BookHampton's Best Fiction 2011

An inspired work of fiction as memoir. The author of has turned his attention to the thoughts of his own children, writing in their voices to reveal the circumstances, wishes, and failures of his own life. It is a box of written snapshots. And it is breathtaking.

In this  powerhouse novella Johnson has captured the physical and cultural landscape of the American West at the turn of the 20th Century; the open land offered open promises and the future belonged to the determination of each man.

From the magical storyteller comes a true modern epic. In Tokyo in 1984, a young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her, while an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project and his  placid life begins to unravel. They have  entered a parallel existence: 1Q84 — “Q is for question mark.”  It takes your breath away; Murakami, the writer, no doubt has supernatural powers.

As Russia sweeps into the news once more, this overlooked masterpiece might be the gift of the season. In this new edition, the brilliant translators Pevear & Volhokonsky return us to the epic romance that was Pasternak’s plea for world peace and human decency. An extraordinary look at Russia at the early 20th Century finds hunger and desperation  juxtaposed against luxury and excess as the lovers, Yuri and Lara, struggle to keep their lives and love safe from the ceaseless aggression of the world.

This last brilliant novel from the Nobel literary master, re-imagines the Biblical story; recognizing that Cain, condemned to wander the Earth might  be whisked through time as well. He is our witness, and Saramago was our guide.