Novels (Fiction)

Love and Summer, by William Trevor	The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver
Once again long listed for the Man Booker Award and once again robbed, William Trevor never fails to deliver the perfect, dark Irish novel. The love affair between Ellie and Florian is exciting and poetic, unlike the love between Ellie and her husband which is quiet and respectful. Forced to choose, the book ends with the summer, and Ellie’s decision. - Kathy	With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist—and of art itself. The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.
Too Much Happiness: Stories, by Alice Munro	Last Night in Twisted River, by John Irving
Ten superb new stories by one of our most beloved and admired writers—the winner of the 2009 Man Booker International Prize.	Easily the best book of the last year, Irving tells a compelling story of loggers in New Hampshire. It is classic, complex Irving in new clothers. - Kathy
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford	Madewell Brown, by Rick Collignon
In his first novel, award-winning short-story writer Ford expertly nails the sweet innocence of first love, the cruelty of racism, the blindness of patriotism, the astonishing unknowns between parents and their children, and the sadness and satisfaction at the end of a life well lived.	This is a story of two old, old men, men who have lived, but not proudly, and who have secrets even as they approach their deaths. It is the story of how they try to unburden themselves, and what happens when they do. Collignon is a gifted writer, concise, mean, imaginative. His characters are scary real. And as a result, this book is a rewarding read. - Ron
The Financial Lives of Poets, by By Jess Walter	The Selected Works of TS Spivet, by Reif Larsen
This book is the respite you’ve only dreamed of—a laugh-out-loud novel featuring our financial crisis! The central character is a forty-something dad who has been laid off and is now within a week of losing his house. He also has reason to suspect that his security-hungry wife may be having an affair. The result is hilarious, elaborately plotted, and touching. - Janelle	12 year old Tecumseh Sparrow Spivet has a gift – a precocious scientific mind and the ability to draw. Secretly, his friend and mentor, has submitted TS’s portfolio to the Smithsonian Institute. The book begins with a telephone call from the Director of Smithsonian telling TS that he has won a prestigious award and will be honored at a gala in Washington, DC, two weeks hence. The book is the story of TS’s journey to Washington to claim this award. Brilliantly illustrated and told - for the detail loving reader. - Ron
Let the Great World Spin, by Colum Mccann	Lace Reader, by Brunonia Barry
In the dawning light of a late-summer morning, the people of lower Manhattan stand hushed, staring up in disbelief at the Twin Towers. It is August 1974, and a mysterious tightrope walker is running, dancing, leaping between the towers, suspended a quarter mile above the ground.	Every gift has a price . . . every piece of lace has a secret. Towner Whitney, the self-confessed unreliable narrator of The Lace Reader, hails from a family of Salem women who can read the future in the patterns in lace, and who have guarded a history of secrets going back generations. A mesmerizing tale that spirals into a world of secrets, and can't be put down.