1. Room by Emma Donohue
2. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
4. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
5. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
6. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
7. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
8. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
9. The Shack by William Young
10.The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
12. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
13. Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
14. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
15. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
16. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
17. Bossypants by Tina Fey
18. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Alias Grace achieves a level of haunting eeriness that I thought was reserved for the Gothic romance of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. And the novel's heroine Grace is just as memorable as Jane and Catherine. Add to that a scandalous murder-mystery type plot, an inside look at early criminal psychology practices, and the fact that this is all based on a true story, and you've got not only a true literary achievement but a book you won't be able to put down.
Alias Grace is the story of Grace Marks, a young Canadian house servant who is accused of killing her master Mr. Kinnear and his lover/housekeeper Nancy Montgomery. Grace does not believe herself to be guilty but has no memory of the events at all, and her supposed accomplice James McDermott names her as the mastermind of the murders. McDermott is hung and Grace's sentence is reduced to life in prison due to her extreme young age and possible temporary insanity.
The novel takes place seven years after the murders. A young psychologist, Dr. Simon Jordan, comes to the Penitentiary to examine Grace and find out why- or if- she truly can't remember the murders.
Grace retells her life story to Dr. Jordan, from her destitute childhood in Ireland up to the day of her conviction for murder. Grace's retelling of her mother's death on board the emigration ship on the way to Canada is quite possibly the most heartbreaking thing I have ever read.
Unable to figure out the truth about the murders, Dr. Jordan finds himself agreeing to let Grace be hypnotized. In this exciting scene everything finally comes together in a way that I realized only in hindsight I suspected all along.
If you've never read anything by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale is still my favorite, so I'd recommend starting with that. But literally everything I have read by her I have loved. She is one of those writers that somehow makes prose seem like poetry- more readable and less rhyming poetry of course.
If you love Jane Eyre I have a feeling you will love this book as well. If you're not crazy about English romance, you may still love this faster-paced and more Americanized version.
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