Mystery, movies, and Arthur Miller enliven November鈥檚 10 best books
Staff
1.聽The Magic Kingdom,聽by Russell Banks
Measured and thoughtful, the latest novel from Russell Banks details the promises 鈥� and limitations 鈥� of utopias. In 1902, Harley Mann and his family find belonging amid the Shakers of rural central Florida. 鈥淲e were being welcomed back into Paradise,鈥� he muses, and indeed life is good ... until infatuation and doubt upend Harley鈥檚 world. Banks effectively explores the tensions between individuality and idealism.
2.聽Blackwater Falls,聽by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Why We Wrote This
Our reviewers鈥� picks for this month include a novel about the tensions between individuality and idealism, a Muslim American mystery, and a biography that unfolds contradictions in the lives of two abolitionist sisters.
Denver Police Detective Inaya Rahman 鈥� a devout Muslim 鈥� investigates the murder of a Syrian teen. She faces
a wall of resistance, including racist officials, as well as a terrified Muslim community. The story examines our current political moment with freshness, nuance, and compassion.聽
3.聽Gilded Mountain,聽by Kate Manning
It鈥檚 1907 in Moonstone, Colorado. Quarrymen toil in the perilous marble mine while their families, like 16-year-old Sylvie鈥檚, scrape by. But Sylvie escapes, first to the local paper run by a fearless woman, and then to the mine owner鈥檚 manor to work for his frivolous wife. A steady-eyed look at the costs of justice, Kate Manning鈥檚 latest novel is a solid, sweeping read.
4.聽Godmersham Park,聽by Gill Hornby
Gill Hornby, who wrote 鈥淢iss Austen鈥� in 2020, follows governess Anne Sharp as she navigates upstairs and downstairs at the family home of Jane Austen鈥檚 brother. Thoroughly immersive, witty, and moving, Hornby鈥檚 novel features sparkling prose that makes this novel unputdownable.
5.听A World of Curiosities,聽by Louise Penny
Louise Penny鈥檚 18th Chief Inspector Gamache mystery is simply outstanding. It鈥檚 springtime in Three Pines when past and present criminal cases collide. Danger threatens Gamache鈥檚 home, friends, and family, but thankfully, Penny鈥檚 gift for intelligent and transcendent storytelling delivers light, bringing themes of forgiveness and redemption to society鈥檚 darker moments.
6.听贵濒颈驳丑迟,听by Lynn Steger Strong
A large family comes together at Christmastime to divide its matriarch鈥檚 estate. Lynn Steger Strong brings illuminating prose and nuance to the familiar themes of loss, marriage, parenthood, relationships, and art. When the family bands together to help a mother and daughter in crisis, love fuels joy, hope, and new beginnings.
7.听奥颈苍迟别谤濒补苍诲,听by Rae Meadows
Rae Meadows鈥� captivating 1970s Soviet-era tale echoes the stark landscape of its Siberian setting. A ballerina goes missing; her husband pieces his life together, as their young daughter is ushered into the grueling sport of Olympic gymnastics. Meadows testifies to the invincible human spirit.
8.聽Arthur Miller: American Witness,聽by John Lahr
John Lahr鈥檚 slender, sharp biography offers an engaging account of the playwright鈥檚 life, beginning with his New York childhood. Lahr also provides a penetrating interpretation of Arthur Miller鈥檚 canonical works, including 鈥淒eath of a Salesman鈥� and 鈥淭he Crucible.鈥澛�
9.聽Hollywood: The Oral History,聽by Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson
Two film historians sifted through nearly 3,000 interviews archived at the American Film Institute. Weaving together recollections from directors, writers, actors, and more, they鈥檝e created a delightful and illuminating account of moviemaking from the silent era to the present.
10.聽The Grimkes,聽by Kerri K. Greenidge
The collective biography of the Grimke family covers not only the famous white abolitionist sisters Sarah and Angelina but also their less well-known Black relatives, born to their brother and a woman he enslaved. The result is a searing examination of a family鈥檚 intergenerational racial trauma.