A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz. Oz’s memoir reflects the rifts in his personal life and in his native Israel (Harcourt).
A Rage for Rock Gardening: The Story of Reginald Farrer, Gardener, Writer and Plant Collector by Nicola Shulman. This life will please students of human nature and fans of gardening and exotic travel equally (Godine).
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. An epistolary novel in which a dying Congregationalist minister offers advice to a younger man (Farrar, Straus & Giroux).
Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian. A timely, deft exploration of a New England family and its connection with the animal rights movement (Shaye Areheart).
Runaway: Stories by Alice Munro. Studies in surprise, sorrow, and accommodation in Munro’s 10th collection (Knopf).Revenge by Mary Morris. In this tautly plotted novel, the psychological balance of power keeps shifting up until the last page (St. Martin’s).
