99
cell i n L ouisiana, w hich h e was
allowe d t o l eav e f or o nly a n h our
each d ay.Settle i nto a l ong,
ambitious r eadThe Wolf H all t rilogy
At a c ombined 2 ,000-plus p ages,
Hilary M antel’s n ov els w ill p rov ide
reading m aterial f or weeks.
Wolf H all, Bring U p t he B odies a nd
The M irror a nd t he L ight a re fi rs t a
deep c haracter s tudy o f T homas
Cromwe ll, w ho r ose t hrough t he
ranks o f Tu dor s ociety t o b ecome
King H enry V III’s c hief enforcer—
but t he s eries i s a lso a v ibrant
political d rama.The T oni M orrison c anon
Few a uthors h av e p rov ided m ore
immers ive r eading e xperiences
than t he l ate M orr ison: h er v isual,
aural a nd o lfactory d etails a re
start lingly evocative, w hile h er
narr atives u nfurl ov er d ecades
of t ension w ith e pic c limaxes.
All o f h er n ov els, p ublished ov er
45 y ears , d eserv e t o b e r ead
and r eread a s t estaments t o
American p ain, p ers ev erance
and j oy.1Q84
As w ith m ost H aru ki M urakami
nov els, 1 Q84 is a strange brew
of h ard-boiled d etective fi ction,
nonchalant s urr ealism a nd
melancholy. I t i nv olves p arallel
worl ds, malev olent r eligious c ults
and m etaphy sical s ex. B ut t he
plot i sn’t r eally t he p oint. R eading
this b ook i s m ore a bout s inking
into a d reamlike m ood w here
the m undane c an s hift a lmost
imperceptibly t o
the f antastic.War a nd P eace
A b ook o n every one’s
I-feel-like -I-should-
read-that l ist, War
and P eace is a
spraw ling s tory
about f undamental
change. T hrough
wa r a nd t he
political a nd
social u pheav al
that f ollow, Leo
To lstoy ’s 5 00-
plus c haracters
transform i ntoThe IQ s eries
Joe I de d elivers a f resh u pdate
to t he h otshot- detective g enre.
His p rotagonist i s I saiah
“IQ” Q uintabe, a h igh s chool
dropout w ho l ives i n L ong
Beach, C alif., a nd u ses
deduction a nd i ngenuity t o s tay
one s tep a head o f t he c ity’s
cutthroat u nderworl d.The Crazy R ich
Asians t rilogy
No n umber o f m ansions,
fancy c ars o r d esigner
gowns c an s olve
familial s trife o r c ure
romance w oes f or
the m oney ed e lite
of Singapore—and
it’s a t estament
to Kevin K wa n’s
measured h umor t hat
he c an t urn r ich-people
problems i nto a f un a nd
humanizing r omp.The Harry P otter s eries
When H arry Potter f ans a re i n
crisis, t hey t urn t o t he w izarding
worl d f or c omfort a nd m oral
direction. A fter a ll, a n e ntire
generation g rew u p l earn ing
the d ifferences b etwe en r ight
and w rong, brav ery a nd f ear,
acceptance a nd b igotry f rom
J.K. Rowling’s s tories o f a g reat
wizarding war. T he s eries c an
function a s p ure e scapism
and t hrilling entert ainment—
but a lso a l esson o n h ow t o
support a nd e mpathize w ith
the v ulnerable.
—TIME Staffcompletely d ifferent p eople. T heir
growth c aptures h umanity i n t he
way t hat n ov els t old f rom a s ingle
point o f v iew c annot.Escape i nto
fantasies, t hrills
and s imple
pleasuresMy S ister, t he
Serial K iller
How s trong
are t he
bonds o f
sisterhood,
really? I n
Oyinkan
Braith wa ite’s
electric
comedy, Korede
is w ondering.
Her y ounger s ister Ayoola h as
just k illed o ff b oy friend N o. 3,
and Korede, a n urs e, a gain h elps
her c lean t he c rime s cene a nd
mov e t he b ody. B ut s he’s g etting
fru strated w ith Ay oola—her
prettier, probably s ociopathic
counterp art —especially a s s he
narr ows i n o n h er n ext t arget.I F eel B ad A bout M y N eck
Writer a nd fi lmmake r N ora
Ephron’s m other o nce t old h er
that “ ev ery thing i s c opy,” a n
adage t hat s he t ook t o h eart w ith
her t reasured c ollection o f w itty
and h ilarious e ssay s a bout
the c hallenges a nd t riumphs o f
being a m odern w oman w ho’s
growing o lder.TREAD.indd 99 3/25/20 4:10 PM