Rita Woods' ambitious novel spans 200 years and multiple storylines — it's a complex story of loss and survival that doesn't always work. But Woods creates memorable characters readers can relate to.
Vikram Paralkar's novel takes place over one eventful night at a clinic in a small Indian village, where three murdered people confront a doctor; if he can treat their wounds, they'll live again.
Emma Copley Eisenberg's book offers a deep-dive into rural Appalachia — and digs into questions of how misogyny and bias can take root inside a community — as she tracks an unsolved double murder.
Tiffany Tsao's novel explores the dark secrets of the wealthy Chinese-Indonesian Sulinado family, who fall victim to one of their own when daughter Estella poisons the entire clan at a family dinner.
Garth Greenwell's new story collection — like his previous novel — follows young, gay American men teaching English in Bulgaria. It's part heartbreaking, part forward-looking, and all beautiful.
Meng Jin's new novel shows us a complex woman through the eyes of her husband, her daughter, and her daughter's nanny — all of whom see different, sometimes contradictory facets of her character.
If the chances of dying in a plane crash are slim, being the sole survivor is even less likely — but that's the premise for two new novels, Ann Napolitano's Dear Edward and Rye Curtis's Kingdomtide.
A Very Stable Genius gives pause to ponder: Is this moment simply about Trump — or are we also witnessing a sea change in journalism? Are we seeing new standards for the presentation of a presidency?
This month, we're celebrating an old favorite trope: Enemies who fall for each other. Sparks and witty banter fly in these three novels, starring rival TV hosts, youth pastors and fashion executives.
Fans of You've Got Mail will find a lot to love in Tiana Smith's tale of a high-achieving high-schooler who gets distracted by a correspondence with another student whose identity is a mystery.
Jeanine Cummins' new novel opens in Mexico, where a drug cartel has massacred 16 members of a family. A tense on-the-road ordeal follows, as a desperate mother struggles to save herself and her son.
A new book by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn is an agonizing account of how apathy and cruelty have turned America into a nightmare for many less fortunate citizens. But it is not without hope.
In his new book, The New Yorker's Joshua Yaffa is as much an ethicist as he is a reporter, presenting a portrait of the Russian state through those who have decided to compromise with it.
Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg's beloved young adult comic returns with a collection of old and new stories — and this time, our art-loving heroines are a little more grown up.
Scarlett Thomas' novel, set among wealthy girls at a British boarding school, is an audacious examination of disordered eating and social competition that turns dark when one of the girls drowns.
Crissy Van Meter's debut novel is so assured, it's hard to believe it's a debut. It's the story of a young woman dealing with her mother and her difficult family history on the eve of her wedding.
Chris McCormick's new novel layers the glitz and artifice of pro wrestling over a wrenching tale of two Armenian cousins whose involvement with a militant Armenian liberation group goes badly awry.
Stafford is often remembered as wife No. 1 in the many biographies and studies of poet Robert Lowell. But a new Library of America edition of her three novels showcases her masterful writing.
Isabel Ibañez's debut novel blends fiber art magic and Bolivian-inspired fantasy, for a story that seems at first to be about revenge — but blossoms into something more complex and surprising.
Miranda Popkey's novel tackles the complicated issues of female desire, sex and failed relationships through a troubled, unnamed narrator who reports on her conversations with a series of other women.
Sean Adams' debut novel is set in the collapsed remains of a gargantuan, 500-story building somewhere in the American desert, once an entire metropolis and now surrounded by scavenger camps.
Veteran mystery author Lee Goldberg introduces a compelling new character in Lost Hills: Eve Ronin, rookie detective and unwilling media darling after her arrest of a famous actor went viral.
The title of Kiley Reid's debut novel works on multiple levels — it can refer to chronological age or political era — and those different meanings echo throughout this funny, uncomfortable book.
Few things haunt a critic more than loving something and not being able to share it. This year, Fresh Air critic John Powers circles back to Unbelievable,Atlantics, Where the Light Falls and more.
It's easy to make fun of disgruntled teenagers, but in his funny new Nietzsche and the Burbs, author Lars Iyer depicts them accurately and with real sensitivity, never mocking or condescending.
