Best books ... chosen by Tracy Chevalier
Tracy Chevalier is the best-selling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, The Lady and the Unicorn, and Falling Angels. Her sixth novel, Remarkable Creatures, will be published January
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (Scholastic, $25). This trilogy is ostensibly for children, but its alternative worlds and moral probing are so sophisticated it will stimulate readers of all ages. A tale of innocence and experience, it features, in Lyra Belacqua, one of literature’s most spirited heroines.
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (Anchor, $16). Atwood is the living writer I admire the most, for the breadth and depth of her work. I’ve picked Alias Grace because it’s her masterful take on the historical novel. An excellent story of a dubious teenage servant in 19th-century Canada, it has intriguing characters and wry writing. I was gripped.
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale (Walker & Co., $16). I am not a big reader of nonfiction, but this book reads like a thriller. Summerscale tells the story of an actual Victorian murder that turned out to have a significant influence on later crime writing. She does a wonderful job making nonfiction as page-turning as a whodunit.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (Vintage, $15). I read this novel when I was a college student, and it has stayed with me. It’s about the black experience in America, and coming to terms with a past steeped in slavery. It sounds heavy, but Morrison throws magic realism into the mix, as well as striking prose. Twenty-six years later, I still remember some of the descriptions from Song of Solomon—they’re that powerful.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (Riverhead, $16). I love a good plot, and this novel has it in spades. A clever Dickensian story of swapped babies, mistaken identities, and rogue schemers, it features such a clever twist that I shouted aloud and had to go back to read the first third of the book again.
Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake (Filiquarian, $5). I adore these poems, for they seem so simple, yet they’re not. Full of both wonder and anger at the world, they are delicate, timeless hymns to life. I often find myself reciting them as I walk through London.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Brazil has a scorpion problem
Under The Radar Venomous arachnids are infesting country's fast-growing cities
-
Why Rikers Island will no longer be under New York City's control
The Explainer A 'remediation manager' has been appointed to run the infamous jail
-
California may pull health care from eligible undocumented migrants
IN THE SPOTLIGHT After pushing for universal health care for all Californians regardless of immigration status, Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest budget proposal backs away from a key campaign promise
-
Marya E. Gates' 6 favorite books about women filmmakers
Feature The film writer recommends works by Julie Dash, Sofia Coppola, and more
-
Laurence Leamer's 6 favorite books that took courage to write
Feature The author recommends works by George Orwell, Truman Capote and more
-
Amor Towles' 6 favorite books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Vladimir Nabokov, Jack Kerouac, and more
-
Susan Page's 6 favorite books about historical figures who stood up to authority
Feature The USA Today's Washington bureau chief recommends works by Catherine Clinton, Alexei Navalny, and more
-
Ione Skye's 6 favorite books about love and loss
Feature The actress recommends works by James Baldwin, Nora Ephron, and more
-
Colum McCann's 6 favorite books that take place at sea
Feature The National Book Award-winning author recommends works by Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville, and more
-
Max Allan Collins’ 6 favorite books that feature private detectives
Feature The mystery writer recommends works by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and more
-
John McWhorter’s 6 favorite books that are rooted in history
Feature The Columbia University professor recommends works by Lyla Sage, Sally Thorne, and more