Xmas Time is Here by Golly...

Book suggested by the Northern Woman's Bookstore. Here are their picks in fiction.

ALICE MUNRO, recipient of this year’s Mann Booker prize, gives us TOO MUCH HAPPINESS, while multi-award winner MARGARET ATWOOD returns with THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD. Each of these books has received glowing reviews, and rather than repeat the reviews I’ll simply say READ THE BOOKS.

Radiant, richly layered and timeless, THE WINTER VAULT is the eagerly anticipated new novel by ANNE MICHAELS, author of the internationally celebrated long-time best seller FUGITIVE PIECES. “Vivid in its descriptions of both the physical and emotional worlds of its characters, this breathtaking, deeply moving novel reveals the inescapability of memories, the devastation of loss, and the restorative powers of love.”

Her first novel since the Giller Prize winning A GOOD HOUSE ten years ago, BONNIE BURNARD’S new novel SUDDENLY is a poignant story of three friends as they recover their shared past and face an uncertain future. Some will find this novel emotionally difficult, but the beauty of the prose is so compelling you will want to accompany these three women on their journey.

Readers who love the work of BARBARA KINGSOLVER will be pleased to discover her new novel THE LACUNA, which is described as “a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.”

Although I haven’t read THE GIRLS, everyone I know who has says it is marvellous. I will say that I absolutely loved LORI LANSENS’ new novel THE WIFE’S TALE. On the eve of their 25th wedding anniversary, Mary Gooch’s husband runs away (despite having helped planned the anniversary party). After the initial shock Mary decides to go looking for him, and thus embarks on an adventure, the result being that Mary finds herself. Read this wonderful TALE and smile.

A novel about Aristotle and Alexander the Great -- Really? Well, THE GOLDEN MEAN by ANNABEL LYON is that novel and it is garnering great praise! Short-listed for the Giller, the Governor General’s Award, and the Writers Trust Fiction Prize, THE GOLDEN MEAN is described as “An exhilarating book, both brilliant and profound”.

CHIMIMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’s first two magnificent novels, PURPLE HIBISCUS and HALF OF A YELLOW SUN, provide a portrait of the author’s country, Nigeria. In her new book of stories, THE THING AROUNG YOUR NECK, Adichie’s penetrating insight is turned not only Africa but also America. “Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow, and longing, these stories map, with Adichie’s signature emotional wisdom, the collision of two cultures and the deeply human struggle to reconcile them.”

Fans of SARAH WATERS, “one of the finest and most exciting novelists writing today” will be delighted with THE LITTLE STRANGER, “a nuanced evocation of 1940’s England and the most chill-inducing novel of psychological suspense in years.”