10. Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing 

 

Gyasi creates an unforgettable cast of characters as she follows seven generations of a family through the dislocations and continuing repercussions¹ of slavery. 

 

9. Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café 

 

Bakewell's idiosyncratic begins At the Existentialist Café. She tracks the growth of Existentialism, and shows how its emphasis on authenticity² and freedom are relevant today. 

 

8. Ruth Franklin, Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life 

 

Shirley Jackson was best known for literary suspense³. Jackson's unique contribution, writes Franklin, was "her primary focus" on the lives of her generation of women who were raised in the mid⁴ 20th Century. 

 

7. Liz Moore, The Unseen World 

 

Moore captures the powerful ties between father and daughter as she unspools a string of compelling scientific and personal mysteries. 

 

6. Ben H Winters, Underground Airlines 

 

Winters' timely new work of speculative⁵ fiction is set in an alternative US: Lincoln never became president, the Civil War never happened, and there are still slaves in the certain states. Winters, an Edgar award winner, has crafted a fast-moving thriller⁶ with a contemporary ethical⁷ framework. 

 

5. Teju Cole, Known and Strange Things 

 

Cole shows a breathtaking range in his splendid new collection of 55 essays. His cultural criticism is filled with surprising connections and intelligent provocations⁸. 

 

4. Adam Haslett, Imagine Me Gone 

 

Imagine Me Gone is a powerful story of loss and love. We've come to know intimately the joys and struggles of each member of a troubled family by its heart-wrenching conclusion.

 

3. Ann Patchett, Commonwealth 

 

Patchett, winner of the 2001 Orange Prize, opens her brilliantly structured new novel. Betrayals and forgiveness are at the centre of this complex and memorable⁹ family drama. 

 

2. CE Morgan, The Sport of Kings 

 

Morgan's ambitious and epic¹⁰ tale of a racehorse bred to win the Triple Crown of elite¹¹ US thoroughbred contests spans several centuries. 

 

1. Dana Spiotta, Innocents and Others 

 

Spiotta raises questions about truth, reality and how the digital world is affecting us all in her new novel. An innovative¹² and provocative¹³ stunner.

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