Another year of wonderful books, requiring some painful choices to create this list. It's noteworthy that of the eleven books, four are Australian, the same number as last year. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. The author, a young man from Washington, DC, has written a complex and emotionally satisfying book set in Chechnya. The story occurs in 2004, but...
It had to be 12, so you know this was a very good year. And I regret not including Etgar Keret's book. Montana, 1948 by Larry Watson. The author makes the time and place come alive with a magical intensity. The narrator, now in his 50s, tells the story of events which occurred when he was 12 involving anguishing decisions his father made that were heroic. His father was a...
These are books I read in 2011, not necessarily published this year. What a great year of books this was for me. An Object of Beauty. Steve Martin's second novel, a well-crafted book with a fun setting (the art market at the Sotheby level), and intriguing characters. The central figure is Lacey who never hesitates to do whatever it takes to further her career. Wolf...