Writing the Renaissance: Best Reads of 2015

I almost made it to my goal of reading 35 novels by the end of 2015... if I finish THE NIGHTINGALE by midnight tonight, I will have completed 33. If I include the completed but not yet published manuscripts I've read and critiqued for fellow writers, then I easily met my mark. I read many great books this year, some old, some new, and many written by friends (which makes compiling a list of favorites even more difficult and, frankly, rather awkward). In compiling my list of standout reads for 2015, I decided to exclude novels written by authors with whom I have a personal connection. I list those novels, along with links to reviews I wrote for them, below. They were all wonderful books, and I encourage readers to pick them up, if they haven't already.

From among the remaining books I read, these were my favorites of 2015, in no particular order:

THE RED NOTEBOOK (LA FEMME AU CARNET ROUGE)

by Antoine Laurain, translated by Jane Aitken and Emily Boyce

(2014; translated 2015)

A delightful story of a Parisian bookseller who finds a lost handbag on the street and puzzles together the owner's identity from the jumble of possessions inside it. A red notebook that contains the anonymous woman's jottings spurs the bookseller's desire to find her. Witty and romantic without being the least bit sappy, this beautifully translated novel examines the notions of nostalgia, regret, and serendipity with flair and charm.

THE MOOR'S ACCOUNT

by Laila Lalami

(2014)

The imagined memoirs of the first black explorer of America, a Moroccan slave named Estebanico, this compelling novel recounts the doomed Narvaez expedition to Florida in 1527-28. Only four men out of an original 600 survived the series of disasters that befell the Spanish party. Estabanico was one of the lucky ones, yet he received only one line, a mention of his name and origin, in the official account of the group's adventures. This Pulitzer Prize-listed novel gives Estebanico a voice and offers a new perspective on the European drive to colonize the New World.

THE CRAZED

by Ha Jin

(2002)

In the months surrounding the Tiananmen Square massacre, student Jian Wan cares for his mentor Professor Yang, a respected teacher of literature who suffers a debilitating stroke. Are the professor's wild ravings the product of his diseased mind, or does his disability provide him cover to speak truths too dangerous to articulate? Exposed to disturbing ideas that he had trained himself not to contemplate, Jian Wan is forced to question his predetermined path. This remarkable portrait of late twentieth century Chinese society exposes the political pressures that oppressed an entire generation of scholars and activists.

THE LAST PILOT

by Benjamin Johncock

(2015)

This stark novel recreates the early days of the U.S. space program through the eyes of Jim Harrison, an Air Force test pilot. Used to cheating death on a daily basis, Jim finds his courage and authority challenged when unexpected tragedy blindsides his young family. With his marriage and career on the line, Jim must come to terms with loss, grief, and the realization that the traits that make him an ace pilot are not necessarily those of a successful father and husband. A beautiful, emotionally intense novel of hope, courage, and forgiveness.

SISTERS OF SHILOH

by Kathy and Becky Hepinstall

(2015)

When her husband is killed in the battle of Antietam, Libby vows to kill one Union soldier for every year of his too-short life. Disguised in her husband's clothes, she enlists in the Confederate army. Josephine, desperate to protect her grief-crazed sister, joins her. As Thomas and Joseph, the two sisters battle through the final days of the war, with Libby falling into madness and Josephine falling in love with a fellow soldier who thinks she's a man. A beautiful tribute to the tie that binds sisters and the hope that sustains victims of war.

THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA

by Katy Simpson Smith

(2014)

An intricate, poetic novel about the love between parent and child set in a small coastal town at the end of the American Revolution. Told in three parts, the novel explores several generations of a family forced to endure the difficult circumstances of war, kidnapping, and slavery. A quiet novel that pays rich dividends to the reader who savors it to the end.

THE THING ABOUT DECEMBER

by Donal Ryan

(2013)

Set in Ireland, this novel recounts a year in the life of Johnsey Cunliffe, an innocent, simple young man who, after the death of his overprotective parents, becomes the victim of greed as avaricious townsfolk attempt to cheat him of his valuable farm. Deeply moving and at times unsettling, this novel celebrates the resilience of the human spirit as a lonely, limited man struggles to make sense of the world.

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Friends and colleagues published the following novels, all of which I read and greatly enjoyed this year. Please click on the links provided to read the reviews I wrote for them at the time of publication.

RODIN'S LOVER

by Heather Webb (2015)