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Janey, 12, was walking her dog, Sid Vicious, by the railroad tracks near her hardscrabble house in Glasgow when he sniffed out a corpse. She's haunted by what she discovered and appears to be the only witness to the crime. Janey lives with her Nana; the rest of her family died in a gas explosion when she was a baby. Nana works very hard to make do and has her own deeply buried secrets. There are a number of prospective suspects in the neighborhood, and Janey feels at risk from many corners. Shot through with rich Scottish slang (there's a glossary in the back of the book, but most words make sense though context) and rich with psychological insights as well as working-class perspectives, this is a mystery with depth.
Oh no, not another bright, mistreated orphan! That was my first response to this fat novel by the author of The Help. But Meg, said orphan, got her hooks into me, as did the entire cast of characters, including a woman named Bridie who volunteers at the orphanage. Bridie encounters Charlie, Meg's mother, who was forced to abandon Meg when she was four and develops a fraught plan to reunite them. An absurd yet captivating plot twist involves creating a popup brothel in Bridie's sister's plantation house to raise funds to save it from foreclosure. Time frame: early '30s. Setting: Mississippi. Nothing like calamity to grab a reader's attention and hold it until the satisfying denouement.
Bonhomie is a benighted town in Ohio where the lives of two couples intersect with complex ramifications. Becky and Cal are trying to get pregnant; Becky connects with spirits, but Cal doesn't embrace her gift. Margaret is married to Felix, who is very attentive except when it comes to conjugal duties. Becky finally gives birth to a son, nicknamed Skip. Margaret, who grew up in an orphanage, never wanted children but gives birth to Tom, whose nickname, Buckeye, refers to his red hair. He's an odd kid. She abandons him and Felix who then raises his son on his own. At the heart of the story is the question of parentage. From the 1920s through 1981, this novel manages to encompass historical events with vivid economy. An underlying theme: how the shame of same-sex proclivities has tragic consequences. I think it's the book of the year so far.
Artie has been a dedicated teacher for years, with a long marriage and a sweet life on Massachusetts Bay. No one knows that a deep malaise has settled within him, in which he is questioning every aspect of his existence. He almost drowns while sailing solo in the bay adjacent to their house, which reawakens his will to live, then discovers a secret which upends what he thought was true. The political insanity of Ameria's current situation underscores his personal experience. Strout limns intense emotions with almost surgical precision and stripped-down language—a skill I admire greatly. So glad she's still at it!
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