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My daughter Ronit recommends: Whistler: A Novel, Ann Patchett
Whistler is one of those novels you will pick up and have to keep reading until you are finished. When I was on page 50 or so I texted my mother (Sandra at Bibliophile) and said, “I love this book and I am only at the beginning.” Whistler is a marvelous story of family, events that bind us together, and a world of care and kindness. Daphne and her husband meet Eddie, her long lost step-father, on a random day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In the short time Eddie and Daphne’s mother were married, Eddie was more of a father to Daphne than her biological father Buddy. He disappeared from her life when she was only 9 years old but the impact he made stayed with her for the next 40 plus years. Whistler is a beautifully-written story about their time together, the memories they created, and choices and moments that defined their lives. I promise you, once you begin to read it, you won’t be able to put it down.
David recommends: John of John, Douglas Stuart
This is one of the most acclaimed novels of the year. John-Calum "Cal" Macleod begrudgingly returns to his childhood home in the Scottish Islands. Aside from being beautifully written by Booker-winner Stuart, the novel is a piercing study of identity, belonging, and family ties. If you love an engrossing and memorable novel, you won't want to miss this one.
Carey recommends: Lázár: A Novel, Nelio Biedermann; translated by Jamie Bulloch
This novel is truly an outstanding piece of historical fiction, made even more remarkable by the fact that the author was only 22 years old when he wrote the book. A sweeping epic of the end of the old order and the beginning of the modern world through one old, storied, and noble yet unusual family. Lajos Van Lázár is born to a noble family who live in a castle on the edge of a large dark forest. All who venture deep into it are driven to madness. When he is born, his homeland is still part of the Hapsburg Empire. His parentage is questionable as he is so pale that he is almost translucent. War, Hitler, more war, and Communism changed the way of life for all in the old empire, especially for old noble families. Lazar’s own children, Pista and Eva, experience the Hungarian Revolution. History is just the background for this enthralling story of a family of eccentrics who start to crumble under the pressure of the family name and the radical changes that dominated the beginning of the twentieth century. This book was impossible to put down.