Book List

2010 Best Fiction: The Top 25

FICTION

SUNSET PARK

by Paul Auster

Sure to please Auster fans and likely to attract new readers as well. Full review >

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FICTION

EXLEY

by Brock Clarke

A seriously playful novel about the interweave of literature and life. Full review >

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FICTION

THE STORM

by Margriet de Moor and translated by Carol Brown Janeway

It’s hard to resist using the word “symphonic” to describe this exquisitely composed, piercingly moving story. De Moor... Full review >

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FICTION

THE PRIVILEGES

by Jonathan Dee

Thoughtful and bracingly unpredictable, though the lack of a resolution is frustrating. Full review >

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FICTION

POINT OMEGA

by Don DeLillo

An icy, disturbing and masterfully composed study of guilt, loss and regret—quite possibly the author’s finest yet. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD

by Jennifer Egan

Another ambitious change of pace from talented and visionary Egan, who reinvents the novel for the 21st century while... Full review >

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FICTION

BEFORE YOU SUFFOCATE YOUR OWN FOOL SELF

by Danielle Evans

A welcome new talent—with a funny and dark take on being black in America. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

THE BLINDNESS OF THE HEART

by Julia Franck ; translated by Anthea Bell

Franck’s impressionistic style and empathy encourage fresh responses to familiar subject matter—fine, disturbing, memorable... Full review >

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FICTION

SNAKEWOMAN OF LITTLE EGYPT

by Robert Hellenga

Three reasons to love Hellenga: He’s a fine storyteller; he gives us new eyes; he restores our sense of wonder. Attention... Full review >

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FICTION

FAME

by Daniel Kehlmann & translated by Carol Brown Janeway

A brazen take on the modern yearning for recognition. Kehlmann is a writer worth reading. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

THRILLER & SUSPENSE

THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST

by Stieg Larsson & translated by Reg Keeland

Patented Larsson, meaning fast-paced enough to make those Jason Bourne films seem like Regency dramas. Full review >

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FICTION

THE SURRENDERED

by Chang-rae Lee

A major achievement, likely to be remembered as one of this year’s best books. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

THE ASK

by Sam Lipsyte

The author’s most ambitious work yet—a brilliant and scabrously entertaining riff on contemporary America. Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

FICTION

THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET

by David Mitchell

It’s as difficult to put this novel down as it is to overestimate Mitchell’s virtually unparalleled mastery of dramatic... Full review >

FULL REVIEW >

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