Maureen Corrigan

Another one of Hazlett's triumphs here is the way he makes the work his two main characters do so engrossing. Both Peter and Anne, who's a former priest turned lay counselor, are engaged in the hard work of listening. Here are samplings of Anne's thoughts during an extended scene where she and two of her co-workers listen to a hospital chaplain describe how burned out she is.

It was in these moments, after a person finished her first unburdening of why she had sought out the center, that the urge to soothe came most strongly to Anne. But to speak immediately would be to glide over the heaviness in the room, in this case a story about the passage of time and the aging of a vocation.

It was in these moments, after a person finished her first unburdening of why she had sought out the center, that the urge to soothe came most strongly to Anne. But to speak immediately would be to glide over the heaviness in the room, in this case a story about the passage of time and the aging of a vocation.

It was in these moments, after a person finished her first unburdening of why she had sought out the center, that the urge to soothe came most strongly to Anne. But to speak immediately would be to glide over the heaviness in the room, in this case a story about the passage of time and the aging of a vocation.

People barely had room to grieve the loss of others, let alone pieces of themselves, and yet, unmourned, such fragments were bound to haunt. Mothers and Sons is an intricate, compelling novel about the power of stories and especially about the need to let go of those stories that keep people stuck. Maybe in that sense, it's a fitting novel for the new year after all.

People barely had room to grieve the loss of others, let alone pieces of themselves, and yet, unmourned, such fragments were bound to haunt. Mothers and Sons is an intricate, compelling novel about the power of stories and especially about the need to let go of those stories that keep people stuck. Maybe in that sense, it's a fitting novel for the new year after all.

People barely had room to grieve the loss of others, let alone pieces of themselves, and yet, unmourned, such fragments were bound to haunt. Mothers and Sons is an intricate, compelling novel about the power of stories and especially about the need to let go of those stories that keep people stuck. Maybe in that sense, it's a fitting novel for the new year after all.

Unprecedented surely was one of the most popular words of 2024, so it's fitting that my best books list begins with an unprecedented occurrence, two novels by authors who happen to be married to each other. James by Percival Everett reimagines Huckleberry Finn told from the point of view of Jim, Huck's enslaved companion on that immortal raft ride.

Unprecedented surely was one of the most popular words of 2024, so it's fitting that my best books list begins with an unprecedented occurrence, two novels by authors who happen to be married to each other. James by Percival Everett reimagines Huckleberry Finn told from the point of view of Jim, Huck's enslaved companion on that immortal raft ride.

Unprecedented surely was one of the most popular words of 2024, so it's fitting that my best books list begins with an unprecedented occurrence, two novels by authors who happen to be married to each other. James by Percival Everett reimagines Huckleberry Finn told from the point of view of Jim, Huck's enslaved companion on that immortal raft ride.

Alternating mordant humor with horror, Everett makes readers understand that for Jim, here called James, the Mississippi may offer a temporary haven, But given the odds of him making it to freedom, the river will likely be a vast highway to a scary nowhere. Everett is married to Danzy Senna, whose novel Colored Television is a revelatory satire on race and class.

Alternating mordant humor with horror, Everett makes readers understand that for Jim, here called James, the Mississippi may offer a temporary haven, But given the odds of him making it to freedom, the river will likely be a vast highway to a scary nowhere. Everett is married to Danzy Senna, whose novel Colored Television is a revelatory satire on race and class.

Alternating mordant humor with horror, Everett makes readers understand that for Jim, here called James, the Mississippi may offer a temporary haven, But given the odds of him making it to freedom, the river will likely be a vast highway to a scary nowhere. Everett is married to Danzy Senna, whose novel Colored Television is a revelatory satire on race and class.

Senna's main character, Jane, is a mixed-race writer and college teacher struggling to finish her second novel. Desperate for money, Jane cons her way into a meeting with a Hollywood producer who's cooking up a biracial situation comedy. Disaster ensues. Senna's writing is droll and fearless. Listen to Jane's thoughts about teaching.

Senna's main character, Jane, is a mixed-race writer and college teacher struggling to finish her second novel. Desperate for money, Jane cons her way into a meeting with a Hollywood producer who's cooking up a biracial situation comedy. Disaster ensues. Senna's writing is droll and fearless. Listen to Jane's thoughts about teaching.

Senna's main character, Jane, is a mixed-race writer and college teacher struggling to finish her second novel. Desperate for money, Jane cons her way into a meeting with a Hollywood producer who's cooking up a biracial situation comedy. Disaster ensues. Senna's writing is droll and fearless. Listen to Jane's thoughts about teaching.

One of the worst parts of teaching was how, like a series of mini-strokes, it ruined you as a writer. A brain could handle only so many undergraduate stories about date rape and eating disorders, dead grandmothers, and mystical dogs. Two other novels invite readers to catch up with familiar characters.

One of the worst parts of teaching was how, like a series of mini-strokes, it ruined you as a writer. A brain could handle only so many undergraduate stories about date rape and eating disorders, dead grandmothers, and mystical dogs. Two other novels invite readers to catch up with familiar characters.

One of the worst parts of teaching was how, like a series of mini-strokes, it ruined you as a writer. A brain could handle only so many undergraduate stories about date rape and eating disorders, dead grandmothers, and mystical dogs. Two other novels invite readers to catch up with familiar characters.

Long Island is Colm Tobin's sequel to his 2009 bestseller, Brooklyn, whose main character, Eilish Lacey, is now trapped in a marriage and a neighborhood as stifling as the Irish town she fled. It's Tobin's omissions and restraint, the words he doesn't write, that make him such an astute chronicler of this working-class Catholic world.