The Sword of Shannara

Written in tribute and perhaps imitation of J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings, Terry Brooks' 1977 The Sword of Shannara is an epic, rousing adventure fantasy. There are some who deride Shannara, complaining that it's a blatant a rip off of Tolkein. But that's too broad a criticism, and wholly unfair. Derivative? Perhaps. But as a stand-alone work of art in the genre, the original Shannara novel is wildly successful and exciting. This landmark book, which was the first work of fantasy to make The New York Times bestseller list, focuses on two young brothers on a quest to find a mythical weapon (the sword, of course) and use it in to slay the evil Warlock Lord who rules the land. The book, which is filled with elves, princes, druids, trolls and dwarfs, is densely plotted with each chapter ending in a cliffhanger. Brooks has written many sequels to The Sword of Shannara, but none have matched the scope and imagination of the original. If you're looking for a work of fantasy in which to lose yourself, here it is.

>>> Read the opening pages of The Sword of Shannara here.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I hate to jump on the bandwagon in recommending this moving novel but it's so special that, sooner or later, I wouldn't have a choice. It's that good. Mark Haddon's novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, won a slew of literary awards when it appeared in 2003, and all were well deserved. At 226 pages, Curious Incident is a slim book, but it succeeds in creating a large world that doesn't scrimp on character development and plot that will have you reading all night. Set in England, the novel is told by 15-year-old Christopher John Boone as he searches for the killer of a neighbor's dog. The twist is that Boone is autistic, so we see the world through his eyes. Haddon, who once worked with people with autism, crafts Boone as a mathematical prodigy (he knows all the prime numbers up to 7,057) and a sensitive adolescent whom we come to care about a great deal. The plot gets a bold shot of caffeine when, desperate and confused, Boone runs away from home. I hesitate to reveal too much more of the plot. I don't want to ruin the surprises that await you on every page. This is a novel to be cherished.

>>> Read the opening pages of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time here.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

A synopsis of Michael Chabon's magnificent 2000 novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, doesn't sound overly enticing: Two young cousins, one a writer and one an illustrator, come of age in pre-World War II America, finding fame in the budding comic book industry. The plot might not sound like a winner, but this novel deserves the use of an overused word: masterpiece. This historical novel is a tour de force of complex relationships and gripping social commentary. This book has it all: European golems, magical escapes, the search for sexual identity and heartbreaking surprises. Most of all, the book is populated by characters so vivid that, 639 pages later, we're sorry to see them go. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001, and it's no wonder; it's a brilliant, inventive and densely potted novel that is both hilarious and distressing. You'll want to start over on page one when finished.

>>> Read the opening pages of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay here.

Remains of the Day

Writing in the first person as an unreliable narrator is notoriously difficult to pull off. When done well, as in Lolita or The Good Soldier, the technique can add great psychological depth to the story. When a narrator doesn't tell you everything about himself, perhaps withholding important information, or when a narrator is blind to his phobias and neuroses, a novel can often sing. After all, an unreliable narrator allows the reader to enjoy and discover two stories for the price of one. That's why Kazuo Ishiguro's 1989 The Remains of the Day is such a fantastic novel. The narrator, Stevens, is a grand English butler during the mid-1900s, serving Lord Darlington the years before and after World War II. The emotional center of the novel rests on the relationship between Stevens and head housekeeper Miss Kenton. Although the two walk a fine boundary of love, they don't dare cross the line, especially Stevens who takes his duties so seriously that they result in repressed and deeply isolated behavior. Of course, Stevens doesn't know this. But we do. And that's the delight in this important novel which, by the way, deservedly won the prestigious Booker Prize. The book was also made into a superb movie in 1993, which is true to the book and one of the best adaptations ever filmed.

>>> Sample a few pages from The Remains of the Day here.

Time and Again

It's been nearly 40 years since Jack Finney published Time and Again, but in the time travel genre it hasn't been equaled. There's no time machine or mechanical device in this novel, no contrived science fiction technology. Instead, a secret government project convinces the novel's protagonist, Simon Morley, to travel to New York City circa 1882 via an ingenious form of self-hypnosis in order to solve a mystery. The pleasures of this magical book are in the descriptions of New York City, with are also presented in illustrations drawn by Morley, and in the slow and steady pace of the carefully woven time travel plot that heats up to a frenzy in the novel's final pages. The consequences of tinkering with the past during time travel have long been a staple of fiction and movies, but it's never been executed as well than in this exciting, edge-of-seat thriller. More important, this is a story about people, not science. As Morely falls in love with a woman in the past, and as the shadowy government program begins to disintegrate, we're presented with characters and ethical dilemmas we can't help but care about. In Time and Again, Finney, who also wrote The Body Snatchers (which was filmed as The Invasion of the Body Snatchers) has given is a literary gift worthy of serious attention.

>>> Read the opening pages of Time and Again here.

Middle Passage

If you crossed Melville's Moby Dick with Ellison's Invisible Man, you'd probably get Charles Johnson's 1990 Middle Passage, an amazing novel that you won't want to end. The novel's premise is ingenious. In the year 1830, a freed slave named Rutherford Calhoun stows away on a ship, the Republic. Only when the ship is out to sea does he discover that the vessel is on the way to Africa to bring slaves back to America. The novel is filled with one fantastic invention after another, including the ruthless and unforgettable Captain Ebenezar Falcon, a mutinous tribe of Allmuseri and a hideous monster hidden in the hold of the ship. There's a reason this novel won the 1990 National Book Award; it's an extraordinary literary creation. While Johnson hasn't come close to equaling the grandeur and humanity on display in this novel, it doesn't matter. Middle Passage is a voyage worth taking repeatedly.

>>> Read the opening pages of Middle Passage here.

The Story of Ferdinand

Everyone remembers their first book. Mine was The Story of Ferdinand, Munroe Leaf's charming and influential 1936 picture book for young children. In sparse language and only 67 pages, Ferdinand tells the story of a sensitive bull who chooses to smell flowers rather than battling in the big Madrid bull fight. The language is delightful, and the original illustrations by Robert Lawson bring the story to an understated and beautiful life. It's tough to refuse a tale that begins, "Once upon a time in Spain." Astonishingly, the book has been rather controversial over the years due to what some have interpreted as a pacifist message. Indeed, many countries banned the book for a time. Now, more than 70 years since its publication, the furor seems silly. The Story of Ferdinand is gentle, funny and memorable, perfect for reading aloud. It belongs on the bookshelf next to other classics such as Goodnight Moon, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and Are You My Mother?

>>> View the opening page and jacket copy of The Story of Ferdinand here.

>>> View the opening pages of the Spanish version, El Cuento de Ferdinando here.