If you enjoy family sagas and generational stories there are a bunch on the latest bestseller’s list, and most of them are by tried and true authors.
Ann Patchett has been writing since the 1990s. She is the author of The Dutch House, State of Wonder and Bel Canto, along with so many more. She is known for her literary prose and her rich complex characters. Patchett’s The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer. Her latest book, Tom Lake, is a bestseller among indie bookstores and is a Reese’s Book Club pick.
Demon Copperhead has been on the indie bestseller’s list for weeks, especially after it won the Women Prize for Literature AND the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Kingsolver, much like Patchett, is known for her complex characters and families and her beautiful literary prose. Kingsolver often tackles issues affecting nature and our environment. In Demon Copperhead, she tackles the unfortunate reality of childhood poverty and loss, topics Dicken’s tackled in David Copperfield, which Kingsolver makes allusion to.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese spans three generations in India, 1900-1977. This book is ripe with family secrets. Each character has a backstory that will eventually draw connections and illuminate threads the reader did not see coming. This book is part family saga, part mystery, and part historical fiction.
Hello Beautiful is by Ann Napolitano, a newer author than those above. Her first book was published in 2004, but she gained popularity with Dear Edward in 2020 (which is now an Apple+ TV show). Hello Beautiful is a love story, where one lover’s family’s past has lasting effects on the other’s family’s future. It begs the question can love make a broken person whole?
Each of these authors are known for the warm yet literary writing style, and their ability to comment on the human condition, our relationships with each other and ourselves while still writing compelling stories with captivating plots.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
