Books

Miriam Toews' new novel follows a group of women in an isolated religious colony as they struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of horrific sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.

"I never really think that I'm defining a generation," Beattie says. "What I am doing is talking about individual psychology." Her latest novel is called A Wonderful Stroke of Luck.

Elizabeth Fremantle's twisty, deceptive new novel is based on the real-life story of the Earl and Countess of Somerset, who were convicted in the murder of a friend-turned-enemy in 1616.

Though it took poet Carolyn Forché half a lifetime to fully share in a memoir what she saw during her time in El Salvador in the 1970s and the lessons learned, now is precisely when we need to see it.

Artist Michael DeForge's enigmatic new graphic novel is all about ambivalence — belonging, displacement, escape and return. Also, strangely charming, blobby animals with all-too-human feelings.

Mieke Eerkens has written an engrossing memoir on the interesting, even inspiring, stories of her parents after WWII. Yet despite its careful questioning and analysis, it's an uncomfortable read.

Ann Beattie strikes out in her new novel about a disaffected young man who drifts through an unsatisfying series of jobs and relationships until his life is upended by a revelation from the past.

Mark Bowden's account of the unsolved 1975 case of two girls who went missing near D.C. is a riveting, serpentine story about the dogged pursuit of the truth, regardless of the outcome or the cost.

Box Brown has a knack for using comics to illuminate tricky subjects. Now, with Cannabis: The Illegalization of Weed in America, he's turned his attention to one of the touchiest topics today.