2012 Fall Preview: Fiction

by Irvine Welsh

Red meat for Welsh cultists, but a heavy load for anybody else. Full review >

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by Jami Attenberg

A sharp-tongued, sweet-natured masterpiece of Jewish family life. Full review >

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by Michael Chabon

The evocation of “Useless, by James Joyce” attests to the humor and ambition of the novel, as if this were a Joyce-an remix... Full review >

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by Elie Wiesel & translated by Catherine Temerson

Nobel Peace Prize winner Wiesel continues to remind us of the brilliant possibilities of the philosophical and political... Full review >

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by Spencer Quinn

Chet, who continues as narrator in this exciting fifth installment of the series (The Dog Who Knew Too Much, 2011, etc.),... Full review >

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by Julia Keller

A fictional debut for a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, born and raised in West Virginia, whose love for the state,... Full review >

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by Junot Díaz

Not as ambitious as Díaz’s Pulitzer Prize winner, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007), but sharply observed and... Full review >

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by Chris Knopf

An absorbing update of the classic film, D.O.A., that finds its author so completely in the zone that not a word is wasted,... Full review >

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by T.C. Boyle

What may seem to some like paradise offers no happy endings in this fine novel. Full review >

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by Louise Penny

Elliptical and often oracular, but also remarkably penetrating and humane. The most illuminating analogies are not to other... Full review >

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by Lee Woodruff

Earnest and life-affirming, but a bit too tame. Full review >

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by Laura Lippman

Like Mary Cassatt, Lippman studies families with a different eye than her male contemporaries, showing the heartbreaking... Full review >

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by Dennis Lehane

Power, lust and moral ambiguity combine for an all-American explosion of fictional fireworks. Full review >

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by J.R. Moehringer

A captivating and absorbing read. Full review >

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by Ken Follett

An entertaining historical soap opera. Full review >

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by Lance Weller

A familiar war story, but told with verve and sturdy, biblical intonations. Full review >

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by Michael Ennis

This is a dense narrative, permeated by the sights, sounds and smells of Renaissance Italy, and one that can stand shoulder... Full review >

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by Justin Cronin

A viral spaghetti Western; it’s not Sergio Leone—or, for that matter, Michael Crichton—but it’s a satisfying confection. Full review >

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by Lee Child

In this latest attempt to show Reacher enjoying every possible variety of conflict with his nation’s government short of... Full review >

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edited by Lorin Stein ; Sadie Stein

A smart showcase of a half-century’s worth of pathways in fiction. Full review >

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by Sarah Jio

Those willing to overlook a series of implausible coincidences and wade through spoonfuls of sugar to get to the fairy-tale... Full review >

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by Chris Ware

A dazzling document, beautifully if most idiosyncratically drawn; in this iteration, sure to become a collector’s item,... Full review >

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by Michael Robotham

Subtle, smart, compelling and blessed with both an intelligent storyline and top-notch writing, this book will grab readers... Full review >

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by Victoria Dahl

Rising romance star Dahl delivers with this sizzling contemporary romance. (Warning: Steamy situations and straightforward... Full review >

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by Susan Mallery

A sweet, heartwarming Christmas romance with engaging characters, a family-redemption arc and a winning seasonal charm that... Full review >

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by Sherman Alexie

Whether recent or from his earliest period, these pieces show Alexie at his best: as an interpreter and observer, always... Full review >

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by Jo Nesbø

Where earlier novels provide a better introduction to Hole, this one best takes the full measure of the man. Full review >

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by Lydia Millet

The deeply honest, beautiful meditations on love, grief and guilt give way to a curlicued comic-romantic mystery complete... Full review >

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by Zadie Smith

Smith takes big risks here, but some might need to read this twice before all the pieces fit together, and more... Full review >

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by Ian McEwan

Britain’s foremost living novelist has written a book—often as drily funny as it is thoughtful—that somehow both subverts... Full review >

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