Subscribe
Fiction favorites from the author's shelves.
Journalist and author Lionel Shriver published her first novel in 1987 (The Female of the Species), but it wasn't until 2003's We Need to Talk about Kevin that she became a household name. That epistolary novel won the Orange Prize for its treatment of a mother's guilt at an act of targeted violence committed by her son. Her new work of fiction, The New Republic, was actually written in 1998 but is only now being published. A tale of terrorism in a Portuguese backwater and one man's misguided desire to be popular, it feels more prescient than ever. When we asked her to pick three favorites, Shriver chose three works of fiction with astonishing imaginative scope.
By Allegra Goodman
"This author has an unusual ability to completely inhabit other people's professions, in this case the world of cancer research. If you're tired of protagonists who write novels for a living, Goodman's for you. What might seem like just a little cheating in the conduct of an experiment has momentous consequences for a researcher's career and the reputations of colleagues as well. Believe it or not, Intuition crackles with the suspense of a good thriller."
By Matthew Kneale
"The tale of an ill-fated sea journey from Britain to Tasmania to discover the original Garden of Eden, this historical novel has an immediacy rare for the genre. And it's hilarious. Kneale spent seven years on this book, but his research is seamlessly woven into the narrative, and you never feel you're being force-fed someone else's homework. A great send-up of religion and racism both, with a dark, farcical ending reminiscent of The Mosquito Coast."
By Russell Banks
"Taking on subject matter that most authors would cross the street to avoid, Banks tackles the modern-day pariah: the sex offender. Though the protagonist never actually seduces a 14-year-old girl he met on the Internet, he certainly intended to do so. This novel doesn't issue any kind of blanket pardon for sex offenders, but it does extend to them the measure of sympathy that every human being probably deserves. A brave project and a compelling story."
Email
Print
Share
Thespian-turned-P.I. Jasmine Sharp searches for a missing actress and veteran detective Catherine MacLeod tries to solve the case of a murdered one. Their paths intertwine amid the Scottish theater community with uproarious and gory results.
Recounting the struggles and eventual dissolution of a family textile business in Prato, Italy, Story of My People is a heartbreaking memoir about the personal impact of globalization.
A controversial sensation in Norway, A Man in Love is the second book of six in the series, detailing Knausgaard’s separation from his wife, his move to Stolkholm and the dogged pursuit of a mesmerizing poet.
Please sign in to add a comment on this article.