This is the time of year that all the “Best” of the year lists start to appear.  And that definitely includes books.  It seems strange that the best books of the year lists are being published when we still have December to go.  The reason for that is simple.  Book publishers send advanced readers copies to all the major publications at least six weeks in advance in order to give them time to assign a reviewer and give them time to write it.  So they have had ample time to assess a new book.

 

This year both Amazon and Publishers Weekly have released their best book lists.  This column will focus on fiction; next week’s on nonfiction.

         

As usual there is a great deal of similarity in their choices.  Colin Whitehead’s “The Underground Railroad” just won the National Book Award for Fiction, and is one of the top choices on both lists.  It is a brilliant reimagining of the years before the Civil War when slaves attempted to escape by connecting with one helper after another to freedom in the North or Canada.  Whitehead uses the idea of a literal underground railroad to explore the darkness of slavery.

         

  “Barkskins” by Annie Proulx also covers American history by tracking the descendants of two 17th century woodsmen through 300 years.  “The Girls” by Emma Cline reimagines the Manson period when two young women get caught up with a charismatic leader.

           

“Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi is another critically acclaimed novel that covers the generations of one family from 1760 Ghana; one sister marries a British colonist, the other is captured by slavers.  “Siracusa” by Delia Ephron is set on vacation in Sicily of two families whose lives are strangely intertwined.

           

Other novels that turn up on the Amazon and/or Publishers Weekly lists are:  “Zero K” by Don DeLillo, “The Vegetarian” by Han King, “A Great Reckoning” by Louise Penny, “Redemption Road” by John Hart, “You Will Know Me” by Megan Abbott, “The Obsession” by Nora Roberts, “The Book of the Unnamed Midwife” by Meg Elison, “The Obelisk Gate” by N.K. Jemisin, “Swing Time” by Zadie Smith, “News of the World” by Paulette Jiles, “The Mothers” by Brit Bennett, “The Nix” by Nathan Hill, “The Nest” by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, “The Wangs vs. the World” by Jade Chang, “The Whistler” by John Grisham, “Night School” by Lee Child, “End of Watch” by Stephen King, “Before the Fall” by Noah Hawley, “First Star I See Tonight” by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, “All the Birds in the Sky” by Charlie Jane Anders, “Death’s End” by Cixin Liu and “Mischling” by Affinity Konar.

           

A list of the top 50 choices from BookPage is available in the December issue.  These editors’ picks might be an easy place to start if you are looking for something good to read over the winter months.   Issues of BookPage are available free of charge at either of the circulation desks at the library.