The New York Times included these novels in their list of notable fiction for 2013. They are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
A young woman from Nigeria finds her dreams are not as expected when she leaves behind her home and her first love to start a new life in America.
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
In a rural Chechnyan village in December 2004, a failed doctor treats wounded rebels and refugees while harboring a traumatized girl whose father was abducted by Russian forces.
Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon
Set in 2001, a New York City fraud investigator finds no shortage of swindlers when she looks into the finances of a computer security firm and its billionaire geek CEO.
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Now middle-aged, the grown protagonist of King’s 1977 novel The Shining must save a special twelve-year-old girl from a tribe of murderous paranormal beings.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
After surviving a terrorist attack that kills his mother, a boy becomes entranced by a painting that ultimately draws him into the art underworld.
The Good Lord Bird by James McBride
A twelve-year-old slave in Kansas flees his master and stands at the side of abolitionist John Brown throughout the raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859.
Longbourn by Jo Baker
There is romance, heartbreak and intrigue among the servants below stairs in a novel that borrows characters created in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Brothers pursue vastly different lives, one living in rebellion-torn Calcutta and the other in a quiet corner of America, until a tragedy brings them together in India.
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Arriving in New Zealand in 1866 to seek his fortune in the goldfields, a young stranger from Scotland finds himself drawn into a series of unsolved crimes.
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
Set in the early 19th century, the erudite daughter of the richest man in Philadelphia meets a gifted artist who opens a world of science and self-discovery.
Someone by Alice McDermott
The daily life and trials of an ordinary Brooklyn-born woman are portrayed from childhood through old age.
The Son by Philipp Meyer
Abducted and held captive by the Comanche at thirteen, a young man eventually returns to the white world where he joins the Texas Rangers, becomes a cattle rancher and fights for the South in the Civil War.
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
A half-Chinese, half-American courtesan in Shanghai struggles to find her place in the world while her mother tries to make sense of the choices she’s made and the men who have shaped her.
We are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
Coming of age in Middle America, an eighteen-year-old evaluates how her entire youth was defined by the presence and forced removal of an endearing chimpanzee.
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
A ten-year-old Zimbabwe native escapes the closed schools and paramilitary police control of her homeland in search of opportunity and freedom with an aunt in America.
The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
Relegated to the status of schoolteacher and friendly neighbor after abandoning her dreams of becoming an artist, a woman advocates on behalf of a Lebanese student and is drawn into the child’s family unit.
Originally published on February 14, 2014 in the Lititz Record Express.