Jonathan Safran Foer does 9/11 in his idiosyncratic way — using a boy called Oscar and a mobile phone that goes dead.
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Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy
Thomas Astarita shows genuine, complex affection for the history of the beleaguered Italian south.
Shopgirl
Comedian Steve Martin shows unusual deftness in his slim novel about an unpretty girl with hopes.
The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria
Marlena De Blasi has her hands full getting the lay of the land as a foreigner in Umbria.
A Thousand Splendid Suns
Khaled Hosseini's second effort outstrips his best-selling first novel, delving into pained father-son ties.
The First Hurt
Rchael Sherman's girls are all hurting (lots of acne), but are too thin to stick around for long.
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures
Vincent Lam doesn't break much of sweat in these disappointing (and award-winning) hospital tales.
Beethoven
Maynard Solomon's biography dispenses with music theory to portray a genius unable to rise above personal torment.
Vibrator
Mari Akasaka's novel is a literary road movie about two people who find themselves (literally) in a truck.
Philosophy Made Simple
Robert Hellenga takes a narrator from a previous book and gets her to tell his Italo-Texan story.
My Father’s Secret War
Lucinda Franks can't escape the maudlin in recalling her father's time as an American spy.
La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
Beppe Severnigni is convinced he knows what makes Italians tick, cliche be damned.