Cargando
The Washington Post’s Best Books of 2022
The Post lauded these fiction and nonfiction books in their year-end review.
Publicado el 13 de diciembre de 2022
All the Lovers in the Night
Mieko KawakamiKawakami, one of Japan’s most exciting literary minds, follows her award-winning “Breasts and Eggs” with a riveting tale of transformation and trauma. A lonely, disconnected freelancer in Tokyo is sick of her drab self and decides to make a bold change. Her transformation pushes boundaries as the moving narrative explores her journey and the stifling expectations of a patriarchal society.
City on Fire: A Novel
Don WinslowThis trilogy-starter by Winslow, the bestselling author of “Savages” and “The Force,” is set in 1980s Providence, Rhode Island, where two mob families have coexisted peacefully for generations, until an assault sparks a feud. Danny Ryan, who’s married into the Irish crime syndicate, wants to break away from crime, but the rising tensions pull him even deeper into a web of violence. “City on Fire” takes its time developing rich characters and relationships while still managing to be a fast-paced and energetic crime thriller.
Cult Classic: A Novel
Sloane CrosleyLola bumps into two former lovers in a row before realizing that it’s no coincidence. Instead, her former boss, Clive Glenn, is running a “wellness” program that reunites exes to bring closure. Though Clive’s operation is cult-like, Lola is eager to participate and affirm her current relationship. Crosley (“The Clasp”) explores the loneliness of looking for love in a disconnected-yet-always-connected culture through brilliant metaphors and a believable protagonist.
Dr. No: A Novel
Percival EverettBillionaire John Sill, an aspiring supervillain out for revenge, has a plan. He’s going to break into Fort Knox and steal a box of…nothing. Lucky for Sill, Professor Wala Kita is an expert on nothing. He’s also too naive to realize Sill’s dark intentions. Everett’s (“The Trees,” “So Much Blue”) farcical caper includes clever commentary on racism, and never before has a book about “nothing” packed so much substance.
Fencing with the King: A Novel
Diana Abu-Jaber“Fencing with the King” whisks readers to 1990s Jordan during King Hussein’s reign. Amani Hamdan, a divorced poet struggling to get back on her feet, joins her father on a visit to Jordan for a ceremonial fencing match with Hussein. Amani is intent on learning more about her family history, a curiosity that threatens her uncle Hafez’s secret agenda. Abu-Jaber (“Crescent”) brings Jordan’s history and culture to life through a family saga with elements of mystery and romance.
The Foundling: A Novel
Ann LearyIn 1927, young Mary Engle takes her first job as a secretary to Dr. Agnes Vogel, who runs the Nettleton Asylum for “feebleminded” (read: disobedient) women. Though initially in awe of Vogel, Mary soon begins to doubt the integrity of her employer and the institution itself. Leary’s (“The Children”) story, based on a dark chapter of America’s history, explores the divide between morality and ambition.
The Hero of This Book: A Novel
Elizabeth McCrackenA New England-based writer travels to London to reflect on her mother, who recently died. McCracken’s book is written as fiction but veers close to memoir, as it mirrors much of the author’s own experiences with her mom. “The Hero of This Book” delivers gorgeous prose in an original style that defies genres.
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water: A Novel
Angie CruzAfter losing her factory job during The Great Recession, Cara, a 50-something Dominican-American woman, shares her life story over 12 different sessions with a job counselor. Cruz (“Dominicana”) takes a simple concept and breathes life into a character who’s the true embodiment of an American. Cara’s experiences give every reader something to relate to, from love and motherhood to the dehumanizing nature of bureaucracy.
Lessons
Ian McEwanHistory unfolds through the eyes of one ordinary man in the latest novel by Booker Prize-winner McEwan (“Atonement”). Roland Baines faces childhood trauma, single parenthood, and a lagging career — along with some of history’s most horrific events, from the Chernobyl disaster to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through each experience, readers glimpse how lives are shaped by small disappointments and major disasters alike. This sweeping story is moving and melancholy.
Lucky Breaks
Yevgenia BelorusetsOriginally published in Ukraine in 2018, Belorusets’ fiction debut is a collection on how ordinary women are affected by war and political conflict. Ironically named, “Lucky Breaks” features stories set in the Donbas mining region of Ukraine, where unrest has raged for the last two decades. Themes of loss and resilience make this a powerful and affecting read.
Mercy Street: A Novel
Jennifer HaighThe only anecdote to a closed mind is an open book. While the plot of “Mercy Street” is centered around the intersecting lives of characters working and protesting at a women’s health clinic, Haigh’s expert handling of the controversial topic of abortion, plus interesting and complicated characters, will draw you in.
Olga Dies Dreaming: A Novel
Xochitl GonzalezGonzalez’s sharp-eyed debut captures the richness of Nuyorican culture, love, and family as well as what it means to be true to yourself. A brother and sister have a lot to lose as they navigate family baggage, personal drama, and a near career-ending political scandal. But don’t worry, there’s a happy ending here.
Salka Valka
Halldor LaxnessRead the new translation of an Icelandic classic by the late Laxness, a prolific author and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955. “Salka Valka” follows Salvör, who moves to a small fishing village with her single mother before becoming an orphan and making her own way in life. Laxness’ protagonist is fierce, independent, and determined, and the story explores workers’ rights and the political evolution of Iceland.
Vladimir: A Novel
Julia May JonasDripping with desire, “Vladimir” has a romance novel veneer that’s window dressing for its tale about aging and sexual liberation. The unnamed narrator is an older English professor who spends her time pining after new, flirty faculty member Vladimir, which serves as a distraction from students’ accusations of her husband’s misconduct. For fans of “Lolita” or Netflix’s “The Chair.”
We All Want Impossible Things: A Novel
Catherine NewmanLifelong best friends Edi and Ash have been through all the typical highs and lows together. Now, they must face Edi’s death from ovarian cancer. A vivid picture of friendship and life’s transitions, “We All Want Impossible Things” shows how joy and grief can coincide beautifully. Newman doesn’t sugarcoat cancer or caretaking, but her depictions of Ash’s antics add much-appreciated humor to a story that’s ultimately about soulmates reconciling with their impending separation.
Yonder: A Novel
Jabari AsimAsim, a novelist and cultural critic, offers a story of survival told through slaves in the antebellum South. It speaks to the divide between their rich inner culture and what their white slave owners believed them capable of. This searing novel reveals storytelling’s ability to give hope to those who are suffering.
Also a Poet
Ada CalhounCalhoun and her art critic father often clashed, but one thing that brought them together was their shared love of the poet Frank O’Hara. After her father died, Calhoun set out to finish his biography of O’Hara, but instead found herself taking an honest look at her father’s life, his unfinished legacy, and the complicated bond between parent and child.
American Midnight: The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis
Adam HochschildAmerica’s entry into the First World War marked a tumultuous period of the nation’s history marred by xenophobia and civil rights violations. Rather than stopping it, government leaders like J. Edgar Hoover only fanned the flames of violence and injustice. Hochschild, esteemed historian and author (“King Leopold's Ghost,” “Bury the Chains”), recounts the chaos eloquently and confidently, driving home that democracy is fragile and should never be taken for granted.
As It Turns Out: Thinking About Edie and Andy
Alice Sedgwick WohlWohl grew up the eldest of eight children, the seventh being Andy Warhol’s muse Edie Sedgwick. In a memoir written as a letter to her deceased brother, the author explores Edie’s tumultuous life and relationship with Warhol. Through stories of family strife, addiction, and mental health, Wohl attempts to understand two sides of Edie: The icon that exploded onto America’s art and film scene in the 1960s and the troubled young woman who ultimately died by overdose at just 28 years old.
Desperate Remedies: Psychiatry's Turbulent Quest to Cure Mental Illness
Andrew ScullFrom asylums and experimentation to big pharma, Scull systematically exposes the people and institutions at the root of many human rights violations in the mental health field. But “Desperate Remedies” isn’t just a critique — it’s also a meticulously researched exploration of how psychiatry and psychology are still evolving, and how the human mind is more complex than even our current treatments can address.
Esmond and Ilia: An Unreliable Memoir
Marina WarnerWarner’s memoir walks a fine line between fiction and nonfiction as she both remembers and reimagines her parents, Esmond and Ilia, and the life they built together. The pair met in Ilia’s native Italy during WWII before marrying and moving to Cairo, Egypt to run a bookshop. Warner uses found family heirlooms to extrapolate her parents’ motivations, desires, and disappointments along the way.
Finding Me: A Memoir
Viola Davis“It’s an eenie, meenie, miny, mo game of luck, relationships, chance, how long you’ve been out there, and sometimes talent,” says Davis when pressed to describe her professional triumphs. While the Oscar and Tony winner remains modest, her emotional memoir chronicling her journey from growing up in a rat-infested apartment to Julliard and beyond is an uplifting story of hard work and dedication.
Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History
Lea YpiGrowing up in Albania, Ypi had no reason to doubt her nation’s commitment to Stalinism. But with the fall of the Iron Curtain came the harsh realities of her parents’ beliefs and her community’s oppression. In this memoir, Ypi remembers shedding her youthful naivety amid political and social upheaval as she explores the true meaning and consequences of freedom.
Index, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age
Index, A History of the: A Bookish Adventure from Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age
Dennis DuncanDuncan explores the creation, use, and evolution of the index in Western society, beginning centuries ago and eventually reaching modern-day Google searches (which, the author asserts, do not pose a threat to critical thinking or short-term memory). The topic may sound dull, but Duncan succeeds at balancing academia and humor, with hints of sarcasm to sweeten the deal. It’s only fitting that a book about indexes comes complete with not one, but two of them.
The Inheritors: An Intimate Portrait of South Africa's Racial Reckoning
Eve FairbanksFairbanks chronicles the lives of three South Africans, including mother-daughter activists Dipuo and Malaika, through the nation’s post-Apartheid evolution. “The Inheritors” is a living history of South Africa’s shifting social landscape and a moving account of the people — both white and Black — attempting to navigate it. Trigger warnings include graphic depictions of sexual violence.
Lessons from the Edge: A Memoir
Marie YovanovitchYovanovitch recounts a career in the Foreign Service battling corruption both at home and abroad. The former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine shares her experiences navigating institutions traditionally filled with men, from Princeton to the U.S. government, and how her commitment to democracy kept her going even when the Trump Administration attempted to destroy her reputation. Throughout “Lessons from the Edge,” Yovanovitch’s unapologetic and steadfast nature shines through.
Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life
Margaret SullivanLearn the lessons hard won from a career in print media in this memoir by Sullivan, lifelong journalist and former public editor of The New York Times (the first woman to hold the title). Sullivan discusses everything from finding journalistic integrity amid partisan politics to how the media became untrustworthy in the United States. She also speaks honestly about her own growth when it comes to bias and white privilege.
Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe
David MaranissPulitzer Prize-winning Maraniss (“When Pride Still Mattered”) once again displays his acumen for breathing the fullness of life into people and places of the past. “Path Lit by Lightning” is a rich biography of Jim Thorpe, one of history’s greatest athletes and the first Indigenous American to win an Olympic gold medal. But Thorpe’s talents didn’t erase his challenges, including substance abuse and being stripped of his accolades. Maraniss takes readers far below the surface, doing justice to a figure who received little in his lifetime.
README.txt: A Memoir
Chelsea ManningIn 2013, Manning, a former U.S. Army intelligence analyst, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks. President Obama commuted her sentence in 2017. In this highly anticipated memoir, Manning opens up about her childhood, military career, and life as a trans woman. “README.txt” covers her decision to leak military documents and why, but it also goes much deeper into the life of a woman who has faced many challenges and came out on the other side stronger and more self-actualized.
Rickey: The Life and Legend of an American Original
Howard BryantBryant (“The Last Hero”) shares the remarkable life story of one of the greatest and longest-competing baseball players in U.S. history, Rickey Henderson. He covers Henderson’s storied career as well as the shifting racial landscape in which he rose to prominence, giving this story depth beyond baseball. “Rickey” is a definitive biography that’s worthy of its Hall-of-Famer subject.
Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us
Rachel AvivAviv, a staff writer for the New Yorker, puts her journalistic prowess to use in this examination of mental health and identity. Relying on her own childhood experiences along with profiles of several other individuals, Aviv discusses how mental health diagnoses can shape a patient’s sense of self. “Strangers to Ourselves” dives into the nuances of psychology and psychiatry, proving how far these sciences still have to go and how the very treatments meant to free us from suffering often entrap us in more misery.
This Body I Wore: A Memoir
Diana Goetsch“This Body I Wore” is the story of Goetsch’s personal search for gender identity as well as a broader history of the trans community. The author, who transitioned to womanhood in her 50s, discusses young adulthood as a man who could never reconcile with his assigned identity and the eventual discovery of gender fluidity. Vulnerable and breathtaking, this memoir is a vital read in the wake of society’s burgeoning understanding of what it means to be trans.
The War of Nerves: Inside the Cold War Mind
Martin SixsmithGain fresh perspective on the Cold War with Sixsmith’s new history. The author goes beyond geopolitics and into the psychology of fear, exceptionalism, and xenophobia, revealing why this conflict in particular remains a fresh wound decades later. Above all, Sixsmith encourages readers to embrace empathy and understanding before committing to firm ideologies.
Watergate
Garrett M. GraffHistorian Graff (“The Only Plane in the Sky”) turns his attention to the Watergate scandal. Rather than a dry report, “Watergate” is a human-first historical narrative that packs rich nuance at every turn. Engrossing and vivid, Graff’s work infuses new depth into a chapter of American history that’s been retold countless times but never with this level of empathy.
We Don't Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland
Fintan O'TooleA rollicking tale of Ireland’s history, as told by a working-class kid from Dublin blessed with the gift of gab. O’Toole takes readers through the sweeping changes his nation faced over the course of a single generation. While social and political criticisms make an appearance, “We Don’t Know Ourselves” is a relatable personal history as much as a national one.
You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays
Zora Neale HurstonCapturing more than three decades of work by the acclaimed novelist, Hurston’s book written during the Harlem Renaissance shares commentary on the Black experience that’s as timely as ever. This highly anticipated collection of culturally critical essays (including a few that have never before been published) will delight her fans, and create new ones.