Since 1944, the
American Library Association has been putting out a yearly list of 25 notable and outstanding books published in the previous year. This year's list includes:
Fiction
Rover Pfiegman, bus dwelling meat salesman, fulfills his destiny as the last of his clan, in this oddly imaginative tale.
Atwood, Margaret.
The Year of the Flood: A Novel. (Doubleday / Nan A. Talese. 2009) In the near future, two women survive an apocalyptic event in a queasily enthralling work.
Baker, Nicholson.
The Anthologist: A Novel. (Simon & Schuster. 2009.) A charming failure, poet Paul Chowder struggles to regain his muse and his girlfriend while watching deadlines slip by.
This chilling exploration of the modern meaning of identity follows three people on the fringes of society.
Cleave, Chris.
Little Bee: A Novel. (Simon & Schuster. 2009).The compelling voice of a refugee illuminates the life-changing friendship between two women that began with a horrifying encounter on a secluded Nigerian beach.
Dexter, Pete.
Spooner. (Grand Central. 2009).A boy struggles to navigate the vagaries of the world with the lifelong guidance of his stepfather in this funny and heartbreaking tale.
Harding, Paul.
Tinkers. (Bellevue Literary Press. 2009).In this lyrical novel, the life of a dying man is examined through the smallest moments of time and memory.
Li, Yiyun.
The Vagrants: A Novel. (Random.
2009).The execution of a dissident woman reverberates through her small town in the aftermath of China’s Cultural Revolution.
McCann, Colum.
Let the Great World Spin: A Novel. (Random. 2009).Phillipe Petit’s highwire walk between the Twin Towers provides the backdrop for this rich portrait of the unlikely connections among a group of New Yorkers in the 1970s.
Morrison, Toni.
A Mercy: A Novel. (Knopf. 2008)Four women—white, mixed race, black and Native American—become a makeshift family under the care of a “good” man in colonial America.
Powers, Richard.
Generosity: An Enhancement. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
2009).In this postmodern indictment of the biotech industry, a student’s unnerving happiness seems to hold the key to banishing despair from the human genetic code.
Tóibín, Colm.
Brooklyn: A Novel. (Scribner.
2009).A young Irish woman faces heart-wrenching decisions in this unabashedly romantic and deceptively simple story of immigration and belonging.
Non-Fiction
This fine work of investigative journalism challenges the myths and misconceptions of the Columbine tragedy.
Eggers, Dave.
Zeitoun. (McSweeney’s.
2009).
This powerful account explores the devastation of post-Katrina New Orleans through the eyes of a Syrian-American who remained and endured the resulting chaos and confusion.
An embedded reporter describes the human cost paid by an Army battalion on the streets of Iraq in language that is searing, visceral and immediate.
An intrepid reporter sets out to uncover the mysterious fate the last of the great Victorian explorers in this thrilling adventure.
Using mixed visual media, this stunning memoir vividly depicts the struggles and accomplishments of a humanitarian mission in an unforgiving terrain.
This lively, stellar group biography animates the engrossing accounts of the research that inspired a sense of awe in poets and scientists alike.
Human trafficking and its subsequent effects on the American economy and social structures are documented in this fast-paced panoramic expose.
One journalist’s quest to discover the secrets of the reclusive Tarahumara Indians leads to an exciting and dangerous endurance race.
In-depth, brutal and moving this narrative provides multiple perspectives into a tragic WWII episode in the Philippines.
This enthralling page-turner describes how archivists uncovered one of the most extensive frauds in recent art history.
Stark drawings give voice to the horrors of a child who find redemption in art while growing up in a repressed and disturbed family.
The remarkable half-century friendship and rivalry between two influential strategists who helped shape American policy is brought to life in this insightful dual biography.
Poetry
Alexie, Sherman.
Face. (Hanging Loose Press. 2009).
Autobiographical poems experimenting with various styles and forms explore childhood, fatherhood, and the trials, perks and humor of minor celebrity.
Completely accessible poems written in ordinary language deal with cats, love, barfights, desire, melancholia and relationships.
Labels: ALA, booklist, notable book, reading list
