Pick of the crop: October鈥檚 10 best books to savor in autumn
Amid the turning leaves, October books deliver treats and surprises听by the bushel-full. Imaginative and immersive fiction meets a bounty of captivating and impactful nonfiction titles.听
1听My Monticello听by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson鈥檚 short-story collection aims its powerful beam on history鈥檚 proximity, racial trauma, and community survival. The title story follows a group of residents fleeing a white supremacist siege of their Charlottesville, Virginia, neighborhood. Led by Sally Hemings鈥� descendant Da鈥橬aisha, the group escapes to Thomas Jefferson鈥檚 well-preserved manse.
Why We Wrote This
The 10 picks for this month highlight ingenuity and persistence, including a twisty morality tale about British spies and a nonfiction book that explores the Rosetta stone鈥檚 role in cracking the code of Egyptian hieroglyphs.
2听颁谤辞蝉蝉谤辞补诲蝉听by Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen鈥檚 novel uses the 1970s as a backdrop for an exploration of authenticity, power, and the balance between independence and societal obligations. At the center of the story is a Midwestern pastor, his wife, and their four children, each of whom tests the boundaries of what they had once assumed were moral imperatives. Readers should be aware of coarse language and an array of moral infractions.
3听厂颈濒惫别谤惫颈别飞听by John le Carr茅
Published posthumously, the 26th novel by the late author and former MI5/MI6 secret agent is a smashing finale to his oeuvre. It鈥檚 a lyrical, twisty morality tale set in an English seaside town that slowly reveals the lives of those involved in modern-day intelligence work. It鈥檚 a spy novel that鈥檚 both riveting and insightful.
4听Small Pleasures听by Clare Chambers
Empathy infuses this hauntingly beautiful novel set in 1950s London. Journalist Jean Swinney investigates a young woman鈥檚 claim that her child was the result of a virgin birth. Genuine characterizations, pitch-perfect prose, and gentle wit make this absorbing mystery and love story unforgettable.
5听Once Upon a Wardrobe听by Patti Callahan
In this novel, a college student at Oxford in the 1950s befriends C.S. Lewis to find out for her younger brother where Narnia came from. Her brother, who is housebound from an illness, has become fascinated with 鈥淭he Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.鈥� The story of a loving family journeying toward the light of hope is deeply reassuring.
6听The Lincoln Highway听by Amor Towles
In Amor Towles鈥� third novel, a road trip takes on epic proportions for four boys in the 1950s. Their route, and the book itself, are not linear: Stories trail off like railroad sidings; threads are lost and picked up again; and through it all pass the boys, who are trying desperately to go in the right direction. The book鈥檚 abrupt ending may trouble some readers. Fans of 鈥淎 Gentleman in Moscow鈥� might be disappointed. (Read full review here.)
7听The Writing of the Gods听by Edward Dolnick
A science journalist delves into the fascinating story of the Rosetta stone found in Egypt in 1799 and the 20-year race to decipher the mysterious picture-writing of ancient Egypt known as hieroglyphs. The story centers on two rival geniuses who finally solved a linguistic mystery that had befuddled scholars for centuries.
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8听Orwell鈥檚 Roses听by Rebecca Solnit
Challenging preconceptions about the author of 鈥淎nimal Farm鈥� and 鈥淣ineteen Eighty-Four,鈥� Rebecca Solnit offers an unexpected view of British writer George Orwell. Examining his life and work through the lens of Orwell鈥檚 passion for, and appreciation of, nature, Solnit presents a well-researched, elegantly written book that deepens our understanding of the literary icon.
9听Our Class听by Chris Hedges
Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, volunteered to teach a college-level literature class at the East Jersey State Prison. His book is a gumbo of genres: personal narratives, plays, songs, poems, and history. There are lurid tales of barbarity and inhumanity, but there is hope in the transformative power of human relationships.听
10听Twelve Caesars听by Mary Beard
鈥淲e are still surrounded by Roman emperors,鈥澨齱rites classicist Mary Beard at the beginning of her fascinating book, which embarks on a study of not just the Julio-Claudian dynasty of caesars made infamous by Suetonius and Robert Graves but also of their ubiquitous iconography 鈥� in statues, on coins, in paintings and sculpture. It鈥檚 an eye-catching field guide to these famous ancient rulers.
