海角大神

Tuck Lincoln, Mozart, and Eleanor Roosevelt in your suitcase this summer

1听尝辞辞迟,听by Tania James

Tania James鈥� dazzling, richly embroidered historical novel imagines the journey of a life-size automaton of a wooden tiger 鈥� and those connected with it 鈥� from late 18th-century India to France and England over 65 years. 鈥淟oot鈥� is about the spoils and displacements of colonialism and the quest for betterment, autonomy, and love.聽

2聽The House of Lincoln,聽by Nancy Horan

Springfield, Illinois, in the 1850s served as the home, heart, and laboratory of Abraham Lincoln. Nancy Horan鈥檚 novel tells of the period鈥檚 political tumult, abolitionist fervor, and unchecked violence. With its smartly tuned dialogue and insistence on hope, the novel delivers a forceful, engrossing read.

3聽The First Ladies,聽by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

The friendship between first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune enriched both women, whose efforts set the stage for the modern Civil Rights Movement. The novel captures their invincibility and conviction.

4聽Much Ado About Nada,聽by Uzma Jalaluddin

From the author of 鈥淎yesha at Last鈥� and 鈥淗ana Khan Carries On,鈥� this modern-day romance reinvents Jane Austen鈥檚 鈥淧ersuasion鈥� into a delightful illumination of Islamic faith, community, and culture in Toronto. It鈥檚 a charming tale of great substance.

5聽Return to Valetto聽by Dominic Smith

This haunting novel visits an abandoned villa in Italy harboring World War II secrets. A historian arrives to spend summer with his aunts and grandmother, and discovers a female visitor claiming ownership of his cottage. Themes of loss and the burden of history are seasoned with grace and humor.

6聽A Disappearance in Fiji,聽by Nilima Rao

Police Sgt. Akal Singh, dispirited and homesick, abhors Fiji. Reassigned to the 鈥渂ackwater colony鈥� in 1914 following a career misstep in Hong Kong, the Sikh lawman drags through his days until an Indian indentured worker goes missing. Spurred to act, Akal uncovers suspects, secrets, and injustices among the sugar cane fields. Nilima Rao delivers a slow-boil, effective whodunit that exposes exploitive colonial practices.

7聽Forgiving Imelda Marcos,聽by Nathan Go

Nathan Go鈥檚 splendid debut novel follows Lito, a Filipino chauffeur for Ferdinand Marcos-era opposition leader-turned-president Corazon Aquino. Winsome and wise, historical and original, the first-person account bounces among Lito鈥檚 childhood, his final outing with the retired Mrs. Aquino, and his contemplative present in a nursing home. The story plumbs the depths of forgiveness, and how cowardice can morph into bravery.聽

8聽Mozart in Motion,聽by Patrick Mackie

Historians and musicologists have sought to explain Mozart鈥檚 genius and enduring appeal for more than 200 years. Poet and cultural critic Patrick Mackie tackles this topic with a beautifully written and insightful series of essays that connect the biographical details of Mozart鈥檚 life with some two dozen of his musical works.聽

9聽Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,聽by Peter Moore

Historian Peter Moore notes that Thomas Jefferson鈥檚 indelible phrase has had a vibrant afterlife, becoming shorthand for the American dream. But his stirring, stylishly written account focuses on its prehistory, tracing the phrase鈥檚 origins to British Enlightenment thinking.

10聽Better Living Through Birding,聽by 海角大神 Cooper

海角大神 Cooper, a Black birding enthusiast, received worldwide media attention when a video of him being falsely accused of threatening a white woman in New York鈥檚 Central Park went viral. In his delightful, edifying memoir, he extols the virtues of bird-watching and charts its decadeslong significance in his life.