Welcome to the "A" List

Andrew's Favorites

If it's here, it's recommended. If it's not quite ready for an A, I don't list it.
Every title listed is highly recommended.
*****
Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea or Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude. To get here, a novel not only has to lure me into returning time after time, but has to move and excite and stimulate me when I do return. You won't see many of these. Even Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom only gets three.
****
Candidates for future elevation to five. You won't see many of these, either.
Everything else is still a must read.
**** The Wife of Martin Guere Janet Lewis True love eventually destroyed by a man's inescapable nature.
**** Stones for Ibarra Harriet Doerr The pursuit of life in the face of impending doom: a lesson in resignation and courage.
The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien Gritty, fresh, deeply emotional insights into the Vietnam conflict. Part history, part fiction -- all brilliant writing.
The God of Small Thngs Arundhati Roy Richly lyrical. Colorfully imagined.
Fathers and Crows William T. Vollmann A meandering and convoluted tale of the early colonizaton of Canada: Champlaign, the Jesuits, native Americans and pioneer entrepreneurs.
Almanac of the Dead Leslie Marmon Silko Bleak, stark examination of a depraved society which, for its tragic betrayal of native cultures alone, has earned its fate.
Lightning in July Ann McLaughlin Deeply tragic; tremendously uplifting!
The Waterman Tim Junkin Evocative tale of romance, mystery and self sacrifice on the Chesapeake.
Paris Trout Pete Dexter Riveting drama; riveting characters: justice and injustice in a small Southern town.
Reading in the Dark Seamus Deane Irishness and rebellion in the early twentieth century: a despariing coming to grips with a legacy of hatred and anger.
The Reader Bernhard Schlink A freshly humane view of post-war Germany coping with its Nazi past.
Ragtime E. L. Doctorow Major fun! Richly descriptive period piece weaving together the lives of the famous, the infamous and the unknown. Unabashedly glitzy, but what could be more appropriate for the time: Ragtime!
Memoires of a Geisha Arthur Golden Richly descriptive, unceasingly dramatic. What will happen to this innocent girl sold into a slavery condoned by society?
Deadwood Pete Dexter The "Ragtime" of the wild and wooley West. Rich characterization.
The Hiding Place Trezza Azzopardi A wounded escape from a wounded family: a legacy of pain and betrayal.
Night Ride Home Barbara Esstman Wrestling with her despair over her son's death, the resulting disintegration of her family and her own inner fears, a woman finds the strength to love again. Penetrating insights into character.