Colson Whitehead's "The Underground Railway" is a searing indictment of the biggest of all American crimes, slavery.
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War and Turpentine
A Flemish-Belgian writer "reinvents" his grandfather to brilliant and dramatic effect.
Zadie and swing
Zadie Smith conjures up a fictional memory lane that features two mixed race girls and their often-fractured lives.
How to Set a Fire and Why
Jesse Ball's study of teen alienation, while persuasive, heads for and reaches a dead end.
Foer and Abraham
Jonathan Safran Foer's "Here I Am" focuses on Jewish identity while gradually widening the lens.
In a nutshell
Ian McEwan's 15th novel channels high and low Shakespeare to wicked effect.
Stone city
Anna Lowenstein's sweeping historical fiction heads to the heart of ancient Rome.
A World Apart
In 1951, Polish writer Gustaw Herling recalled his Gulag days, and entered a rare class of writers.
Missing Person
Modiano's slender 1978 psychological thriller remains a superb and disturbing Parisian novel.
Amélie, meet Amélie
In "Pétronille," Amélie Nothomb comes up with an alter ego and goes the distance.
Gutshot
Amelia Gray is adept enough with grotesqueness to make it feel second nature, and that's a gift.
Dripping wet
Donna Leon's 25th Commissario Brunetti mystery dives into Venice's deep waters.