The Staff Recommends

Recommended by John Warner

The idea of declaring some grouping of books the “best” of any given year is largely absurd, particularly when that list comes (as this one does) from a single reader with a limited capacity to sample, let alone read, every last book written in a year.

That said, I read a lot of new fiction this year, and to pick out the five best seems like it might mean at least something.

So Much for That by Lionel Shriver

The Great American Health Care Novel. Shep Knacker, an actual self-made millionaire (as the founder of a handyman company), has a dream to move to a remote tropical island where his millions will stretch into infinity. The dream is upended when his wife, Glynis, comes down with a rare (barely treatable) cancer. Topics covered in surprising and fascinating detail: the insurance industry, war on the middle class, dying “gracefully,” penis enlargement, lifetime disability. Also, packs an emotional wallop that may have you tearing up by the end. Purchase on Amazon

Model Home by Eric Puchner

This should win the award for criminally overlooked novel of the year. Set in mid-‘80s Southern California, but can easily be read as a contemporary chronicle of the psychology of the fallout from the bursting of our recent real estate bubble. The story of the Ziller family, parents Warren and Camille, son Dustin, daughter Lyle, who leave Wisconsin seeking fortune of varying kinds. Alternating perspectives among each family member, Puchner captures all of them with writing that’s both sharp and warm. I don’t know why this hasn’t been winning prizes, or being prepped for a major motion picture. Absorbing, emotional, funny. Can’t recommend it enough. Purchase on Amazon

Next by James Hynes

Kevin Quinn flies from Ann Arbor to Austin, ostensibly to interview for a new job, but as much to test the idea of fleeing a life gone stale. All the action takes place in a day as Kevin wanders the streets, following an alluring young woman whom he sat next to on the plane. That makes it sound boring, but Hynes is working on a vast emotional canvass here, and the final section will make your hair stand on end. Purchase on Amazon

Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky

Another of the criminally overlooked of 2010. Marie is indeed bad. She’s an ex-con who makes off with her childhood friend’s toddler-aged daughter. And her husband. To France. Impossible to put down once you start. Purchase on Amazon

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

We didn’t plan to include any advertiser-supported books in this gift guide, but Skippy Dies—our inaugural book—is too good not to include here. It’s one of my favorite novels of the year; without it, this list would be incomplete. Purchase on Amazon

John Warner is the editor of The Staff Recommends and the author of Fondling Your Muse: Infallible Advice From a Published Author to the Writerly Aspirant.