ALL-TIME FAVORITES (subject to change with the mood). Favorites by year follow this.
NO GREAT MISCHIEF by Alistair MacLeod
UNDER THE VOLCANO by Malcolm Lowry
THE BANYAN TREE by Christopher Nolan
THE MOOR’S LAST SIGH by Salman Rushdie (Amazon reviews)
THE RADETZKY MARCH by Joseph Roth
WAVE OF TERROR by Theodore Odrach
THE COWARD’S TALE by Vanessa Gebbie
SLAVES OF SOLITUDE by Patrick Hamilton
PANTHER IN THE BASEMENT by Amos Oz
A FINE BALANCE by Rohinton Mistry (Amazon reviews)
Non-fiction: IN PURSUIT OF LIFE by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema
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FAVORITES FOR 2012 (so far)
Vanessa Gebbie–THE COWARD’S TALE
Kim Scott–THAT DEADMAN’S DANCE
Mahmoud Saeed–THE WORLD THROUGH THE EYES OF ANGELS
Penelope Lively–HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Audrey Schulman–THREE WEEKS IN DECEMBER
Diego De Silva–I HADN’T UNDERSTOOD
Favorite thriller: Victor del Arbol–THE SADNESS OF THE SAMURAI
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FAVORITES FOR 2011
Jamil Ahmad–THE WANDERING FALCON
Julian Barnes–THE SENSE OF AN ENDING
Michael Ondaatje–THE CAT’S TABLE
James Sallis–THE KILLER IS DYING
Sebastian Barry–ON CANAAN’S SIDE
Philip Hensher–KING OF THE BADGERS
Erri De Luca–THE DAY BEFORE HAPPINESS
Henry Sutton–GET ME OUT OF HERE
Special Recognition: Steve Sem-Sandberg–THE EMPEROR OF LIES, an important book – a true literary epic – of the people of Lodz, Poland, during the Holocaust
Special Category: Tarek Shahin, RISE, A Story of the Egyptian Revolution (a graphic novel)
Favorite Classics read this year: Paul Bowles–THE SPIDER’S HOUSE and Penelope Lively–MOON TIGER
Favorite Mysteries: Jussi Adler-Olsen–THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES, Jo Nesbo–THE SNOWMAN and Kate Atkinson–STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG
Short Stories: THE ARTIST OF DISAPPEARANCE by Anita Desai
Nonfiction: ON THE STATE OF EGYPT by Alaa Al Aswany
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FAVORITES FOR 2010
IN THE COMPANY OF ANGELS by Thomas E. Kennedy
THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE by Orhan Pamuk
QUARTET IN AUTUMN by Barbara Pym (a classic novel)
SMALL KINGDOMS by Anastasia Hobbet
TO HELL WITH CRONJE by Ingrid Winterbach
THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET by David Mitchell
BABY JESUS PAWN SHOP by Lucia Orth
MUNIRA’S BOTTLE by Yousef Al-Mohaimeed
A KIND OF INTIMACY by Jenn Asworth
NOT TO DISTURB by Muriel Spark (a classic novel)
Favorite Mysteries of the Year: WINTERLAND by Alan Glynn and THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST by Stieg Larsson.
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FAVORITES FOR 2009
LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN by Colum McCann
CENSORING AN IRANIAN LOVE STORY by Shahriar Mandanipour
ALL THE LIVING by C. E. Morgan
THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING by Alaa al-Aswany
AMERICAN VISA by Juan de Recacoechea
THE ANTHOLOGIST by Nicholson Baker
THE ACCORDIONIST’S SON by Bernardo Atxaga
THE WINTER VAULT by Anne Michaels
Special recognition: Because of its scale, scope, and historical significance, WAVE OF TERROR by Theodore Odrach (translated by his daughter Erma Odrach) achieves a special place on this list and is now on my list of All-Time Favorites.
Favorite Mystery of the Year: THE SIEGE by Stephen White
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FAVORITES FOR 2008
A CURIOUS EARTH by Gerard Woodward
MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAREMONT by Elizabeth Taylor
THE LEGAL LIMIT by Martin Clark
THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG by Muriel Barbery
A MANUSCRIPT OF ASHES by Antonio Munoz-Molina
WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS by Kate Atkinson
LITTLE CRIMINALS by Gene Kerrigan
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson
Non-fiction: JANE’S FAME: How Jane Austen Conquered the World by Claire Harman
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FAVORITES FOR 2007
LIONS AT LAMB HOUSE by Edwin Yoder
SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN by Paul Torday
THE UNCOMMON READER by Alan Bennett
A SEASON OF FIRE AND ICE by Lloyd Zimpel
THE GIRL ON THE VIA FLAMINIA by Alfred Hayes, a classic
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SOME FAVORITES FOR 2006
THE INHERITANCE OF LOSS by Kiran Desai
A WOMAN OF JERUSALEM by A. B. Yehoshua
THE CLUB OF ANGELS by Luis Fernando Verissimo
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SOME FAVORITES FOR 2005:
THE WORK OF WOLVES by Kent Meyers
THE SEA by John Banville (on my list of all-time favorites)
THE PAINTED DRUM by Louise Erdrich
BORGES AND THE ETERNAL ORANGUTANS by Luis Fernando Verissimo
LIGHTHOUSEEEPING by Jeanette Winterson
APRIL FOOL’S DAY by Josip Novakovich
Non-fiction: THIS WAS NOT OUR WAR: Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace by Swanee Hunt
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SOME FAVORITES FOR 2004
(Non-fiction) IN PURSUIT OF LIFE by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (on the All-Time Favorites list)
THE TYRANT’S NOVEL by Thomas Keneally
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SOME FAVORITES FOR 2003:
WINTERING: A NOVEL OF SYLVIA PLATH by Kate Moses
THE SHADOW WITHOUT A NAME by Ignacio Padilla
GENIUS OF THE SEA by Naeem Murr
