A robot learns to be a child
The central character of Kazuo Ishiguro’s virtuosic 2021 novel is an “Artificial Friend” with a young girl’s body.
fiction
At Tara Isabella Burton’s fictional boarding school, the hunger for transcendence gets dark
A tale of beauty, religion, and how easy it is to exploit them
Lauren Groff builds a proto-feminist medieval world
But the enchantment of Matrix is ultimately broken by her language.
A novel about purity culture and its harm
At its core, God Spare the Girls is about a family history doomed to repeat itself.
15 London children died in a World War II attack
Francis Spufford’s novel imagines the lives they might otherwise have led.
Jonathan Franzen writes a family that feels familiar
In Crossroads, a troubled associate pastor faces his deepest desires and doubts.
Sister Agatha roller-skates away from the church
The heroine of Claire Luchette’s novel realizes she became a nun to avoid being herself.
Miriam Toews explores religious trauma through the voice of a nine-year-old
Swiv isn’t an unreliable narrator, but she’s living in a world that feels unreliable.
A novel about baseball, wealth, and human frailty
Christopher Beha’s characters find themselves in pits, and the way out is not remotely clear.
I want more for Deesha Philyaw’s church ladies
I want a sequel where they don’t have to hide their sexuality.
The Death of Vivek Oji shows us what we are afraid of
Akwaeke Emezi’s stunning novel will leave you broken. It will also let the air back into your lungs.
The Kindest Lie is a story about race and much more
In Nancy Johnson’s debut novel, a family secret draws a successful Black woman home to small-town Indiana.
Piranesi is the best kind of fantasy novel
Susanna Clarke weaves magic into her readers’ lives.
Would we recognize a modern-day messiah?
Sean Gandert’s novel asks us to decide if a man is a saint or a sham.
Journeying with Father Dan and a coyote along the via negativa
Daniel Hornsby’s debut novel has a wonderful road-trippy feeling.