Each year I set a goal to read 100 books. Out of those 100 books, the ones that stay in my mind- the ones with characters that I just can’t forget and want to know what they are doing now- make my list of the Most Compelling Books, and here I share them with you.
January started off the year strong in 2025, with two books that still resonate with me almost a year later.
Irish author Niall Williams’ The Time of the Child continues the story of the small Irish village of Faha that we met in his novel “This Is Happiness”. In this book, an abandoned baby is found by a young boy who brings the child to the local doctor. The doctor’s daughter falls in love with the baby, but in 1962 Ireland a single woman can’t adopt. The village setting and the characters are indelible.
I always look forward to a new novel by Tracey Lange, and What Happened to the McCrays? is her best one yet. A man who left his wife and hometown of Potsdam, New York returns home when his father has a stroke. He has to face the consequences of leaving his wife behind, and we learn the sad circumstances of his sudden departure. It’s heartbreaking.
Lauren Willig’s brilliant historical novel The Girl From Greenwich Street takes the reader back to 1800 New York City as she fictionalizes a real-life murder mystery. When a young lady’s body is found at the bottom of the town well, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton reluctantly team up to represent the accused murderer. It’s a fascinating novel, filled with intriguing characters and a compelling storyline. Willig drops the reader right into 1800 New York City, and you feel like you are right there watching the action as it happens.
No one writes family stories better than Adriana Trigiani, and her latest The View From Lake Como shares the story of Jess, a young divorced woman who lives in her parents' basement and works for her lovable Uncle Louie. It will make you smile and laugh as Jess strives to find her place in this world while she deals with her large Italian family and her former husband and mother-in-law.
Maria Reva’s Endling is a creative, fascinating novel about a young scientist in Ukraine trying to save an endangered species of snail. She works with a mail-order bride operation to raise money for her project, and ends up involved in a kidnapping scheme with two sisters trying to stop the bride organization, when the Russians invade Ukraine.
Michelle Huneven is another author whose novels I will always read, and Bug Hollow is another amazing story. A family is rocked by the accidental death of their son and brother when they discover his new girlfriend is pregnant. We follow how all this affected the family through the years. It is unforgettable.
Virginia Evans’ superb debut novel The Correspondent shares the story of an elderly woman through the letters she writes to others and the letters she receives back, including from famous authors like Ann Patchett and Joan Didion. It’s an ingenious way to build a character, and this book has been deservedly building good buzz for months.
Another book that took time to build an audience is Clare Leslie Hall’s gripping
Broken Country. The book begins with the shooting death of a someone, and the book flashes back to tell the story of a couple dealing with the aftermath of a family tragedy. The wife becomes involved with the young son of her former boyfriend, now a wealthy man who has come back to town. It’s a love story with elements of a thriller thrown in.
Florence Knapp’s novel The Names has a unique concept. A woman, who is a domestic violence victim, sets out to complete her baby son’s birth registration. When it comes to giving his name, she can give the name her six year-old daughter wants, the one she herself wants, or name him after her husband, as he insists. The story is then told in three parts- how the young boy’s life proceeds in each life with the different names he could have been given. It’s brilliant and heartbreaking at the same time.
Jess Walter’s novel, So Far Gone is a timely one. After Rhys heatedly argues with his son-in-law over politics and punches him, he goes off the grid in the Pacific Northwest where he can be alone and read literature. Seven years later, his two grandchildren show up on his doorstep with a note from his daughter asking him to care for them. When their father shows up with two armed militia men to take the children back, Rhys rounds up his only few friends to take the children back.
I have two nonfiction titles this year that impressed me. Jeff Hobbs’s
Seeking Shelter addresses the growing problem of homelessness in this country through the lens of a mother of five children whose main goal is to get her children into a good school district. What they endure for that is thought-provoking.
Will Bardenwerper’s Homestand- Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America spends one summer following the Batavia Muckdogs after Major League Baseball drops 42 minor league teams (including the Auburn Doubledays) . The community of Batavia rallies around the couple who buys the team to keep baseball in their hometown. It successfully combines a look at a small town community with the one thing that continues to bring them together- a love of baseball. It’s a five star read.
Share your favorite reads this year with me at laruediane2000@yahoo.com.
