Best Fiction 2017Like this list

25 items

• Manhattan Beach

  a Novel

  Egan, Jennifer,

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  After her mob-connected father disappears, Anna provides for her mother and sister by becoming the Brooklyn Naval Yard's first female diver. Egan's epic novel combines history and crime with graceful characterization and storytelling.

• American War

  El Akkad, Omar, 1982-

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  Displaced by rising seas and the second American Civil War, Sarat is recruited by a mysterious resistance organization as she and her family struggle to survive the apocalyptic ruins of the United States. A dark and gripping near future tale.

• My Favorite Thing Is Monsters. Book One

  Ferris, Emil,

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  This fictional graphic diary is told from the perspective of a precocious 10-year-old. Set in Chicago during the chaotic late 1960s, it’s equal parts murder mystery, family drama, and psychological thriller about monsters real and imagined.

• This Is How It Always Is

  Frankel, Laurie,

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  The youngest of five brothers, Claude is three when he announces that he wants to be a girl. The family agrees that Claude can be Poppy, and grapples with the difficulties and joys of raising a transgender child in this droll, touching novel.

• Difficult Women

  Gay, Roxane,

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  The women in these stories - scholar and strippers, wives and sisters - are troubled, challenging, and damaged. Gay's straightforward prose belies the depth of this collection, which is heartbreaking, tragic, and darkly funny.

• The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter

  Goss, Theodora,

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  The daughters of gothic literature's most notorious scientists - Dr. Jekyll, Dr. Frankenstien, and more - unite to catch a serial killer. Witty asides from the characters add an element of playfulness to this genre-bending mystery.

• Exit West

  a Novel

  Hamid, Mohsin, 1971-

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  A young couple in a nameless city besieged by civil war fall in love. Meanwhile, mysterious doors appear, offering hope but risk for refugees. Luminous and magical, Hamid's poignant novel is both timely and timeless.

• The Dry

  a Novel

  Harper, Jane (Jane Elizabeth),

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  The apparent murder-suicide of his childhood best friend and family bring Aaron Falk back to his hometown after 20 years. A mystery from the town's past involving both Falk and his friend makes him stay. Gripping, tense, and atmospheric.

• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

  a Novel

  Honeyman, Gail

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  An unexpected friendship leads awkward, oddball Eleanor to confront her dark past and unhappy present. Eleanor's unforgettable voice is the star of this charming novel about friendship, family, and healing.

• Magpie Murders

  Horowitz, Anthony, 1955-

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  An editor uses an author's last manuscript to investigate his suspicious death in this mystery-within-a-mystery. Horowitz's puzzler is a clever paean to Golden Age mysteries and a compelling whodunit in its own right.

• The Leavers

  a Novel

  Ko, Lisa,

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  An undocumented Chinese immigrant disappears, leaving behind a son who's adopted by a White couple. In his college years, Deming (now Daniel), struggles to understand his complex identity and why his mother left him behind. Timely and heartbreaking.

• Since We Fell

  Lehane, Dennis

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  After an on-air breakdown, former journalist Rachel lives in quiet solitude with her new husband - until a rare trip outside casts everything she knows about him into question. Part engrossing character study, part menacing thriller, all classic…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Bad Luck Bride

  MacGregor, Janna,

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  With four ex-fiances, Claire Cavensham doesn't have the luxury of being particular. The Marquess of Pembrooke has his own reasons for proposing to "Cursed Lady Claire." Likable characters and meaningful relationships making this sexy read a winner.

• The Ninth Hour

  McDermott, Alice,

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  A quiet, deeply moving portrait of life in an Irish immigrant community in Brooklyn in the early twentieth century. McDermott writes with clear-eyed precision about both the beauty and wretchedness of daily life.

• Little Fires Everywhere

  Ng, Celeste,

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  A picture-perfect Midwestern family is upended by the arrival of a single mother and daughter. Ng pairs a nuanced and multifaceted exploration of motherhood with an insightful portrait of suburbia in this compulsively readable novel.

• The Refugees

  Nguyen, Viet Thanh, 1971-

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  Written over nearly 20 years, the stories in Nguyen's collection portrays the experiences of the Vietnamese - both immigrants to the US and those who stayed behind - after "the American War." Unsettling, penetrating, and by turns both wry and somber.

• Mrs. Fletcher

  a Novel

  Perrotta, Tom, 1961-

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  A divorcee and her college-aged son struggle to define themselves, their approach to sex, and their place in the world in this wicked satire.

• The Alice Network

  Quinn, Kate,

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  Parallel stories follow unwed and pregnant Charlie as she searches for her lost cousin in post-World War II France and quiet, unassuming Eva as she becomes a spy for the British during World War I. Thrilling, suspenseful, and fascinating.

• The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

  a Novel

  Roy, Arundhati,

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  Through the lives of Anum, a gender non-conforming person, and Tilo, a beautiful revolutionary, Roy explores Indian politics and history with compassion and insight. Anjum and Tilo are just a few of the characters in this sweeping, transporting epic.

• Idaho

  a Novel

  Ruskovich, Emily,

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  As Wade slowly descends into dementia, his second wife unravels the tragedy that led to his divorce and the disappearance of his two young daughters. Lush writing and a vivid setting make this compelling debut unforgettable.