obsessed husband, striking up a relationship with the object of his obsession. Nick Hornby's latest novel explores the nature of love and meaning in life with the backdrop of popular music that High Fidelity fans will relish.
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8. 'Last Night in Twisted River' by John Irving
© Random House
October 2009
John Irving's latest novel begins in a 1954 New Hampshire logging cookhouse, where a twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable's girlfriend for a bear, setting into motion the flight of both boy and father across New England.
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John Irving's latest novel begins in a 1954 New Hampshire logging cookhouse, where a twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable's girlfriend for a bear, setting into motion the flight of both boy and father across New England.
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9. 'The Last Song' by Nicholas Sparks
© Penguin
September 2009
Nicholas Sparks' new novel finds a New York teenager with her estranged father in a North Carolina beach town in a story that explores the relationship between parents and children.
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Nicholas Sparks' new novel finds a New York teenager with her estranged father in a North Carolina beach town in a story that explores the relationship between parents and children.
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10. 'Little Bee' by Chris Cleave
© Simon and Schuster
February 2009
The story of a tenuous friendship that emerges between a Nigerian refuge girl and a white British magazine editor Little Beee is a fascinating story, stunningly told.
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The story of a tenuous friendship that emerges between a Nigerian refuge girl and a white British magazine editor Little Beee is a fascinating story, stunningly told.
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