Best books ... chosen by Maile Meloy
Maile Meloy is the award-winning author of Liars and Saints, Half in Love, and the new story collection Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It. Below, she names six books that have changed her idea of &
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (Random House, $15). The nested, multiple narratives in Mitchell’s brilliant novel, each written in a different style—19th-century traveler’s journal, ’70s airport novel, sci-fi debriefing/celebrity interview—made me stop writing for a while, because I was so sure I couldn’t do that.
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (Vintage, $15). This has been one of my favorite books for years, and I just “reread” it by listening to it on my iPod. A friend of mine was horrified, but I don’t see why: The audiobook forces you to slow down to the pace of men walking through Mexico or riding on horseback—no skimming—and drops you into the huge, mannered nightmare journey of the book.
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth (Norton, $15). A spectacular novel about the African slave trade, and about the people on an ill-fated ship sailing from Liverpool to the Guinea Coast. It’s the kind of novel you live in, caught up in the hope and the horror of everyone on board.
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.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (Nick Hern, $20). When I was a teenager, I read science fiction, but not fantasy. When I finally found my way to Pullman’s trilogy, which is marketed to teens but suitable for adults, I couldn’t stop reading. The books are so beautiful, and full of wonders, and grounded in the idea of children at risk in a manipulative and misguided adult world.
Her First American by Lore Segal (New Press, $15). A young Viennese Jewish refugee comes to the United States in the early 1950s and falls in love with an older man, a black intellectual with a drinking problem. It’s an absolute delight—terribly sad when it’s sad, and incredibly funny.
The All of It by Jeanette Haien (Harper, $12). A tiny novel in which a priest out fishing in rainy Ireland sorts through the story told to him by a woman, just widowed, about how she came to live with her husband. The information is revealed so masterfully, and Haien achieves intense emotional effects in such a short space, that I still don’t really know how she did it.
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
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'
Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
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
-
Abdulrazak Gurnah's 6 favorite books about war and colonialism
Feature The Nobel Prize winner recommends works by Michael Ondaatje, Toni Morrison, and more
-
Elliot Ackerman’s 6 favorite books on war and duty
Feature The Marine veteran recommends works by Robert A. Heinlein, John le Carré, and more