Editor’s Choice
A Gate at the Stairs, by Lorrie Moore, $25.95. Moore knits together the shadow of 9/11 and a young girl’s bumpy coming-of-age in this luminous, heart-wrenchingly wry novel — the author’s first in 15 years. Moore’s graceful prose considers serious emotional and political issues with low-key clarity and poignancy. Publishers Weekly
FICTION
The Anthologist, by Nicholson Baker, $25. In Baker’s lovely 10th novel, readers are introduced to Paul Chowder, a “study in failure,” at a very dark time in his life. He has lost the two things that he values most: his girlfriend, Roz, and his ability to write. Publishers Weekly Heart of the Assassin, by Robert Ferrigno, $25.95. Set in a future America divided into two major regions, Edgar-finalist Ferrigno’s final entry in his Assassin trilogy (after “Sins of the Assassin”) nicely ties up the wildly diverse plot lines that have motivated his many characters. Publishers Weekly
NONFICTION
The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie and a World Transformed, by Judy Shepard, $5.95. A mother’s memoir of her young son, his murder and the effect on a galvanized public. Born on Dec. 1, 1976, Matthew Shepard died on Oct. 12, 1998, the victim of a murderous attack because he was gay. His death became a significant juncture in the cause of gay rights. Kirkus
Shake the Devil Off: A True Story of the Murder That Rocked New Orleans, by Ethan Brown, $25. On Oct. 17, 2006, 28-year-old Iraq war veteran Zackery Bowen leapt to his death from a New Orleans hotel roof, leaving a suicide note directing police to the dismembered body of his girlfriend. In journalist Brown’s (“Snitch”) account of Bowen’s life, the deterioration of the vet suffering from PTSD parallels that of Katrina- whipped New Orleans, its residents left as stranded as unsupported veterans like Bowen. Publishers Weekly
A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog, by Dean Koontz, $24.99. In his nonfiction debut, mega-bestselling novelist Koontz (“In Odd We Trust”) presents a humorous, poignant portrait of his remarkable dog. Here, the media-shy author opens up about childhood poverty, love for his wife and his spiritual beliefs. He also provides plenty of laughs, borne more of his self-effacing humor and mastery of language than doggie antics-though Trixie’s “own” essay is certainly a highlight. Kirkus
PAPERBACKS
Home, by Marilynne Robinson, $14. Robinson’s beautiful new novel, a companion piece to her Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead, is an elegant variation on the parable of the prodigal son’s return. In giving an ancient drama of grace and perdition such a strong domestic setup, Robinson stakes a fierce claim to a divine recognition behind the rituals of home. Publishers Weekly
Blood River: The Terrifying Journey Through the World’s Most Dangerous Country, by Tim Butcher, $16. Setting out into the war-torn, disease-infested backcountry of Congo in 2000 against the wishes of just about everyone in his life — family, friends, editors and a wild assortment of government officials (the corrupt and the more corrupt), Butcher quickly finds more horror than he’d experienced in his 10 years as a war correspondent. Publishers Weekly
2666, by Roberto Bolano, $18. Life and art, death and transfiguration reverberate with protean intensity in the late (1953-2003) Chilean author’s final work: a mystery and quest novel of unparalleled richness. Published posthumously in a single volume, despite its author’s instruction that it appear as five distinct novels, it’s a symphonic envisioning of moral and societal collapse. Kirkus
