John McNally Jefferson Press ($22.95) by Leah Raven “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia,” E. L. Doctorow once said. John McNally takes full

Francine Prose HarperCollins ($24.95) by Joyce J. Townsend Instead of unctuous stereotypic babble—the contrived kind that smacks so clearly of an adult author emulating a

Nahal Tajadod translated by R. Bononno The Overlook Press ($26.95) by Rasoul Sorkhabi This book is the first comprehensive and authoritative historical novel in English

Marilynne Robinson Farrar, Straus and Giroux ($25) by Jill Stegman Told through the eyes of a middle-aged spinster named Glory Boughton, Marilynne Robinson’s Home is a challenging

José Eduardo Agualusa translated by Daniel Hahn Arcadia Books (£11.99) by Jeff Bursey José Eduardo Agualusa’s previous novel, The Book of Chameleons, winner of the Independent

Deb Olin Unferth McSweeney’s ($22) by Stephanie Hlywak At the heart of Deb Olin Unferth’s astonishing, unsettling first novel is the idea and intention of

Roberto Bolaño translated by Chris Andrews New Directions ($23.98) by Luke Sykora Since the author’s untimely death in 2003, Roberto Bolaño has risen to a

FINAL SILENCE Ronald Flores translated by Gavin O’Toole Aflame Books ($15.95) SENSELESSNESS Horacio Castellanos Moya translated by Katherine Silver New Directions ($15.95) by Aaron Shulman

Phillip Lopate Other Press ($24.95) by Joseph Jon Lanthier It’s typically a sign of desperation when writers, even critics, begin littering their work with deferential

Geoff Ryman Small Beer Press ($16) by Margaret Shaklee “The words will come again, when your people need them most. When they cry out, tormented