October鈥檚 10 best books add up to a month of great reading
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The Mighty Red,聽by Louise Erdrich
From the masterful Louise Erdrich comes the story of a North Dakota farming community whipsawed by crises. At the book鈥檚 center is Kismet, a high school graduate who gets pulled into a questionable marriage, and her truck-driving, devoted mother. The tale鈥檚 many threads pull together into a rewarding portrait of renewal and honesty.
The Grey Wolf,聽by Louise Penny
Why We Wrote This
Our picks for the 10 best books of October include a bracing novel by Louise Erdrich, a continent-spanning mystery by Louise Penny, and a richly observed biography of civil rights icon John Lewis.
Armand Gamache, the head of homicide for the S没ret茅 du Qu茅bec, returns in Louise Penny鈥檚 multilayered, continent-leaping latest. As Gamache races to decode an unsettling break-in, a cryptic note, and a hit-and-run, a massive threat lurks. With bursts of wit and warmth, the story exposes the deep fears and hurts 鈥� as well as the guiding lights and loves 鈥� that drive individuals to act.
The Restless Wave,聽by Admiral James Stavridis USN (Ret.)
Former NATO Commander and four-star Adm. James Stavridis creates a gripping novel about a young Navy officer tested during the early sea battles of World War II, from Pearl Harbor to Midway and Guadalcanal. The novel is action-packed, and filled with insights into leadership and courage.聽
Where They Last Saw Her,聽by Marcie R. Rendon
On the Red Pine Reservation where she lives, Quill, a mother of two, pursues the case of a missing woman after tribal police make little progress. Her hunt for answers gets desperate as more Native women and girls disappear. Marcie R. Rendon鈥檚 story of tenacity in response to an ongoing scourge is a powerful read that pulls no punches.
Season of the Swamp,聽by Yuri Herrera,聽translated by Lisa Dillman
With deft prose and swashbuckling assurance, award-winning author Yuri Herrera imagines what exiled Mexican politician Benito Ju谩rez may have seen, heard, smelled, ate, suffered, gawped at, stepped in, and despaired over during his 18-month sojourn in New Orleans in 1853. It鈥檚 a captivating account of an outsider in the overwhelm of a city and era in flux.
Our Evenings,聽by Alan Hollinghurst
This fictional memoir of a successful, aging stage actor begins with his experiences as a biracial, gay scholarship student at a British boarding school. Alan Hollinghurst鈥檚 lyrical prose conveys biting insights as he examines evolving social mores and explores who is embraced and who is marginalized.
The Vow,聽by Jude Berman
In this historical novel, Jude Berman imagines the life of Angelica Kauffman, an actual 18th-century Swiss neoclassical painter. To remain free and committed to her art, she has vowed to remain independent and never marry. But amid a career as a painter of royal portraits, that resolve is tested. 聽
A Kid From Marlboro Road,聽by Edward Burns
Filmmaker and actor Edward Burns鈥� debut novel hits a nostalgic home run with this colorful Irish Catholic American coming-of-age story. A 12-year-old boy and budding writer dreads summer鈥檚 end, when he鈥檒l bid farewell to childhood and morph into a terrible teenager like his brother.聽
John Lewis: A Life,聽by David Greenberg
This rich biography spans the civil rights icon鈥檚 rural Alabama childhood, his pivotal role in the student movement to desegregate the South, and his service in Congress. Drawing on archival materials and interviews with John Lewis and more than 250 people who knew him, David Greenberg leaves no doubt as to his subject鈥檚 heroism.
Every Valley,聽by Charles King
Charles King interlocks the stories of the people and events that inspired the creation of Handel鈥檚 glorious 鈥淢essiah鈥� oratorio. He demonstrates that Handel鈥檚 England, in the first half of the 18th century, experienced the chaos and dread the world seems enmeshed in today.
