Jess Walter

GREAT READS '09

(Key: N-Novel; SS-Short Stories; NF-Nonfiction; P-Poetry !-Wow)

NF--CREATIONISTS, E.L. Doctorow. Quick and smart essays some of which audaciously recreate authors' tracks -- what Melville must have thought when he realized the whale wouldn't appear until page 537 of Moby Dick; how Twain "lost his resolve or his way" in Huckleberry Finn.
SS--THE LITTLEST HITLER, Ryan Boudinot. Very good collection--funnny, odd and just when you think a story might drift off into dreaded quirkiness, grounding and details provide surprising heft.
SS-!-JESUS' SON, Denis Johnson. Reread this dead-funny, dark, hallucinatory book ... and was even more impressed ... it's a book that a friend says "keeps opening up" in surprising ways and I think that's right.
N--NOBODY MOVE, Denis Johnson. Johnson's upcoming noir, first serialized in Playboy, is fast and funny and even if it's a trifle, it's a lot of fun.
N--TREE OF SMOKE, Denis Johnson. Big, epic, screwy novel, a trippy Quiet American.
P--THE TANGLED LINE, Tod Marshall. Moving and smart poems, with a fully-realized undercurrent of fatherhood and loss.
N--BILLY BATHGATE, E.L. Doctorow. One of the best first chapters ever--long relentless sentences establishing a perfect beat ... a little masters class on writing a novel.
N--THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD, Ron Hansen. The movie sent me back to the book to see if that's where the vivid, slightly stiff voice came from; it is.
SS--THE RED CONVERTIBLE, Louise Erdrich. Her collected short stories is a very fine book even if it feels odd unspooling these stories from Erdrich's novels, which can feel like linked stories themselves.
SS--DRIFT AND SWERVE, Samuel Ligon. Sam's a friend of mine but I'd highly recommend this collection of dark, beautifully-written stories even if he weren't.
NF--HIDING MAN, Tracy Daugherty. Fascinating, detailed biography of metafictionist story writer Donald Barthelme.
N--THE RUSSIAN DEBUTANTE'S HANDBOOK, Gary Shteyngart. Another manic, loopy, beautifully-written novel.
N--REMAINDER, Tom McCarthy. Disoriented Kafka flat dread = allegorical hilarity.

GREAT '08 READS

N--THE END, Salvatore Scibona
N--HOME, Marilynn Robinson
N-!-SHADOW COUNTRY, Peter Matthiessen
N--THE LAZARUS PROJECT, Aleksandar Hemon
N--TELEX FROM CUBA, Rachel Kushner
SS-!-OUR STORY BEGINS, Tobias Wolff
SS--OLIVE KITTERIDGE, Elizabeth Strout
SS-!-UNACCUSTOMED EARTH, Jhumpa Lahiri
N-!-LUSH LIFE, Richard Price
N-!-A MERCY, Toni Morrison
N--THE PLAGUE OF DOVES, Louise Erdrich
N--PEACE, Richard Bausch
SS--A BETTER ANGEL, Chris Adrian
SS--THE NIGHTENGALES OF TROY, Alice Fulton
SS--ALL THE SAD YOUNG LITERARY MEN, Keith Gessen
SS--TWO MARRIAGES, Phillip Lopate (novellas)
SS--ONE MORE YEAR, Sana Krasikov
SS--DANGEROUS LAUGHTER, Steven Millhauser
SS--FINE JUST THE WAY IT IS, Annie Proulx
N--INDIGNATION, Philip Roth
N--THE SOUL THIEF, Charles Baxter
N--HOW THE DEAD DREAM, Lydia Millet
N--NETHERLAND, Joseph O'Neill
N--THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED, Wally Lamb
N--A PERSON OF INTEREST, Susan Choi
N--PERSONAL DAYS, Ed Park
N--ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES, Rivka Galchen
P--THE RADIUM WATCH DIAL PAINTERS, Dan Butterworth
N--GONE TOMORROW, P.F. Kluge
N--TESTIMONY, Anita Shreeve
N--THE GOD OF WAR, Marissa Silver
N--A COUNTRY CALLED HOME, Kim Barnes
N--SONG YET SUNG, James McBride
N--THE STORY OF A MARRIAGE, Andrew Sean Greer
N--THE ENGLISH MAJOR, Jim Harrison
N--THE 19TH WIFE, David Ebershoff
N--SONGS FOR THE MISSING, Stewart O'Nan
N--GOLDENGROVE, Francine Prose
N--COVENTRY, Joseph Bathanti
N--VACATION, Deb Olin Unferth
N--MORE THAN IT HURTS YOU, Darin Strauss
N--THE GIVEN DAY, Dennis Lehane
N--EXILES, Ron Hansen
N--CITY OF THIEVES, David Benioff
N--GO WITH ME, Castle Freeman Jr.
N--MUDBOUND, Hillary Jordan
N--THE END OF THE JEWS, Adam Mansbach
N--DEAR AMERICAN AIRLINES, Jonathan Miles
N--HARRY, REVISITED, Mark Sarvas
N--THE GOOD THIEF, Hannah Tinti
N--CRUST, Lawrence Shainberg
N--THE CONDITION, Jennifer Haigh
N--MONSTER, 1959, David Maine
N--MAN IN THE DARK, Paul Auster
N--CITY OF REFUGE, Tom Piazza
N--GUERNICA, Dave Boling

GREAT '07 READS

N--THE BEAUTIFUL MISCELLANEOUS,Dominic Smith
SS--DISTURBANCE-LOVING SPECIES, Peter Chilson
SS--THE MOTHER GARDEN, Robin Romm
SS--HUMAN RESOURCES, Josh Goldfarb
N--THE LAST TOWN ON EARTH, Thomas Mullen
SS--THE GATEWAY, T.M. McNalley
SS--YES, YES, CHERRY, Mary Otis
N-!-SACRED GAMES by Vikram Chandra
NF-!-THIS BOY'S LIFE, Tobias Wolff
SS--OUR FORMER LIVES IN ART, Jennifer Davis
SS--NO ONE BELONGS HERE MORE THAN YOU, Miranda July
N--THE PINBALL THEORY OF APOCALYPSE, Jonathan Selwood
N--A PUSH AND A SHOVE, Chrisotpher Kelly
N--THE WATER CURE, Percival Everett.
N--LET THE NORTHERN LIGHTS ERASE YOUR NAME, Vendela Vida
N--THE BABY LOTTERY, Kathryn Trueblood
SS--THE MIDDLEMAN AND OTHER STORIES, Bharati Mukherjee
N-!-REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, Richard Yates
NF--A SUPPOSEDLY FUN THING I'LL NEVER DO AGAIN, David Foster Wallace
N-!-ABSURDISTAN, Gary Shteyngart
N-!-THEN WE CAME TO THE END, Joshua Ferris
N--HOMELAND, Sam Lipsyte
NF--IMPERIAL LIFE IN THE EMERALD CITY, Rajiv Chandrasekaran
N--BRIDGE OF SIGHS, Richard Russo
N--HOLDER OF THE WORLD, Bharati Mukherjee
N--EAT THE DOCUMENT, Dana Spiotta
SS--PU-239 AND OTHER STORIES, Ken Kalfus
NF--KILLING YOURSELF TO LIVE, Chuck Klosterman
SS--THE KING OF LIMBO, Adrianne Harun
N--BRIGHTON ROCK, Graham Greene
SS--SHORT SHORTS, An Anthology of the Shortest Stories, edited by Irving Howe
NF--THE ART AND CRAFT OF THE SHORT STORY, Rick DeMarinis
N--BELOVED, Toni Morrison
N-!-BLINDNESS, Jose Saramago
NF--MYSTERY AND MANNERS, Flannery O'Connor
P--BOOK OF SKELETONS, Rachel Vigier
NF--LIVING BY FICTION, Annie Dillard
N--KOCKROACH, Tyler Knox
P--DELIGHTS & SHADOWS, Ted Kooser
N--YOU DON'T LOVE ME YET, Jonathan Lethem
NF--THE COLONY, John Tayman
F--THE INTERLOPER, Antoine Wilson
NF--THE WORST HARD TIME, Timothy Egan
F-!-THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT HEAVEN BEARS, Dinaw Mengestu
F--FALLING MAN, Don DeLillo
F--FLIGHT, Sherman Alexie
NF-!-THE DISAPPOINTMENT ARTIST, Jonathan Lethem
NF--MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY, Kurt Vonnegut
SS--DEAD BOYS, Richard Lange
N--HOUSE OF MEETINGS, Martin Amis
N--THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN'S UNION, Michael Chabon
NF--THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE, Robert Evans

GREAT '06 READS

NF--20 JULY, Constantine FitzGibbon
N-!-BLACK SWAN GREEN, David Mitchell
NF--READING LIKE A WRITER, Francine Prose
N-!-THE ECHO MAKER, Richard Powers
N--A DISORDER PECULIAR TO THE COUNTRY, Ken Kalfus
N--THE FLANDERS PANEL, Aturo Perez-Reverte
N-!-LOST CITY RADIO, Daniel Alarcon
N--NOBODY'S ANGEL, Tom McGuane
NF--HOUSEKEEPING VS. THE DIRT, Nick Hornby
SS--PASTORALIA, George Saunders
SS-!-THE TURNING, Tim Winton
N--SATURDAY, Ian McEwan
N--THE NEW YORK TRILOGY, Paul Auster
N--THE LAY OF THE LAND, Richard Ford
SS--THE DOG OF THE MARRIAGE, Amy Hempel
SS--TUMBLE HOME, Amy Hempel
N--THE DRAMATIST, Ken Bruen
SS-!-I SAILED WITH MAGELLAN, Stuart Dybek
N--THE BROOKLYN FOLLIES, Paul Auster
N--ON THE ROAD, Jack Kerouac
NF--LUCKIEST MAN, Jonathan Eig
N--TISHOMINGO BLUES, Elmore Leonard
N-!-THE KNOWN WORLD, Edward P. Jones
N--CONCRETE ISLAND, J.G. Ballard
N--LUNAR PARK, Bret Easton Ellis
N--THE LAST DAYS OF IL DUCE, Domenic Stansberry
NF--ORPHANS, Charles d'Ambrosio
N--THE SEA, John Banville
N--THE LINCOLN LAWYER, Michael Connelly
N--DRAMA CITY, George Pelecanos
N--THE CONSTANT GARDNER, John LeCarre
N--SPECIMEN DAYS, Michael Cunningham
N--THE PLOT AGAINST AMERICA, Philip Roth
SS-!-JESUS' SON, Denis Johnson
N--NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, Cormac McCarthy
SS--THE BRIGADIER AND THE GOLF WIDOW, John Cheever
NF--BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE, Dee Brown
NF--DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY, Erik Larson
SS--THE EARLY STORIES, John Updike
SS--LOST IN THE CITY, Edward P. Jones

GREAT '05 READS

SS--THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER
NF--CHRONICLES (VOL. 1), Bob Dylan
NF--THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, Joan Didion
N--SHOPGIRL, Steve Martin
N-!-GILEAD, Marilynne Robinson
N--THE DIAGNOSIS, Alan Lightman
NF--A MOVEABLE FEAST, Ernest Hemingway
N--PLEASE DON'T COME BACK FROM THE MOON, Dean Bakopoulos
NF-!-JOE GOULD'S SECRET, Joseph Mitchell.
N--THE HIGHEST TIDE, Jim Lynch
N-!-JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE NIGHT, Celine
N--HENDERSON THE RAIN KING, Saul Bellow
NF--RAYMOND CARVER, AN ORAL BIOGRAPHY, Sam Halpert
N--THE HONEYMOONERS, Chuck Kinder
N-!-CLOUD ATLAS, David Mitchell
N--HARRY POTTER II and III, J.K. Rowling
N--A LONG WAY DOWN, Nick Hornby
N--TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, Peter Carey
N--THE MUSIC OF CHANCE, Paul Auster
NF--JOE DIMAGGIO, Richard Ben Cramer
N-!-THE HOURS, Michael Cunningham
N-!-RABBIT, RUN, John Updike
NF--THE BELIEVER (magazine) and THE POLYSYLLABIC SPREE, Nick Hornby
N--HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, J.K. Rowling
N--BEING DEAD, Jim Crace
N-!-TIME'S ARROW, Martin Amis
N--THE CONFESSIONS OF MAX TIVOLI, Andrew Sean Greer
N-!-HERZOG, Saul Bellow
N-!-THE ADVENTURES OF AUGIE MARCH, Saul Bellow
NF--THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
NF--CONSPIRACY OF FOOLS, Kurt Eichenwald
P--FIRST HAND, Linda Bierds
N-!-MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN, Salman Rushdie
NF--STEP ACROSS THIS LINE, Salman Rushdie
N--MEMOIR FROM ANT-PROOF CASE, Mark Helprin
N--SAFE IN HEAVEN DEAD, Sam Ligon
N--THE WILT ALTERNATIVE, Tom Sharpe
N--THE BLITZ, Ken Bruen
P-!-MAKING CERTAIN IT GOES ON, collected poems of Richard Hugo
NF--HIGH BROW LOW BROW, Lawrence Levine
NF--102 MINUTES, by Kevin Flynn and Jim Dwyer.

GREAT '04 READS

NF--DISNEYWAR, James Stewart
N--RABBIT REDUX, John Updike
P--LIGHT'S LADDER, Christopher Howell
P--MEMOIR OF THE HAWK, James Tate
N--A CHANGED MAN, Francine Prose
NF--AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF HUMANITY, Theodore Zeldin
N-!-FOOL'S CROW, James Welch
P--RIDING THE EARTHBOY 20, James Welch
N--THE HEARTSONG OF CHARGING ELK, James Welch
SS--THE GARDEN OF NORTH AMERICAN MARTYRS, Tobias Wolff
N--HOUSE OF LEAVES, Mark Danielewski
N--BLUE ANGEL, Francine Prose
N--WILT, Tom Sharpe
N--BILLY PHELAN'S GREATEST GAME, William Kennedy
N-!-IRONWEED, William Kennedy
N-!-THE UNIVERSAL BASEBALL ASSOCIATION, J. HENRY WAUGH PROPRIETOR, Robert Coover
N--THE FLAMING CORSAGE, William Kennedy
N--ROSCOE, William Kennedy
NF--LIVING TO TELL THE TALE, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
N--FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, Jonathan Lethem
N--GUN WITH OCCASIONAL MUSIC, Jonathan Lethem
N-!-ERASURE, Percival Everett
N-!-THREE FARMERS ON THEIR WAY TO A DANCE, Richard Powers
N-!-MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN, Jonathan Lethem