The spotlight is on these novels, singled out as some of the most notable fiction of 2014 (so far). They are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.
To Rise at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris
After noticing his identity has been stolen and used to create various social media accounts, a man with a troubled past begins to wonder if his virtual alter ego is actually a better version of himself.
Life Drawing by Robin Black
A couple is living a quiet country life of companionship and artistic creativity – she a painter, he a writer – until a beautiful British woman moves in to the previously unoccupied cottage next door.
The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob
A brain surgeon’s decision to shorten his visit to his mother’s home in India has consequences that reverberate two decades later.
The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day
After a being shot by a student she never met, a sociology professor searches for an explanation.
Family Life by Akhil Sharma
Tragedy strikes two brothers who have recently arrived from Delhi to join their father in America, leaving one incapacitated and the other practically orphaned in a strange land.
Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
Based on an unsolved murder in 1876 San Francisco, a young woman is shot dead through the window of a railroad saloon and her friend risks everything to bring the murderer to justice.
Love and Treasure by Ayelet Waldman
Seventy years after her grandfather was tasked with guarding a treasure of riches gleaned from Holocaust victims, a young woman receives a locket and is charged with searching for the woman whose portrait it holds.
Summer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
The ultimate holiday at an extravagant summer home on the Mediterranean takes a violent turn when dark motivations are revealed.
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
Celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary and their daughter’s high-school graduation during a vacation in Mallorca, a couple confronts old secrets that reveal sides of themselves they try to conceal.
One Plus One Jojo Moyes
A harried single mother who can’t afford to pay for her math-whiz daughter’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity accepts the help of a geeky knight-in-shining-armor who offers to drive the dysfunctional family to the Math Olympiad.
The Possibilities by Kaui Hart Hemmings
A mother grieving her son’s death is faced with a new shock when a strange girl appears with a secret.
Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
Winning a scholarship to a prestigious college where she befriends a beautiful girl from a privileged background, an unassuming young woman joins her friend during a lakeside summer surrounded by wealthy vacationers and discovers the truth about her friend’s family fortune.
The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
Moving from Mexico to America when their daughter suffers a near-fatal accident, parents confront cultural barriers, their daughter’s difficult recovery and her developing relationship with a Panamanian boy.
The Cairo Affair by Olen Steinhauer
Minutes after a wife confesses to her husband that she had an affair while on a diplomatic posting in Cairo, he is shot in the head and killed.
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
When the daughter of a wealthy family turns eleven she is given ownership over a Charleston slave who is to be her handmaid, beginning a story inspired by historical figure Sarah Grimke, a feminist, suffragist and abolitionist.
Originally published on July 25, 2014 in the Lititz Record Express.