The best literary novels that contain surprises

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer, I want my novels to be deeply humane and beautifully written, with characters who are worth your time and love and worry. And as a reader, I want my plots to keep you up past bedtime. Unsurprisingly, these same qualities show up in novels I remember the longest. In days of yore (the 1980s) the rap on “literary novels” was that they had poetic writing and no plot. I’m glad to say that’s no longer true (if it ever was). Gorgeous writing and riveting plots can and do go together! In that spirit, I hope you’ll love my book selections.


I wrote...

Any Bitter Thing

By Monica Wood,

Book cover of Any Bitter Thing

What is my book about?

After surviving a near-fatal accident, thirty-year-old Lizzy Mitchell recalls only one thing for sure: She saw her long-dead priest uncle at her hospital bedside. Raised with love and care by Father Mike in his Maine parish after she was orphaned at two, Lizzy’s only bad memory is being abruptly torn from him at age nine and sent away to a boarding school. How could he have come back to her now, years after his death? Is he an angel? A ghost? Or something more corporeal? Over her husband’s objections, Lizzy sets out to investigate her past, when a whisper campaign forced a good man to give up the only family he had. In this emotionally expansive literary novel, Monica Wood explores family, loyalty, and the tragedy of good intentions.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Trust

Monica Wood Why did I love this book?

I set out to expand my horizons by reading a possibly-boring historical novel about a filthy-rich financier in the era of robber barons, but wow, this turned out to be full of surprises.

It begins with a novella-within-the-novel by an “author” from the 1920s, continues with a “memoir” by someone suspiciously similar to the protagonist of the novella, concludes with diary entries from someone else entirely, and it took me nearly the whole book to figure out what exactly I was reading.

I loved the up-ending expectations, writing that echoed other times and places, and the final revelation that I won’t spoil here. You’ll love it!

By Hernan Diaz,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Trust as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Longlisted for the Booker Prize
The Sunday Times Bestseller

Trust is a sweeping, unpredictable novel about power, wealth and truth, set against the backdrop of turbulent 1920s New York. Perfect for fans of Succession.

Can one person change the course of history?

A Wall Street tycoon takes a young woman as his wife. Together they rise to the top in an age of excess and speculation. But now a novelist is threatening to reveal the secrets behind their marriage, and this wealthy man's story - of greed, love and betrayal - is about to slip from his grasp.

Composed of…


Book cover of Lottery

Monica Wood Why did I love this book?

I loved the novel’s unforgettable narrator, Perry L. Crandall, who has an IQ of 76.

A masterpiece of narrative voice, Lottery is easily the most engulfing book I’ve read in ten years. (I had a beloved sister with developmental disabilities and expected to be reduced to mush by page 5, but instead I was filled with joy.) The story follows Perry and his loathsome, money-grubbing sibs after Perry wins a boatload of dough in the state lottery.

This book is not what you think it will be, in about a million ways, and the ending is a heart-filling surprise. It made me want to be a better person. Everyone I’ve recommended this to adored it. (P.S. I’m not related to the author but I wish I were.)

By Patricia Wood,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Lottery as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14.

What is this book about?

Money isn't the same as treasure, and IQ isn't the same as smarts-An uplifting and joyous new novel hailed by Jacqueline Mitchard as "solid gold."

Perry L. Crandall knows what it's like to be an outsider. With an IQ of 76, he's an easy mark. Before his grandmother died, she armed Perry well with what he'd need to know: the importance of words and writing things down, and how to play the lottery. Most important, she taught him whom to trust-a crucial lesson for Perry when he wins the multimillion-dollar jackpot. As his family descends, moving in on his fortune,…


Book cover of No One Is Talking About This

Monica Wood Why did I love this book?

I’m just gonna say up front: some of you will hate this novel, so I’ll describe it as clearly as I can.

The narrator is a famous blogger who rose to international fame over a one-sentence post, after which she surrenders to a life lived online, described in poetic, incandescent, at times infuriatingly overwritten prose. That’s Part 1, which ends with a thudding fall to earth: a text from Mom saying Come home. Part Two is a switcheroo in both style and content, and that’s all I can tell you without wrecking the novel’s unexpected turn. 

I know what this sounds like—impenetrable show-offing, and at times it is—but it’s like nothing I’ve ever read and I can’t stop thinking about it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

By Patricia Lockwood,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked No One Is Talking About This as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Patricia Lockwood is the voice of a generation' Namita Gokhale 'A masterpiece' Guardian 'I really admire and love this book' Sally Rooney 'An intellectual and emotional rollercoaster' Daily Mail 'I can't remember the last time I laughed so much reading a book' David Sedaris 'A rare wonder . . . I was left in bits' Douglas Stuart * WINNER OF THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2022 * * SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021 * * SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021 * * A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK * ______________________________________________ This is a story about…


Book cover of Long Way Down

Monica Wood Why did I love this book?

Oh my gosh, why is this book shelved under Young Adult? This adult was utterly enthralled by it, maybe even changed by it.

Written in free verse, the novella takes us on a sixty-second elevator ride in a crappy apartment building in a crappy neighborhood in a crappy city. When Will gets on at the seventh floor, he’s on a mission of revenge, but the elevator stops on every floor, each time admitting someone who alters the story in astonishing, cumulative ways.

This won a ton of awards, but if you’re a grownup you probably haven’t heard of it. Hear of it now. You won’t be sorry.

By Jason Reynolds,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Long Way Down as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

“An intense snapshot of the chain reaction caused by pulling a trigger.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Astonishing.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A tour de force.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A Newbery Honor Book
A Coretta Scott King Honor Book
A Printz Honor Book
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)
A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner for Young Adult Literature
Longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
Winner of the Walter Dean Myers Award
An Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Fiction
Parents’ Choice Gold Award Winner
An Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of…


Book cover of Cargill Falls

Monica Wood Why did I love this book?

Two boys find a gun in the woods. Over the next few hours, which are rendered in a series of unforgettable scenes that travel forward and back in time, the gun will resonate through the lives of the boys, their teachers, their parents, and others.

I could not put it down, and when I finished I began reading it again. The prose is the loveliest you’ll find, and the story takes gentle and surprising turns that will stop your heart and make you feel deeply human. I loved this short, gorgeous novel and learned something about the lives of men. 

By William Lychack,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cargill Falls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There is good reason why William Lychack's writing has been called 'Precise, exhilarating, sometimes wonderfully funny and always beautiful' (Margot Livesey). In prose you can practically feel moving in your hands, Cargill Falls takes you through a series of unforgettable scenes that coalesce into an extended meditation on the meanings we give or fail to give certain moments in our lives. The story begins when an adult William Lychack, hearing of the suicide of a childhood friend, sets out to make peace with a single, long-departed winter's day when the two boys find a gun in the woods. Taking place…


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Book cover of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

Ethan Chorin Author Of Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Story-lover Middle East expert Curious Iconoclast Optimist

Ethan's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of citations and interviews with more than 250 key protagonists, experts, and witnesses.

So far, the book is the main -- and only -- antidote to a slew of early partisan “Benghazi” polemics, and the first to put the attack in its longer term historical, political, and social context. If you want to understand some of the events that have shaped present-day America, from political polarization and the election of Donald Trump, to January 6, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russian expansionism, and the current Israel-Hamas war, I argue, you need to understand some of the twists and turns of America's most infamous "non-scandal, scandal.”

I was in Benghazi well before, during, and after the attack as a US diplomat and co-director of a medical NGO. I have written three books, and have been a contributor to The NYT, Foreign Affairs, Forbes, Salon, The Financial Times, Newsweek, and others.

By Ethan Chorin,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On September 11, 2012, Al Qaeda proxies attacked and set fire to the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, killing a US Ambassador and three other Americans.  The attack launched one of the longest and most consequential 'scandals' in US history, only to disappear from public view once its political value was spent. 

Written in a highly engaging narrative style by one of a few Western experts on Libya, and decidely non-partisan, Benghazi!: A New History is the first to provide the full context for an event that divided, incited, and baffled most of America for more than three years, while silently reshaping…


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