Janet Maslin’s 10 Favorite Books of 2008

The New York Times
Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By

November 25, 2008
Janet Maslin’s 10 Favorite Books of 2008

Each book on these following lists is something that the critic, after praising, went out and Johnny Appleseeded, so to speak. These are our 10-Favorites lists of books that we enjoyed enough to buy for friends. In that spirit we recommend them to you. -- Janet Maslin
Amazon
WHEN WILL THERE BE GOOD NEWS?
Book Cover

By Kate Atkinson. Another smart, tricky expansion on the mystery format from an author whose doppelgängers, parallel plots and beguiling characters keep her on a winning streak.
Amazon
2666

By Roberto Bolaño. A maddening, alluring, wild and woolly five-part magnum opus from a Chilean-born literary superstar who wrote as if his life depended on it — and then died, in 2003. Posthumous English-language versions of his work have made him a legitimate sensation.
Excerpt
Amazon
CHARLATAN: AMERICA’S MOST DANGEROUS HUCKSTER, THE MAN WHO PURSUED HIM, AND THE AGE OF FLIMFLAM

By Pope Brock. Medical quackery at its most heavenly, thanks to the wryly hilarious tone with which the true story of the virility expert Dr. John R. Brinkley is told. A “can you top this?” wealth of outlandish stories (in 1930 Brinkley began running for governor of Kansas three days after being stripped of his medical license) makes this a delight.
Amazon
PICTURES AT A REVOLUTION: FIVE MOVIES AND THE BIRTH OF THE NEW HOLLYWOOD
Book Cover

By Mark Harris. With unusual overarching wisdom, this film book captures the cultural volatility of 1967 by tracking five very different contenders — including “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” and “Bonnie and Clyde” — for the best picture Oscar.
Amazon
THE GIVEN DAY

By Dennis Lehane. Shades of Doctorow and Dreiser color this fierce, sweeping historical drama, set in 1919 and told by the bard of Irish Boston. Mr. Lehane, the author of “Mystic River,” outdoes himself with something even bigger than a great detective tale.
Amazon
SERENA
Book Cover

By Ron Rash. A stunningly effective novel that is stark, fierce, dramatic and gripping from its unforgettable opening paragraph. A woman of frighteningly indomitable ambition wreaks havoc on her husband’s Appalachian business empire. Equal parts myth, poetry and folklore.
Amazon
THE SNOWBALL: WARREN BUFFETT AND THE BUSINESS OF LIFE

By Alice Schroeder. The self-made über-investor turns out to be as interestingly eccentric as he is rich. And he was savvy enough to have owned a tenant farm while he was in high school. Find out how.
Amazon
FINAL SALUTE: A STORY OF UNFINISHED LIVES

By Jim Sheeler. Why do we know so little about what happens when fallen American troops come home? One of the great underreported stories of the Iraq war is told with heartbreaking pride and acuity.
Amazon
AUDITION: A MEMOIR
Book Cover

By Barbara Walters. She’s been there, done that, met everyone and seen everything in the course of a 50-year television career. Despite its dignified tone, this is the year’s dishiest memoir.
Amazon
THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE

By David Wroblewski. A boy and his dogs — as well as a mother, father and uncle who are surprisingly like Hamlet’s — are presented with utter, seamless naturalism and grace by Mr. Wroblewski, an author who became (I’d say) 2008’s happiest surprise.