If you believed 2015 was an embarrassment of riches as far as literature and book releases went, you’re not prepared for what 2016 has in store. It is not a simple feat to compile a list of the most awaited books that I believe should grace your shelves this year within the brief space of a welcome back issue. Nevertheless I shall try. The books of 2016 are serious business; regardless of the fact that I may say that every year.
Dominating all lists is George R.R. Martin’s sixth installment of his beloved and insanely craved series, “The Winds of Winter.” Readers will finally find some semblance of closure and peace with Martin’s vow to bring most cliffhangers from the last book to a resolution, as well as find more conflict and violence in the battles he’s been brewing. Emma Donoghue, author of the current book-adapted film “Room,” will return with another hard-hitting book that revolves around a child living in 1850s rural Ireland called, “The Wonder.”
Yann Martel, who won hearts with his bestselling “Life of Pi,” will also return this year with “The High Mountains of Portugal” where he spins together a century-long quest of three different people living in different times that intersects beautifully. Don DeLillo also returns with “Zero K”, drawing us to the beauty and starkness in the world we live in by weighing the darkness of death, natural disaster, the cruelty of men and the prevailing popularity of terrorism to the grace of humanity that can still be found, if searched for, in everyday life.
Other notable mentions include “What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours” by Helen Oyeyemi, Herta Müller’s translated “The Fox Was Ever the Hunter” and Julian Barnes’ “The Noise of Time,” which happens to be a stunning collision between human nature, art and power.
